Sunday, 19 January 2014

2 Tone Corduroy Skirt

 Right. On one hand, I am very proud of this skirt, it has both a fly front zip and pockets which I've never done before.On the other hand I made a very rookie mistake when cutting out and cut them on opposite naps, so as you can see, each side is a different colour. I only realised this when finishing the skirt and it was a bit of a bummer. However, Mum said to just embrace it as a design feature and so I am. What's excruciating is that we had a textiles lesson the day before and we spent a good 10 minutes on nap. Stupid Lauren. Plus I'm scared of ironing corduroy hence the wrinkles.
But still, I did a fly front zipper, A FLY FRONT ZIPPER!!! Which I've been too scared to do for ages. The video that helped me the most was this one from threads magazine. I had to unpick it a few times, but got there in the end. The pattern and fabric were both from my friends Mum Irenee and the zip was from my stash (it's yellow, but who cares? no one will see it) so this skirt cost me nothing!
There was quite a bit of top-stitching involved, but I chose not to do it in a contrasting colour because my accuracy is dire, so I figured that I'll practice it, but it'll be okay if I go completely off because people won't see it. The hem is slip-stitched purely because I ran out (read: lost) the remaining thread so had to make it invisible instead. I really need to learn how to catch stitch because I'm sure that it's much more suitable for hems.
Just so you know that the pockets are there!
The pattern I used was Simplicity 8189 (no.3) and I cut out a size 8 (the smallest size) and I had to take 5cm (around 2inches) from each side! EACH SIDE! Most people go down a size or two when using a big four pattern, but I don't have that option, so I guess I should learn how to draft them to a smaller size before I even cut them out of the fabric. Hmm, sounds tricky.
At the moment the waistband is secured with 2 snaps because the waistband was far too thick for a buttonhole. I didn't put a button on so I could put a belt on it but I'm undecided. What do you think?
Right, that's everything!
To summarise, this skirt has pros and cons, but I think the pros outweigh the cons. I think.
Thanks so much for reading!
Lauren xx