Friday, September 6, 2013

Pencil Skirt of Triumph!

Ahem, Ahem!  Ladies and Gentlemen, my self drafted pencil skirt:

Me before coffee. (Pained smile)

This is what I wore to work yesterday - my new self drafted pencil skirt sewn from my cut of border print wax cloth that my pop bought in Ghana. I have to tell you: drafting and sewing this skirt was not really all that difficult. I think it may have actually taken less time than trying to alter and sew a commercial pattern.



It's much easier to get great fit when you start out working with your own measurements.  I needed a little tweaking here and there, but it was very minor (see here). Seriously, look at how great this fits at the hips. Woot!
 
First, lets talk about the drafting! 


CD Book Review: The Skirts by Kenneth King

For drafting this skirt, I used Kenneth King's The Skirts. I've dabbled with drafting before, and so I had some familiarity with the basics. But I think that this would not be overly challenging even if you are new to drafting. A skirt is a much easier project than pants or a fitted top.

This sloper has some great features that give it a refined fit. First, for a waist to hip difference of 10"+ (ie: pear shaped figures), Kenneth suggests adding a second dart in the front. This worked very well for me since there is less distortion at the hip curve. Also, the back waist is drafted to be slightly higher and the center back seam is drafted with curved shaping. These features prevent gaping at the back waist and give the skirt a shapely fit over the bum.


Nice fit thru hips and bum!

Also, I find that in most patterns, the back vent never really hangs straight. Kenneth compensates for this by adding a little extra angling and width to the vent.
 
Shocked that my vent lays flat!

I think the last thing to note about this skirt is that it's designed to have little ease; it's meant to be fitted. I generally like fitted garments, but I added a little more ease from the high hip down. So, if you like more ease, just know that you will want to give yourself some extra wiggle room.

My last thoughts on the  CD book are that it has great info, but isn't particularly glossy. I think that Kenneth King just sat down, wrote an incredibly detailed tutorial with diagrams and helpful info, saved it on a CD and voila: the Skirts was born. Buy it for the content - which is amazing and worth it - and not for the gloss. Honestly, it would be incredible if he would publish an actual glossy book that compiled all of his CD books as a comprehensive guide to pattern drafting.

Now, the sewing details!


I decided on two new-to-me finishes.  First, a lapped zipper. Since this was originally intended to be a bombshell dress, I thought that the vintage feel of a lapped zipper was fitting for the spirit of the project.

Lapped zipper.

Next, in the interest of keeping things fairly simple, I decided on a grosgrain facing rather than drafting a separate waistband. It was easy.  Oh, and isn't my turquoise grosgrain and hyper orange lining a fun combination? The lining is a lightweight cotton from Paron Fabrics. 


Turquoise and orange insides.
Since I had extra grosgrain ribbon, I decided to use some as a zipper guard.  I simply sandwiched the edge of the grosgrain between the skirt and lining, tucking in the ends. Ok, that's really three things, but all were easy.



Yay!

Because I wasn't following any kind of instructions for sewing this skirt, here are some resources and some of the tools I used:
  • Lapped zipper insertion: There are loads of tutorials out there. I watched a few and did my thing. But Sunny Standing did a free zipper insertion class on Craftsy if you've never done this before. It seemed pretty easy and thorough.
  • I always interface the zipper area. ALWAYS. Go for the good stuff.
  • Linings: If you sew and don't own Easy Guide to Sewing Linings by Connie Long, well, you need to get on that. Seriously.
  • I am in love with my new Japanese hand sewing needles. I used them for slip stitching the lining to the zipper tape. 

And that's everything! I'm really psyched about my custom pattern block and already on to playing with it. My next version, I think, will have princess seams and a high waist. I'm already mostly done with a silk top to potentially go with it. Stay tuned!

29 comments:

Clio said...

You look AMAZING! This fits you like a glove; I can totally tell it was made to fit you because,well, it looks like it was made to fit you. lol


I love the color combo, and the pop of orange on the inside makes me so happy--even without any coffee :)

Clio said...

It fits perfect. Nice job

Clio said...

It looks perfect, the fit is amazing, very nice!

Clio said...

Beautiful fit for the beautiful fabric. Great skirt!!!

Clio said...

Awesome! The fit is absolutely perfect, and all of the details are fantastic. I really love the lining. Great use for your special fabric.

Clio said...

Beautiful skirt and great use of a border print!

Clio said...

Great job on self-drafting this! I definitely want to crank out some pencil skirts this winter, but it will be of the commercial pattern kind. :)

Clio said...

Wow, well done - I absolutely adore the fabric, and your handy work on the fit. It looks great, or you look great in the skirt :) I'm looking forward to seeing the next few, and the silk top!

Clio said...

Very nice! I think you are right about drafting skirt patterns taking less time than tweaking a commercial pattern. This fit is fantastic!

Clio said...

Ooh, you have sold me on this Kenneth King book/CD. The skirt fits perfectly! And yes, yes, yes orange and turquoise!

Clio said...

Fantastic! I just may have to try drafting my own skirt, since I've got a significant hip:waist ratio and always alter within an inch of my life. Great skirt, Clio! It's perfect with that gorgeous wax cloth.

Clio said...

My two favorite colors! Seriously, the book is a "no frills" affair, but the proof is in the pudding as they say!

Clio said...

I think you and I have a lot of the same fit issues, so you should give it a go! And feel free to reach out to me if you get stuck.

Clio said...

Happiness is hard to come by pre-caffiene around these parts. ;-)

Clio said...

Thanks, everyone! Even my (stylish) assistant commented when I got to the office, which is sort of the gold seal of approval.

Clio said...

Gorgeous skirt! It fits you like a glove. I'm beginning to see that I will need to just start drafting my own patterns as it's almost easier than working with a purchased pattern.

Clio said...

This is BEAUTIFUL and the fit is spot on. Interestingly, though I have more of the "apple" than "pear" shape but I use 2 front darts on my pencil skirt and it gives me a great fit too. Gives shaping over my lower abdomen bump.

Clio said...

Me LUV! What a cool skirt. The fit looks immaculate. Are there darts? I can't even see them. And I love the colors inside & out! Doesn't even look ethnic, just trendster hip!

Can't wait to see what else you make with your new TNT skirt sloper.

Clio said...

Thanks! I guess more darts=better fit for all?

Clio said...

A pencil or straight skirt is such a simple design that it is probably worth it. It's definitely a little more work at the beginning of the process (the pattern part), but once I moved on to sewing, even at the muslin phase it was much less fitting/tweaking. So, for me it was entirely worth the effort. The payoff is that now I can use my block to compare to and alter commercial patterns in addition to drafting my own.

Clio said...

This fits PERFECTLY! Beautiful work!

Clio said...

great job! nothing like a perfect fit on a pencil.

Clio said...

Yes! There are 2 sets (4 darts) on the front and 2 on the back.Thanks!

Clio said...

The perfect way to showcase this great fabric and I especially love the lining and ribbon! Now the drafting work is done you can run up a whole bunch of perfectly fitting pencil skirts.

Clio said...

Happiness is a well drafted pencil skirt in sensational fabric! PS have just posted on the pattern pyramid. http://myfabrication.blogspot.com

Clio said...

Oh good! I'm glad it got to you reasonably quickly!

Clio said...

What a striking skirt. Totally agree with you about less faff with drafting your own. It fits beautifully :-)

Clio said...

I don't know how I missed this but this is awesome!

Clio said...

Thanks everyone!