#MeMadeFall 2017 – Midi Skirt Round 3

I don’t consider myself a creative person. I have a hard time picturing things when they are described to me, and I find I do much better if I’m offered a visual representation of a design. I’ve always enjoyed academics, especially the sciences as I found them straightforward. I love writing lists and checking off boxes. As a dancer growing up, I thrived off of bringing someone else’s choreography to life, but was absolutely inept at creating choreography of my own. I dreaded improv moments in class or at conventions, and often muddled through by pulling from choreography previously taught to me. I love expressing creativity, but never felt that I had anything original of my own to express.

Enter sewing. I’ve recently started to recognize that there is, in fact, something a little more creative somewhere in my brain, and it is finally presenting itself in my handmade clothing. Over the past year and half, my sewing inspiration has come from ready to wear garments, the print on a fabric, the silhouette of a pattern, among so many other things. Most recently, the lightning bolt of creativity struck in the form of blue fringed suede.

It probably all started with an innocent trip to JoAnn to pick up thread or zippers, or something else entirely practical. Doesn’t it always? JoAnn, you are a dangerous lady. A quick waltz down the clearance aisle revealed the most magical fabric – a scuba knit faux suede, in the perfect icy blue color I’d already wanted to work into my autumn and winter wardrobe. So I picked it up to check out the awesome texture and – BONUS POINTS – one selvedge edge is fringed. Of course, it was added to my cart right alongside whatever less exciting items I was actually supposed to be picking up. (side note: I was almost tempted to go ahead and get a cut of the burnt orange color way of this fabric. The color was absolutely perfect for autumn, but as the absolute opposite of a Texas Longhorns fan, I just couldn’t stomach the idea of being mistaken for a longhorn!!)

If you’ve happened to come across my instagram feed, you might have noticed that the majority of my handmade garments are fit and flare dresses made out of some wonderfully printed quilting cottons. Although these will always be some of my favorite things to make, I have really hoped to work on expanding my handmade wardrobe over the next couple of seasons by adding in some basics, mix-and-matchable pieces, solid colors, and different shapes and textures. Keeping this in mind, the idea of a fitted midi skirt came to mind… And this gorgeous creation was born.

To bring this skirt to life, I chose to hack my much loved Butterick B6453 pattern by Gertie. I’d made the slim fitting version of this dress earlier this year for a wedding, so I already knew that the shape of the skirt worked well for me without any alterations. All that I needed to do was add on a quick waist band, and use a shorter invisible zipper. I wanted the waistband to come in about an inch tall, so my cut piece of fabric measured about 3 2/8″ (1 inch + 5/8″ seams, doubled to account for inside and outside) by my waist measurement (again with 5/8″ added to each end for seam allowance). I then simply constructed the skirt, sewed the waist band to the top, and finished it off with the zipper. The scuba knit didn’t want to lay perfectly at the dart ends, but I’ll consider it a small price to pay for this cool piece.

DETAILS:

skirt: handmade by me

pattern: Butterick B6453 View B – skirt only

fabric: fringed suede scuba from JoAnn

cami: handmade by me⠀⠀

pattern: True Bias – Ogden cami

fabric: sanded satin from Joann

So I’d say at this point, I have taken FULL advantage of the September /October #MeMadeFall2017 midi skirt theme. I will leave you today with my last offering, another simple but striking midi skirt you can whip up this fall! I hope you’ve enjoyed this month’s theme… Keep an eye out for us to kick off the next topic on October 22nd!

• XX Elizabeth