Sunday, July 7, 2013

Banana Circle Skirt


i was in the mood for a new skirt and knew i wanted to go to my infamous style, the simple circle skirt. i went to Hancock Fabrics one day and wandered around the store for quite some time trying to find a fabric i wanted to use.  i eventually went with this awesome bright yellow twill.  you know i love my bright colors!! the actual color name on the bolt was banana!  so i got my fabric, zipper, bias tape, and yellow buttons and set out back home to begin sewing.


my original plan was to make a half circle skirt, but with the fabric being 60" wide, and then i bought 1 1/2 yds, i was able to get a full circle skirt out of it!  it was actually one whole circle, but then i did one side seam to put in the zipper.

for the waistband i did a simple rectangle longer than my waist width so it would overlap.  i then did a simple button for the closure.  i was super excited about the button because it was so cute with the little white dots detail on it!

for the skirt hem, i decided to do a bias tape faced hem with yellow bias tape instead of doing narrow hem.  i only bought one package of yellow bias tape and didn't end up having enough, but luckily enough it was only a small section that lacked.  so i added some white bias tape to the open section.  also, i bought double fold bias tape instead of single fold, but worked it out by simply ironing the middle fold of the bias tape out.


once my skirt was finished i was going to just keep it the solid yellow, but decided to add another little touch and do round, pleated patch pockets.  for the pockets i did an inverted box pleat in the center and a regular pleat on either side of the box pleat.  this tutorial from guthrie & ghani was great in helping me figure out how to make the pattern for the pocket.


to attach the pockets i fanned the skirt out completely flat and measured meticulously to make sure they were even.


i also added black piping and a self-covered fabric button.  i LOVE doing fabric covered buttons!!!


even though i planned to make a 1/2 circle skirt i'm glad i did the full circle because i love how the skirt came out.  i also made it longer than what i thought i needed then cut off about 2" or  3".  this way i could be positive it wouldn't be too short.  can't wait for my next circle skirt!!




















the skirt is absolutely fabulous for twirling in too!  i started taking timed pictures of me to demonstrate the great twirl ability...


...then realized i could do an action shot setting with the timer.  so no more blurry pictures!  and on to the barrage of twirling pictures.  i was having a lot of fun twirling, if you couldn't tell!






Friday, July 5, 2013

Self-drafted Shorts

now that i'm in Fashion Design school i definitely am more adventurous about my sewing and trying new projects.  this new found courage is what prompted me to want to draft my own shorts.  i took Flat Pattern 1 last semester and in that class we drafted patterns for the upper body, i.e. peasant blouse, button-down, and basic torso slopers.  when we start back in the fall, i'll be taking Flat Pattern 2.  in there we'll be drafting patterns for the lower body.  so, i've already got a head start since i drafted a pair of shorts :)  so i grabbed my school book, some wrapping paper to draft the pattern, and my drafting tools and moved full speed ahead!

once the first pattern was drafted i made up a muslin of them and tried them on.  the depth of the back crotch slop wasn't deep enough and there were fit issues across the front.  so i made the pattern alterations and whipped up the second muslin.  they fit this time!

once the pattern was complete i whipped up a pair from some leftover black fabric i had from when i made the black pleated circle skirt.  i didn't have enough fabric for the inside of the waistband, so i used some leftover lime green pique i had from the lime green Simplicity dress.  plus, it's really fun to have the slight hint of lime green!

i'm really impressed with how my shorts turned out, especially considering this was my first time using a self-drafted pattern.  next time i make some though i know to make the height of the waistband shorter and shorten the length of the zipper placement.  i will also add back pockets since i will be using a better fabric and have more of it.  all-in-all, not to bad for drafting my own pattern!  i even did a contoured waistband!