City Stroll Skirt in cashmere

With a cute blouse or sweater, skirts are great for my job, so the unusual shape and nice details (pockets!) of the City Stroll Skirt by Liesl & Co definitely caught my eye when the pattern was released.  

For this version, I used a "scrap" of fabric leftover from my self-drafted blazer project.  I couldn't let nearly a yard of cashmere wool tweed go to waste, and luckily, this pattern requires only a small amount of fabric.  (Sadly, I can't wear the two together...)

The fabric is a bit thicker than the suggested fabrics, and I realized I sewed 5/8" seams before reading the instructions (SA is 1/2" FYI!), so the skirt overlap is about 1/2" shy of the proper location (right at the dart).  Thankfully, it's a wrap skirt and while it doesn't look perfect, it's still wearable.

The flap allows for pretty reasonable movement without flashing any unmentionables, even with my less-than-ideal coverage (though I may still add a small snap inside).

Following the suggestion of Shelley from Bartacks and Singletracks (see two of her skirts here, and a little girl version here), I decided to underline (with Bemberg) the skirt and Hong Kong finish some strategic seams. (See my tutorial for details.)  

Here's the inside of one flap of the skirt.  For the underlining, I extended the lining fabric (for the Hong Kong finish) only at the side seams; since the rest are covered with a facing or waistband.  The non-HK finished sides of the lining/ self edges were just basted together with a 1/4" SA.  

I even underlined the pockets, and then finished all the raw edges with Hug Snug rayon seam binding. 

Waistband and "hem" facing

Hem facing with Hug Snug binding, and side seam with Hong Kong finish.

The underlining feels so nice and looks just gorgeous, so even if the fit isn't perfect, I know is that this skirt is well made!  

2015 Resewlution, September garment #2

Tutorial: Hong Kong finish + underlining in one step

A slim fit wool skirt such as the Charlotte really begs to be lined.  Adding a layer of smooth and slippery fabric makes a wool skirt more comfortable to wear (especially with tights) and extends the life of the garment. Sewing a lining is fairly simple, however, there's another technique that serves the same purpose: underlining.  

In general, underlining is used to stabilize fabric, add weight and "heft" to a lightweight fabric, or add opacity to a transparent fabric.  Using normal lining fabric, such as Bemberg, lightweight silk or even cotton batiste to underline a garment gives the same benefits of a a skirt lining, with a bit less bulk. Typically, the underlining fabric is cut to the exact size of the pattern pieces and sewn to the fashion fabric at the very edges.  The pieces are then dealt with as a single layer.  Since the seams edges will be visible on the inside of the garment, the raw edges are finished together, either with an overlock stitch or a Hong Kong finish.

Enter the combined Hong Kong finish + underlining method.  By cutting and sewing the fabric and underlining in a slightly different way, you get a beautifully finished seam and underlining all at the same time.  It takes some patience and accuracy in cutting and sewing, but the results are so worth it! Ready to dive in?  Let's get started!

In addition to everything else you need to sew a skirt, you'll also need an accurate clear ruler, marking chalk (I LOVE this Clover roller chalker) and your rotary cutter.

For this tutorial, I've made a little "mini" version of the skirt Front so the big picture is easier to see.  Start with cutting out the front and back pieces in fashion fabric.

Lay the pieces on your well-pressed lining fabric.  Use a few pins or weights to keep the fabric from shifting around.  Then, along the vertical seams only (side/ back seams), mark an additional 5/8" seam allowance.

Very carefully, cut the lining fabric using the new guidelines at the side/ back seams, and cutting at the normal cut line for the horizontal edges.  Here's what it looks like:

Now, with right sides facing, pin the side seams of the lining and fashion fabric.  Obviously, the lining fabric is wider, so they will not lie flat.

Find yourself a 1/4" presser foot and carefully sew EXACTLY 1/4" from the raw edges.  

Turn the fabric inside out.  Both right sides should now be facing out.

Wiggle the lining/ fashion fabric so that the lining fabric goes exactly around the edge of the fashion fabric without creasing the fashion fabric.  Carefully press.  

Once pressed on both edges, the fabric and underlining pieces should be even, with no bunching, pulling or creasing.  Since you haven't trimmed any of the fashion fabric from the sides, you can sew the pieces as normal, with a 5/8" seam allowance.

Sewing darts for the skirt needs a little special attention for underlined fabric.  First off, mark the dart legs and vanishing point.  Draw a line connecting the vanishing point to the middle of the dart.  This is your sewing guide.

Sew down this marked line (the middle of the dart), beginning your stitching a centimeter or so away from the vanishing point and sewing toward the raw edge.

Fold the dart along the sew line and sew as usual.

Press over a ham.

Continue sewing the skirt as usual.  If you've added a kick pleat, there are just a few more steps.  Clip the seam allowance right above the curve and finish the rest of the pleat as described in my earlier post.

For the hem, I used rayon seam binding to finish the edge and then used a blind stitch (only catching the underlining) to hem.

With a beautiful finish like this, it will be hard to keep from showing it off!  

Month of the pencil skirt: (Part 3 of 3). The Charlotte Skirt in silk/wool tweed.

Okay, there are three posts associated with this lovely tweed skirt, but after that, I promise: no more skirts!  I'm sick of looking at my bottom half, and I'm sure you feel the same!  Don't I look grumpy about it?

This final pencil skirt is a project for Britex.  The fabric is a truly incredible silk/wool blend in a very subtle tweed pattern.  The weight and hand are glorious--perfect for a pencil skirt.  The pattern is the Charlotte from By Hand London.  I love the version with the ruffly peplum, but that just isn't going to fit comfortably into my wardrobe at this time, so I went with the basic slim fitted version.

In addition to some dart reductions at the waist, I added a kick pleat at the back.  (A tutorial for this simple addition will be posted shortly).  Maybe my stride is too long or something, but I'm not sure how a person could walk in this skirt without a back vent or kick pleat, so it was a necessity for me. And even with a kick pleat, I still can't impress the crowds with moves like this (scroll down a bit to see Shelley in action).   Alas.  Anyhoo, here's the kick pleat from the inside:

More significantly, though, is what's going on under the hood (or rather, inside the garment).  Again, I'm not sure how or why a person would make a wool skirt without some kind of slippery fabric on the inside, but I went with my standard rayon Bemberg as an underlining instead of a lining.   And instead of a standard, basic underlining, I did the most intensely satisfying sewing technique I've tried in a long time: the Hong Kong finish + underlining in one!  Underline and make beautiful seams all at the same time.  And yes, a tutorial for that will be posted after the kick pleat one.  Take a good look at the inside of this skirt:

Maybe for Halloween I'll be "inside out clothing girl" just so I can show it off.

For the hem, I took a page from Laura Mae at Lilacs and Lace and used rayon seam binding, with a hand-sewn blind finish.  (The best part of the underlining, by the by, is that you sew a blind hem to the underlining, not the wool, so it is truly blind!)

The skirt is VERY high waisted, with a wide waistband.  It hurts me to show this picture, but here's what it looks like:

The upper edge sticks away from my body a bit, so down the road, I may reduce the width of the waistband a bit.   But hidden under clothing, it doesn't look too bad!

This skirt has really opened up some blouse and sweater options in my wardrobe.  This pink sweater, for instance, is so short-waisted that it's a little revealing when I lift my arms (like to point out something on the white-board for instance).  Now, I'm fully covered and stylish, too!

Keep an eye out for my two upcoming tutorials: drafting the kick pleat and the Hong Kong finish-underlining in one.  Happy month of the pencil skirt!

Resewlution 2014: September garment #3.