Bamboo orange skirt

Let me continue my skirtlog. Yes, I should admit that I like to sew and to wear skirts a lot! So this post is about pretty simple skirt which I made in October, just before the flight to China, I was sure that this would be pretty warm there and I could walk in my new skirt.

I have home yoga skirt(from recycle.org) and I found that it was very comfortable to wear so I decided to make my version of yoga skirt. It was very easy to make pattern for it - just two trapezia and two rectangles for waistband(the height of rectangle was two times more then height of waistband). Waistband should be pretty wide so the skirt would stay at place.



Sewing was very simple - side seams on the skirt, side seams on the waistband, then fold one in two and attached to the skirt. But even with such simple skirt I made a lot of problem for myself. First mistake was adding pockets. The second one was cutting one pocket from the waistband's detail! So I made one more trip to a fabric store which doubled the price of my skirt. Also this accident postponed my sewing for long time because I started the skirt in August but finished in October.

Finally I made the pockets and they looked pretty bad on such knit skirt. It was not good idea from the beginning but now I learned the lesson. The skirt is pretty comfy and the bamboo fabric is so smooth and soft, I don't mind to have more garments from bamboo.

Facts:

• Fabric:  0.6m (width 1.55m) of bamboo knit. And additional 0.4m because of my bad cutting.
• Pattern: self drafted
• Fabric was bought specially for this skirt
• Notions: thread, twin needle 
• Time to complete: 3.5 hours(1 hour for removing pockets)
• First worn: October 2014 for walking in Suzhou, China.
• Wear again: waiting for warm weather or Me-Made-May.
• Total cost:  15C$, 5.5$ I paid for additional fabric%(

Butterflies T-shirt

This is long time since my last post about finished project. I have checked right now - it was one year ago!! Oh no! I made a lot of garments but didn't blog them, I should improve this situation.

I finished a t-shirt in this June. It was half done so I didn't spend a lot of time with it.

Summer Butterflies Top

The pattern and fabric were bought in Tampere, Finland during short trip with my aunt. She attended the conference and I visited the city and fabric shop%)) Also I visited some fabric shops in Helsinki and bought this butterflies knit print there.

Finish shopping made last year

I bought Ottobre magazine, issue 02/2013. I like their designs, the patterns are pretty basic but with nice details and interesting cut. So I choose the pattern number 2 - Summer Basic Top. This is loose knit top with short kimono sleeves and additional draping in the bottom.

Ottobre 02-2013-02

It looks the same as tech drawing

It seems to me that I cut size 36 but I am not sure%)) Because the instructions were in Finnish I cannot say anything about them but for this simple design you don't need instructions. The sewing process was very easy,maybe the only problem for me was to bind the neckline and not to stretch it.

I like how this top looks, it was very comfy to wear during hot days. I like the neckline, pretty feminine. I think I make more such tops, maybe one version with more draping on the bottom and one just straight.

Facts:

• Fabric:  1m (width 1.55m) of rayon knit from Finland. I have pretty big piece after cutting. maybe for cami.
• Pattern: Ottobre 02/2013 02
• Fabric was bought first because of nice print.
  
• Notions: thread, twin needle 
• Time to complete: 3 hours
• First worn: June 2014 for walking.
• Wear again:  Yes! Already.
• Total cost:  6 euro for fabric + 1.8 euro for thread + 9 euro for magazine  = 16.8 euro. This is pretty much for t-shirt but I plan to make more from this magazine so this increase the cost%)

Also you can see my pattern review.

PS. The skirt I worn was refashioned by me, it was too long and looked boring so I cut it and worn a lot this summer.

Refashioned skirt with me-made t-shirt

More of June creations

I made a knit skirt for my friend. She is a big fan of stars so when I saw this fabric in a shop I knew at once whom should had it%))

The most difficult part was to find simple black knit fabric for belt!!Sewing was very easy because this is pretty simple skirt.

Skirt for a friend

Also I made a shopper bag, now this is my favorite one. I made it from my lovely cargo trousers which I bought in the ancient 2004 or may be even 2003%))) I wore them out to the death but couldn't just throw away! So now I have nice bag with pocket for keys and wallet.

Shopper bag

Maxi knit skirt

It is so difficult to post something during a nice summer time! But I should keep tracking my sewing projects!%))

I have finished a maxi skirt in June. I saw the prototype in Jcrew shop in March in Toronto and decided that I should make such skirt!%)) I used a fabric which I bought at a market in Berlin. This was some cheap knit rayon (not very high quality btw).

Jcrew skirt

While I was googling how to make the belt on such skirt, I found the photos of another skirt where the front was made from pieces and made up my mind%)

The sewing process was not difficult but I made a mistake when cut the biggest front piece inside out. So my front piece became from 4 pieces%) I tried to stabilized seams with fusible stay tape but even this way sewing of knit pieces cut in different directions was not easy because the top fabric stretched during sewing. But I like final result!

My skirt!

I added the lining which I made from old t-shirt%)

Lining!%)

The back part is simple.

Facts:

• Fabric:  1.2m (width 1.5m) of rayon knit + old t-shirt.
• Pattern: me-made
• The idea came first then I found a fabric in my stash.
• Notions: thread, twin needle, fusible stay tape
• Time to complete: 7.40 hours. Too much time for a knit skirt but I spent a lot making front piece.
• First worn: 22 June for walking.
• Wear again:  Yes.
• Total cost:  3.6 euro for fabric + 0.5 euro for thread + 1 euro for elastic   = 5.1 euro

From dress to skirt: quick refashion.

Sometimes I want to make anything pretty quick especially when I am struggling with a project%))  This was the same case, I was sticking in my maxi skirt project and decided to finish a dress-to-skirt. it seems to be the easiest refashion project!%))

I bought this dress from ASOS pretty long time ago and worn it just once for new year celebration.  It had too deep decollete and the straps at the end were too wide so the knot looked pretty big and ugly!

ASOS dress

I liked this dress so decided to change it into something more wearable for me. At first I decided to change the top of body, maybe by shortening the straps, adding buttons etc. I realized in process that for changing a body you had to cut new one, eh!

So I decided to make skirt from it, I like the maxi but you need a lot of fabric for them%)) The rest was easy - to rip straps, to cut a belt because it was too wide, to make the skirt shorter because it was too long! So now I have new nice skirt! I think it will have more opportunity for going out%))))

Bad photo, I know%))

 

New sewing list for me!

Only one unsewn item remains in "current sewing list" so I will write the next one! These lists motivate me pretty well!
Really my backlog of ideas, wishing and sewing plans is huuuuuuuuge! Also I have a huge box of different UFOs so I decided to include them too in my current list so not only new projects will be realized.

New projects (from scratch)

• Maxi-skirt from knit - done (22/06)
  
  
  
• Muslin for leather jacket
• Scarf from silk 
  
• Green trousers from last summer - done (27/07)
• Burda sew-along - Raglan Shirt Burda 02/2013 - done! (26/05)
• Knit skirt for my friend - done (28/06)
• Simple bag from linen - need to buy ribbon for handle
• Simple jumper for cold summer nights form finish green fabric 
 

Refashion, changing, repair etc

• To finish summer brown skirt
• Winter dress - need new long zipper
• To fix some technical issues in orange bag
• To finish changing of red Simplicity dress - decided to keep it like this, it is ok!
• To remove pockets on new red skirt (I don't like how they came out) - done (26/06)
• To change Asos dress to skirt - done (05/06)
• To look on the waist of new red dress (belt or alteration?)
• Repair a pocket of the bag - done! (28/06)
• Repair a lining of Semeon's jacket

I have to finish this list quickly because I want to make the next one and sew my coll ideas!%))

From trousers to a skirt!

I suppose that everybody one day does it! I mean making a skirt from trousers%))

These were my corduroy jeans!

I like these jeans, wore them a lot so the bottoms of legs became pretty threadbare. Then I put them in my recycle box going to leave them near garbage bins. This is Russian way for recycling. But they don't want to leave me!  I decided to make a skirt. I wanted to sew new orange corduroy skirt but I didn't  find a fabric of my dream!%)) So I decided that my favorite jeans could work a little bit more for me.

The hardest part was to unpick seams%) Then I just cut extra fabric from inseam, try it one and decided that it would work! I even bought the thick thread for topstitching. Now I know that this is not my favorite part, I need more experience.

The result

Of course, this is not a perfect skirt, you can see some wrinkles, but pretty the same behave my RTW narrow denim skirts. By the way, fabric had some stretch in it, so I don't fill narrowness of the skirt. This is very comfortable skirt and I like it!%))

I made the pictures myself so nobody said
me I should to set the leggings well%))

Rear view%)

Facts:

• Fabric:  old trousers
• Pattern: none
• Notions: thick thread
• Time to complete: about 2 hours plus walking to the shop for thread%)
• First worn: 13 April at home%)
• Wear again:  Yes!
• Total cost:  1.5 euro (but almost all thread stay for the next projects%)

Current sewing list

I hope this winter is over so I updated my winter sewing list for something little bit more light.

I decided that I had to concentrate on my stashbusting. To be more exact, on not increasing it%) So I will not buy any new fabric before I finish 5 specific garments. If I finish them I can by one or two pieces of fabric during my May trip. 

So this is my list

• Turtleneck 09/2010 - already finished
  
• Raglan Shirt Burda 02/2013 from light green rayon - pattern is traced
• Knit dress Burda 11/2012 from grey knit wool - done
• Skirt from KnippMode from red check wool -  done
• Birthday dress - done

Fabrics for long sleeves

This should be birthday dress

Skirt from KnippMode

Short report about sewing progress

As always I made pretty big plans, my winter sewing is not a exception!%) I am pretty slow in the execution of my plan. Now I am working on my blue dress, I try to make it almost perfect, he-he!%) I use French seams in my lining also I use bias for the dress's seam allowances. Because of all that my sewing is pretty slow!

Blue dress and remaking winter dress

Mess on my table%)

But I cannot do one thing for a long time so I've decided to make some very-very short project and have made a home skirt to brighten a little bit gray December! This was my old long-sleeve! I am so happy with my skirt, which is not perfect of course but very funny! I think I should make something in orange stripes for summer, but little bit more accurate%))

Orange and stripes!!

Orange skirt

Sooo..
Finally I should post some pictures of my new orange skirt! I am pretty bad model and Semeon is not the best fashion photographer(sorry, darling!) so the first attempt to photo the skirt last Saturday didn't satisfied me. Then I asked my tripod for help, I tried 2 times and still no good result! I decided to stop and post what I have. May be next time we will produce better stuff%)

I choose to make 08/2012 314 from Burda Style magazine. This was pretty easy and fast. My only change was to add the lining because this is wool skirt and I want to wear it with the tights.  Oh, I also added 3 more cm to the length. Only one difficulty was to turn out the corners near the zipper after stitching the facing because the fabric was pretty thick.

I like the result!

And close-up!  Don't pay attention to our old Soviet style balcony!

The same color with balcony%)

PS. I have small piece of left-over, so may be I will add pockets later to my skirt%) Like at the skirt 08/2012 135 but without flaps, not enough fabric for them.

Facts:

• Fabric:  06.m of wool-viscose blend
• Pattern: Burda magazine 08/2012 134
• Fabric was first, them I choose a pattern
• Notions:  zipper, lining
• Time to complete: pretty fast, may be 2-3 hours together (I am very slow person!)
• First worn:  October 20th to the theater
• Wear again:  Definitely
• Total cost:  11 euro

 

Help me please choose pattern for the orange fabric%)

Fabric for cutting

 As I wrote in the previous post, I am going to make a skirt from orange piece of wool blend. The fabric is ready for cutting and pre-washed. It is pretty heavy so I think better to make sonething without pleats.

The first pattern is 09-2010-106 from Burda magazine. I plan to make skirt little bit shorter, one hand above knee will be fine.

09-2010-106 from Burda Magazine

The second pattern is 08-2012-135 from Burda again%). I think that smaller pockets will be better, also I haven't so much fabric for big pockets%)

08-2012-135 from Burda

 
Or may be choose pattern 134 without pockets.

08-2012-134 from Burda

So which skirt would you choose for me%)? Please help!

The images from Burda page were took for illustration and discussion and remain the copyright of the owner.