I didn't take pictures during the project (my bad) but I do have after pictures.
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| Finished skirt |
I decided how long I wanted it to be. My favorite length is just above the knee and I wanted this skirt to be about that length. I planned to have a 2" waistband, so I subtracted 2" from the total length to find out where to cut the tunic. The bottom already had a hem, so that was cool. I cut out the skirt body which was basically just measuring X inches from the bottom of the tunic (forgot the measurement...) and cutting a straight line.
Next step was the waistband. It was a great idea to use the buttons and button holes from the cuffs to make the waistband. I used my seam ripper to separate the cuff from the sleeve. Here's how I figured the waistband measurements:
I wanted the finished waist to be 31". The cuffs were only long enough for one quarter (from middle of front to side, for example) so I divided 31" by 4. Each cuff needed to cover 7 3/4" (not allowing for seams) and since each was about 11"...I was doing fine. These pieces were basically ready to go, but I still needed 15 1/2" to cover the back. I cut this out of the yoke of the tunic (at least I think it is the yoke...the panel between the shoulders that covers the upper back...) and made it 5" wide by about 18" long. The 5" allowed for doubling the fabric to create a nice seam at the top of the waist and then 1/2" on the inside and outside to fold under.
Somewhere along in here I messed up. I think I never trimmed the cuffs for the front waistband, so I added my 18" strip to the two 11" pieces and discovered I had more than enough...and cut a bunch off the 18 inches. When I tried it on, the side seams were all messed up. I didn't have enough fabric left to make a new 18" piece, so I just saved part of the piece I had already and made another one, so I had two 7 3/4 pieces for the back. After these, everything was pretty easy.
I sewed along the top of the band in the back to make it match the stitching on the edge of the cuff/band in the front. After attaching all the pieces of the waistband, I was ready to attach it to the skirt. This took a lot of fitting and pinning. I had quite a lot of extra fabric in the back but it looked really bad to have it gathered/pleated all the way around the back. I ended up with a several small tucks on the sides. Once it was pinned the sewing was very easy. I sewed the waistband to the skirt and it was basically done!
I just added a few things like...sewing up the front where it had previously buttoned down/up. I left about 4 inches at the bottom like most slits on skirts. I sewed it shut almost all the way to the top. I had to leave it open about 3 inches from the top to allow for getting it on and off. Sewing the front closed really helped it feel not so much like a shirt that I was wearing as a skirt and made me more comfortable to wear it without worrying about the openings between buttons.
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| Front sewn down almost to the bottom |
Of course...being me, I couldn't just leave it like that. Way too boring. But the point of this skirt was to have some neutral that would go with lots of things. So I couldn't jazz it up with some random color. I decided to do something with the leftover fabric. I cut several strips of fabric out, about 14" long by the width of "As I Lay Dying" (the ruler width was too wide, so I grabbed the nearest thing....like a Faulkner novel). I just bought a little bottle of that fray-check stuff for my curtains, and so figured the easiest way to finish the strips would be to use the glue. Thankfully it didn't stain or leave any dark places. After the glue dried I gathered the strips using large straight stitching on my machine. Then I had to figure out how to arrange these cute ruffly things on the skirt. I had an ulterior motive for doing this embellishment: I had noticed a small dark spot on the skirt, it had been there when the skirt was tunic, it looked like a drop of ink or something. It was on the front, near the center, and it was rather annoying. So I just arranged the fabric in some cool way as to look neat and also cover the stain. I just sewed it down and voila! A lovely new skirt!
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| Embellishment on front |
I wore it today and tonight added a couple things to it:
As I noted about, I left the front seam open at the top, from the waistband button to the next button below it and it bugged me today that when I sat in certain positions, the opening between the buttons wouldn't lay flat. Obviously it could get embarrassing too, so I added a small snap between the buttons to keep it closed.
I also wore it today with a belt which "cinched it up" a bit but I realized it would be nice to have the skirt a bit tighter without having to wear a belt. Hence I added about 2 inches of elastic in the back.
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| Elastic in back viewed from the outside |
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| Elastic in back and the inside of the front waistband
Overall:
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I love the neutral color, the length is perfect, I kept the great pockets, the swirly/ruffly/thingy on the front adds some character, and it is uber-comfy but yet nice enough I can wear it to work. I have visions of wearing it this winter with my high black boots too...or my black ballet flats...so I think it is going to be very versatile! :)
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| Finished skirt...in case you missed it at the beginning |
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