Polka-Dot Skirt
Introduction
The polka-dot material skirt that I made in the holidays.
Inspiration/Concept
Well, there were the polka dots and....
Basically I was going to make another skirt that I haven't got around to doing yet that might have been going to need a petticoat to hold it out and make it look nice. So when I was getting material for my sister's birthday present, I was also looking for suitable petticoat material. Black, because the other skirt was to be black (I have the material for that). Then I saw this and it was about the same price as plain black cotton, and this was cooler - and the petticoat would also be able to be worn as a skirt, you see. Unfortunately, there was at least half a metre less of the material than I wanted but I figured it would still be ok, just not quite as full as I wanted, etc.
Design
There wasn't much design, it was pretty much all in the original idea from the start.
Pattern
The top section was already drafted from my pattern-making book and used for the pink skirt. For the tiers you just get rectangles and make them as wide and as long as you want them to be... For some reason I didn't want to hem it and instead found some other black material I am trying to make a jacket out of - a kind of crepe maybe?- and cut a strip of that to edge it with; it covers the raw edge of the main material. It looks quite cool.
I actually thought the top section didn't go down so far, rather that it was only just past the hips, but it wasn't, and I didn't realise until after, when I had made it.
Sewing/Construction
Ummm, sew the darts, sew one side seam, sew on the black bit, gather the tiers, sew them on, sew the side of the tiered section.
Then, I just sewed black bias binding onto the top edge and then folded it over and hand-stitched it down to finish it at the waist - it has no waistband. It has three snaps at the side opening to close it.
Snaps
The snaps' packet says that they are "soft-touch" snaps. I am not sure what the "soft-touch" bit refers to. It must be one of three things.
Finishing
I suppose that was the above bit really.
Conclusion
Well, here are the pictures on the dress dummy
One from the side and one from the front or back, with the messy room included so that you can see just what kind of position the dummy (Val) is currently parked in. The other dress I am trying to make and having various problems is on the floor there around the pole.
As you can see, the skirt goes in rather weirdly at the bottom of that top section because at that stage, a person is no longer going out forwards at the tummy, but rather out sideways at the hips and thighs (it shows a lot more on me, hence the longish shirt in the picture at the top of the entry) and thus it looks stupid because it shapes itself around your tummy, making it really obvious. If you have no tummy, like the dummy doesn't really, it looks mostly fine. So, if you make this kind of skirt, make the tiers join on higher up (like I was intending) so that the skirt starts going out before you start going in at the front (and out at the sides). Of course, it would also work fine on you as-is if you do not go out at the sides, because then it would not pull tight but keep hanging down. Of course, then you have no hips :( For men I bet it works great though! :)
The pattern for the top section did not fit ideally in other ways, but I am not quite sure why... Maybe if it was just looser at the bottom (of it, not specifically me) it would be ok.
This skirt also used exactly as much material as I had. Mostly because I made it as long as it could be and fit into the length of material.
The polka-dot material skirt that I made in the holidays.
Inspiration/ConceptWell, there were the polka dots and....
Basically I was going to make another skirt that I haven't got around to doing yet that might have been going to need a petticoat to hold it out and make it look nice. So when I was getting material for my sister's birthday present, I was also looking for suitable petticoat material. Black, because the other skirt was to be black (I have the material for that). Then I saw this and it was about the same price as plain black cotton, and this was cooler - and the petticoat would also be able to be worn as a skirt, you see. Unfortunately, there was at least half a metre less of the material than I wanted but I figured it would still be ok, just not quite as full as I wanted, etc.
Design
There wasn't much design, it was pretty much all in the original idea from the start.
Pattern
The top section was already drafted from my pattern-making book and used for the pink skirt. For the tiers you just get rectangles and make them as wide and as long as you want them to be... For some reason I didn't want to hem it and instead found some other black material I am trying to make a jacket out of - a kind of crepe maybe?- and cut a strip of that to edge it with; it covers the raw edge of the main material. It looks quite cool.
I actually thought the top section didn't go down so far, rather that it was only just past the hips, but it wasn't, and I didn't realise until after, when I had made it.
Sewing/Construction
Ummm, sew the darts, sew one side seam, sew on the black bit, gather the tiers, sew them on, sew the side of the tiered section.
Then, I just sewed black bias binding onto the top edge and then folded it over and hand-stitched it down to finish it at the waist - it has no waistband. It has three snaps at the side opening to close it.
Snaps
The snaps' packet says that they are "soft-touch" snaps. I am not sure what the "soft-touch" bit refers to. It must be one of three things.
- the fact that it is impossible to set the snaps in without the additional contents of half a tool box
- that it is tortuously difficult to close the snaps and no matter how much pressure you apply they will not close until they suddenly are closed without any kind of discernable movement
- that you can only open them with the aid of a fingernail judiciously wedged between the pieces
Finishing
I suppose that was the above bit really.
Conclusion
Well, here are the pictures on the dress dummy
One from the side and one from the front or back, with the messy room included so that you can see just what kind of position the dummy (Val) is currently parked in. The other dress I am trying to make and having various problems is on the floor there around the pole.
As you can see, the skirt goes in rather weirdly at the bottom of that top section because at that stage, a person is no longer going out forwards at the tummy, but rather out sideways at the hips and thighs (it shows a lot more on me, hence the longish shirt in the picture at the top of the entry) and thus it looks stupid because it shapes itself around your tummy, making it really obvious. If you have no tummy, like the dummy doesn't really, it looks mostly fine. So, if you make this kind of skirt, make the tiers join on higher up (like I was intending) so that the skirt starts going out before you start going in at the front (and out at the sides). Of course, it would also work fine on you as-is if you do not go out at the sides, because then it would not pull tight but keep hanging down. Of course, then you have no hips :( For men I bet it works great though! :)The pattern for the top section did not fit ideally in other ways, but I am not quite sure why... Maybe if it was just looser at the bottom (of it, not specifically me) it would be ok.
This skirt also used exactly as much material as I had. Mostly because I made it as long as it could be and fit into the length of material.
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