Skirt: own design (fabric: silk)
Jacket: Vintage 1940's from Prance and Swagger on etsy
Shoes: Primark (I call them my "Daisy Duck" shoes)
Stockings: Agent Provocateur
Faux Perl Necklace, worn as bracelet: Vintage
Gloves: Lauren by Ralph Lauren
It's been long overdue but finally, here are pictures of my first project at Textile School - the skirt.
While I have previously done pattern drafting and fitting a toile, I have never actually designed something of my own and it was a fantastic and at times steep learning curve seeing sometime transform from an idea, through to a flat, one-dimensional pattern into something tangible and wearable.
I wanted something fairly simple, vintage inspired and in the end I settled on a 50's style design with two large box pleats at the back and front, raised, shaped waistband, sidezipper and stiff tulle sandwiched between the lining and the outer fabric to make the skirt hem keep its shape and to give it a couture-like feel. Which would almost prove to be my undoing...But more of that later.
The drafting of the pattern went without major hiccups although I did have some initial diffidulties in figuring out how much width I needed for my pleats. Thank good I had bought enough fabric because my pattern pieces ended up being quite a bit larger than I thought they would be! Being a very visual person, I found that is was easier to first pin and drape the desired shape on the dressform and then translate that into my pattern draft, rather than figuring everything out on the basic block.
My design being so simple, I thought that the sewing part would be a right old breeze - and indeed, it was, until I came to sandwiching the tulle and the cotton eyelet trim between the lining and the fabric...In my haste to get the darned thing finished, I managed to sew on the lining the wrong way round, meaning that when I came to turning the skirt out...well, I could turn it, ending up with a tangled heap of skirt instead. I nearly cried with frustration because, of course, I had to undo what felt like a million miles of stitching and do it all over again. Oh, and then I had to understitch the whole million miles of hem...I was mighty sick of my skirt by the end of it, believe me!
Well, one lives and learns...There are a few things I would change, like interfacing the whole skirt with tulle, not just the bottom part and making the waistband slightly wider and more curved. Ultimately though, I am quite happy with how it turned out. It is of course totally impractical in terms of care but then, most of my clothes keep very little company with practicality...So, in keeping with my general way of dressing, I'd say :-)
Well then, onwards to the next project!
