Mother's Day Maxi

I've been seriously lusting after a bright pink Maxi skirt like this one and this one. And I really dig the high slit on this one.

So I took elements that I loved from all of them and made my own. The fabric is a poly crepe from Vogue Fabrics. It isn't my favorite fiber to sew, but this design was simple enough that it wasn't too bad. Fusible thread tamed the beast.

I started by drafting a floor length column skirt (OK, a big rectangle with the width as my hip measurement and the length as the distance from my waist to the floor). I wanted some flow in the hem, so I slashed and spread at the hem to use the full width of my fabric at the hem only. I added an allowance for a 1/2 inch elastic casing at the top -  more on that in a sec - then cut two full width panels.

I seamed the two panels together on one side only. I used a french seam, since this is the only seam in the entire skirt, I thought it ought to be nice. Now I have a giant semicircular panel that goes around me twice. I made a baby hem around the two side edges and the bottom hem.

Then I wrapped the skirt around itself, with the two hemmed edges up against the seam - one on the inside and one on the outside of the skirt.

This way, I had the look of a long side slit, but with a full layer of skirt underneath for modesty. The unseamed side also allows for a lot of flow at the hemline.

For the waistband, I wanted a bit of width to encourage it to lie flat and to look a bit more like pleats (but without having to pleat 80 inches of polyester crepe - no thank you!). I used this method, with 1/2 inch elastic in a casing at the top and shirring for 4 rows every 1/4 inch. When I finished, it looked strange with the 1/2 inch elastic next to the 1/4 inch shirring, so I added a row of topstitching through the center of the elastic casing. This gives the added benefit of preventing the elastic from rolling in the casing.

I wore my new maxi with a RTW tee shirt and my Vogue 1099 jacket. I've had a hard time styling this jacket, but I really like it with a long skirt. I think the volume at the hem of the skirt helps balance the volume at the hem of the jacket.

Cool girl maternity skinny pants

While the rest of the cool girls are making pants, I didn't want to be left out!!  But our source of all knowledge doesn't really talk about how to make maternity pants, so I was on my own for this one.  I do want a few new maternity pants, and I've been wanting to jump on the skinny pants bandwagon.  (As an aside, I think maternity is the perfect time to try out all those styles and fads that you are a little afraid of.  When else do you have a perfectly reasonable excuse for buying a new wardrobe that you are only going to wear for a couple of months??)  Here is my polyvore inspiration

And these are the AG Jeans from Pea in a Pod I was attempting to copy.  I wasn't willing to pop down the 225 bucks for jeans I'll only wear until December...

And so....  my version

I think I got pretty close!!  These are drafted with the help of Design it Yourself Clothes, but with my own twist to make them maternity.  I sewed them out of a mystery stretch cord that I found in my stash.  The wale is so small, it actually has an almost velvety appearance.  Kinda cool, actually.  I wonder where it came from?  Having never drafted my own pants before, I pretty much stuck to the instructions in the book, but used three different measurements for the rise, in order to accommodate my bump.

Here is the pattern as I drafted it.  Since these are skinny pants and I used a very stretchy fabric, I did not incorporate any ease in the pattern.  You can also see how CF (at the right) dips low to give me belly room, while CB (left) comes up quite high to help the pants stay up on my backside.  I also gave myself some extra length below the knee to give the pants that scrunch effect in my inspiration pants.  I used my maternity panel method that I talked about in my last post.  Initially, the pants had the same jodphur effect that Amanda got with her first draft.

I shaved off quite a bit from the side seams and got a much better fit.  I also had to nip in the back waist a bit to get a snug fit that wouldn't ride down.  How did that happen when I didn't add any ease to the pattern??  
Even after my adjustments, I still have a bit of a saggy bottom.

I lightened the picture so that you could see all the wrinkles.  It doesn't look this bad in real life!

Overall, I am happy with the end result.  I think it has the feel of my inspiration piece and they are quite comfortable to wear.  I think I may be through drafting patterns, though.  I'm not a particularly atypical size or shape and I generally can find the styles and fit I need in commercial patterns.  I have learned a lot about how patterns go together, so I'm really glad that I've taken this journey.

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On a personal note, we had our ultrasound yesterday.  It looks like I will be sewing that sailor suit!  We are having a BOY!  All of his parts are accounted for and in the appropriate locations as well.  It's always a relief to me to be able to see the everything is fine.  Whew!  Now I've got to get sewing!

Self drafted skirt

For my last (whew!) mini wardrobe piece, I went with Mitch's excellent advice and decided to make a long, full skirt out of my Ponteroma knit.

Since I didn't have a pattern that matched the design in his head, I decided to draft my own, starting with the basic skirt from the Cal Patch book.  I lengthened it and slashed and spread to add fullness, then added a wide, foldover waistband.  Looking at the pictures, the waistband probably could have been wider, but it is quite comfortable as it is, and I didn't have a scrap of this fabric left over!  This is a nice firm knit, so it didn't need elastic.  I cut the waistband a inch or so smaller than my actual waist measurement and it is just right!

I really think that this is going to become a go to item in my wardrobe.  I may need to get more of this knit as well!  I love this stuff.  This is actually the second time I've used it.  The first was for Myra's top and leggings, which she has worn all winter.  I love sewing it, and it is wonderful to wear.

Now I just have to put together my wardrobe.  Now that I've made all the pieces, I'm not really sure which ones I want to use.  I think I'll just have a big photo shoot with everything and let the pictures decide.  Don't be too shocked if I ask y'all for a consultation!!

Design it Yourself skirt: Done!

I actually sewed this up on Saturday, but only just did the hem.  The muslin was pretty good, with the exception of a little riding up on my back.  Beangirl suggested raising the back hemline at the waist, which I did by taking a 1/2 inch wedge out above the seat.

So, here it is pinned out.

And look, a perfectly straight side seam!!  She's a genius.

I've had this crazy silk twill in my stash for a while, just waiting for a nice springtime skirt project to come along.  It was time...

Perfect!  Well, almost.  I bubbled the zipper a bit.  It isn't bad enough to make me take it out though, since the silly thing is machine sewn to both the FF and the lining.

The side seam is nice and straight, although my twill had a little bit of stretch, so it looks a little ripply at the side seam.  It just needs a better pressing, though.

Perfect from the back!!  Why is it so hard to take a straight, non-blurry picture of your own backside??  You'll all just have to take my word for it - the fit is excellent.

It is lined with this awesome hot pink poly lining fabric.  The waist is stabilized with twill tape, so there isn't any interfacing to interfere with the soft drape of the fabric.

I taped the hem with some funky lace left over from this baby dress of Myra's.

I love my fun new skirt, but I don't have anything that goes with it.  I think I need a new top...  Maybe after my Mini Wardrobe is done.

Design it Yourself skirt: Pattern drafted and muslin

The Kitschy Coo Design-It-Yourself Clothes Sewalong is starting to heat up, and I was feeling behind the power curve!  So, I drafted my pattern and got going on my muslin.

Here are my pattern pieces.  I deviated only slightly from the instructions in that I didn't do a front dart.  I have a reasonably flat stomach, so I don't see any point in adding curves there.  I do have significant "back" so I deepened the dart in back to accommodate my posterior curves.

I cut it out of some scrap fabric and sewed up a muslin!  I know, me, a muslin?  I want to make the final version out of some silk twill and I didn't want it to end up yucky, since I can't get any more of this particular print.  Besides, I've never drafted anything fitted before, so I had no idea how this was going to go.

From the front.  I think I was holding the camera funny, since the picture is at a slight angle.  I'm not sure why my hips look uneven.  Probably the somewhat hasty and slapdash zipper installation...

From the side the fit looks good.  Excuse the pointy butt darts.  It's a muslin, after all!  I'm not sure about that side seam, though.  I think that it may be listing a bit to the front at the hemline.  What do you think?

I'm very happy with the fit from the rear.  Since I am a bit more curvy than the standard block that most pattern companies use, my rear view is seldom this good.  I am definitely a fan!

A few comments on the book itself.  Since I am a very novice pattern drafter, I think this is a perfect book for me.  Someone with more experience would probably find it a little simplistic.  The woven blouse, for example, doesn't even have bust darts.  This is also not a sewing text!  The assembly directions are quite brief, so if you haven't already sewn together a skirt or two, you may find yourself in trouble - or at the very least in need of another book to help you out!  With those caveats in mind, I heartily recommend this to someone who is just getting started in pattern drafting.  It is any easy and fun read and the drafting instructions are clear and well written.