i made two more skirts this weekend, and now i'm tired.
plus, i should have thought ahead... what color blouse does one wear with an orange skirt?
i'll probably take at least one of my homemade creations to NYC with me (we leave tomorrow!) though part of me wonders whether they scream "i'm a cheap bitch and make my own clothes!"
i have this weird "pretty woman" fear running through my head... if i show up in upscale soho boutiques wearing crappy clothes, i suspect i'm going to get treated crappily.
i'll let you know how it goes.
i cannot stop making skirts. i have a problem.
i'm getting better at it. i think that's what's driving me. soon they will be perfect.
i mean, the fit is thisclose to perfect. but i think i'm doing something to screw up my self-made darts, because now i've got this lovely bunching in the back. are my darts in the wrong place? are my darts poorly sized? what's making this happen? the fit is perfect everywhere else... i can't figure out what's causing this.
i'll definitely wear this one outside the house, though (as i have already done with the previous bright blue skirt), but will choose to wear a long top with it so as to avoid exposing the flaw.
behold! skirt #4!
this is a damn-near perfect fit... because i didn't use *any* of the pattern's darts.
to begin with, i stitched up the whole skirt dartless. when i tried it on it fit pretty well, though just a bit loose in the waist. so i created my own custom darts, putting two small (1-inch) darts on either side of the zipper in the back. and that's it.
i might have been able to take the two darts to 1.5 inches each --the waist is still a tiny bit loose-- but overall the fit is spectacular.
now that i have the hang of it... LOOK OUT! there's no stopping me!
woo!
i'm crazy with the skirts!
this one was different than the last two. when i was in joann last weekend i found this fabric panel for a simple circle skirt. the fabric was on a bolt like any other, but instead of measuring by the yard you measure by the panel. each panel has fabric for one skirt.
basically, you cut out the huge circle of patterned fabric, then cut out the center circle where your waist would be. stitch the whole thing up, add a waistband and zipper and VOILA! instant skirt.
the shape is a little more full than i'm normally comfortable wearing (i think it makes my hips look HUGE) but i love the pattern so much that i'm sure i'll still wear it. plus, it was only about $5 for the whole thing. (though i think i might need to go hunting for the perfect top to go with the skirt.)
while at joann i bought fabric for 3 more skirts... i'm totally stoked about this new hobby of mine, in case you couldn't tell.
i made another skirt. this one went MUCH more quickly (maybe 2.5 hours?) though i'm still not entirely thrilled with the outcome. i used the same pattern as my first skirt, but i tried making this one a little bigger. it's still pretty snug, though. maybe all i need to do is eliminate two of the *6* darts. i think that might help. i dunno, though.
also, i used a polyester fabric because i loved the print so much. the fabric itself sucks, though. i don't think i'll wear this.
in fact, i gave both skirts to mary, as she's a size smaller than me and i suspect they will look better on her.
time to try a new pattern, i think. and to buy more cotton fabric.
i think i'm addicted to skirt-making.
i have made an article of clothing! with my own two hands!
many thanks go to courtney (who helped me figure out how to read a pattern) and sarah (who helped me decipher some of the diagrams) -- i couldn't have accomplished this without their help.
but even with the assistance I AM SO PROUD OF MYSELF! i can't believe my very first attempt at skirt-making came out so well. i figured it would be unwearable (and that's why i only spent $1.77 on the fabric) with crooked hems and rotten seams. but it's NOT! it's *cute*!
there is one major problem with the waistband, but no one will ever know if i stick to wearing my shirts untucked. so really... who cares?
i went by the fabric store this morning and picked out some new material for another two skirts. (less than $4 each.) i'm excited!