After sewing a few dresses this summer, I thought I’d shift gears and work on a quick project, that being a skirt. Despite the thinking that this project would be quick, it wasn’t.
The project took the same amount of time as most sewing projects, approximately two days. The main reason is be cause of the fabric I choose to make the skirt was a nice thin cotton, and because it was thin I knew I wanted to line the skirt. This would be the first time I lined any of my sewing projects. I had quite a bit of a yellow polyester/knit like material, again I’m not very good at identifying fabric types. Regardless the fabric was the type of fabric you would see on say a slip, so I thought it would match up nicely with the peachy floral print cotton I was making the skirt out of.
I under 2 yards of my fabric so I had to be careful with the pattern I choose. At first I wanted to make a skirt and shirt, but I didn’t have quite enough for a shirt, so instead I used the small amount of left over to put together a lined shrug. I used Simplicity 2906 version A for the skirt pattern and Mccalls 5006 for the version c for the shrug.
Once again I got so involved in the sewing that I forgot to take pictures of the process. The hardest part of this project was trying to cut out the lining material because it wanted to move all around. Somehow I managed, but I later read that the best thing to do is to sandwich your silky type fabrics between layers of tissue paper for cutting. I defiantly will try that next time.
The skirt pattern didn’t have instructions for making a lining, but I figured it’s just the same as the skirt only inside out, so I didn’t have any really problems. The only issue that arose from adding the lining to the skirt was where the lining and skirt join at the zipper. I attempted this once, and was very disappointed with how it turned out, so I YouTube it, then tried again. The second time was better, but I still need more practice.
The shrug was a last-minute idea I had since I only had just enough fabric left over. I wanted to try to stay with a vintage style look for the outfit so I used version C, but didn’t feel like it needed the button as the pattern suggests. The pattern for the shrug called for a lining so all the instructions where there on how the two pieces were to be attached. I had no problems putting the lining in place on the shrug, but I was having a fit with the collar, as it seemed not to fit right.
Thank goodness for FaceTime, I was able to video phone call my mother-in-lay, Miss Linda, and show her my issue with the collar as well as the pattern instructions. Turns out I was sewing it upside down, despite how the image in the pattern looked.
All in all I love the way the dress came out and it has the best fit of all the garments I’ve made so far. I also have decided to line all my dressmaking projects from now on. Here are three reasons why:
- Sewing the lining first, allows you to test the fit before cutting your fabric
- Hides all those oddly stitched seams
- Has a finished, professional look about it.
Anyways, I just love the peach and salmon colors in the dress, that I’ve named this dress my “Peachy Dress”. I’m very happy with it and have fun wearing it.
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