Sewing on and off the List

1.21.2015

Every year I try to start off strong with my stash busting plans. Usually I'm in the mood for it and it's good to get the numbers down before my inevitable fall off the wagon in June. Warm weather makes me buy novelty prints, lots of them.

I admitted in the last post that my sewing plan for January was to sew all the things that were planned in December. When I say "planned" I really mean things that were floating around in my head. Things that I might have bought fabric for during Black Friday sales. Yeah, this girl is a horrible stash buster at the end of the year too.

The December but now January sewing list.
1. Red circle skirt
2. Black circle skirt
3. Another red pencil skirt
4. Plaid shirt dress
5. Plaid top of some kind

While I was hopped up turkey it seemed completely possible to sew all this stuff plus a Christmas dress. Yep, there needs to be an oversight committee for my sewing plans. "Excuse me Mrs. Beckley. Are you planning on never sleeping during the month of December?  Or maybe you are exploiting a small gang of furry frogs as sewing slaves?"  Exploit?! They have all the baked goods they can eat!

Annnyway, back to those sewing plans.  Ugh plans. I hate real plans in writing because they suck all the joy from my sewing.  No one tells me what to do with my hobby, not even me! So after looking at the sewing list, I went off and cut out a fruit print Edith blouse.  Suck it list!
That was all well and good except the fruity cotton was a small vintage cut of fabric. There wasn't enough yardage for me to squeeze out self bias binding for the armholes. What to do, what to do?  Oh wait, I have black cotton poplin for that circle skirt. That would work great.....except I'll need to cut the skirt out first. Crap, guess I have to sew from that stupid list. (Cue sad horn)

I went the easy route and purchased New Look 6056 after seeing Margo sew it up.  Sure I could have messed around with maths and drafted myself one. Honestly I didn't have the head space for that after Christmas + germs. Take my 5 bucks and give me some mindless tracing.
I mindlessly traced the size 18, the one which corresponded to my waist circumference.  Surely I didn't need to worry about extra ease in a simple circle skirt. Who wears a circle skirt on their hips? Guess what, New Look thinks you should because I found 4" of ease needed to be removed. Lord have mercy.
I was a bit put out about having to rip apart what was supposed to be a quick project.  Then Froggie pointed out that I could have taken...oh 5 minutes....to measure the waist area on the pattern before starting.  Fair point.  I shall don the ribbons of Shame along with the ribbons of Laziness.

The one good thing about having to rip apart a garment, is that you might as well make some other changes. I decided to widen the waistband so it would look "nicer" if shirts are tucked in. Instead of cutting one waistband piece, I cut two and used one as a facing. The waistband still closes with skirt hooks on the side. This works fine but it's not my favorite finish.  If I remake this pattern I'd attach the zipper to the waistband as well.
Here's the full deets on the pattern...

Pattern
New Look 6056 (Now OOP, but still pretty easy to find)

Fabrics used
Kaufman Organic Cotton poplin from Fabric.com.  I bought this version because of it's wider width.

Pattern changes/alterations
1. Removed about 4" of ease from the side seams.
2. Cut the waistband out twice and sewed the upper edge at 3/8" seam allowance. This gives me a 1 3/4" wide waistband.
3. Did not use either suggested length from the pattern. Instead I cut the skirt to be a finished length of 28".

Confessions/Advice
- Don't be like me, measure the waist circumference before you begin!

- The skirt was cut cross grain to get the pattern to fit at the longer length. In this light weight fabric that worked fine.

- The waistband facing and the hem were all done on the machine.
- I'm wearing my Christmas petticoat under the skirt in these photos. The pattern looks equally well without it.

Husband Comment
He didn't have anything to say about the skirt, but this comment about the Edith blouse was too good not to share. "I like fruit on a black background. It's like your shirt is a dangerous jungle at night."

My Final Thoughts
Sewing a black circle skirt is a terrifically boring project. I coped by putting an audio book in my ears and machine finishing nearly everything on the garment. At least the cotton poplin was most cooperative with my time saving efforts.  That stuff don't get uppity notions about moving around after you pin it.
OK, I belly ached about a lot of things in this post, but do I like the finished garment?  Yes, it's great to have a black circle skirt in the closet. Too bad it couldn't magically appear in there without my involvement. What am I paying my slave frog work force for anyway?

On that note I'll leave you with the obligatory circle skirt swish photo. Yeahhhh petticoat swishing is awesome.
P.S. If you're new to the blog and want more details on Edith then here's the original review.

45 comments:

  1. Love the entire outfit! I totally agree that sewing a circle skirt is sooooo boring! I made mine in bright colors to help. I really want a black one and bought the fabric but can't bring myself to start. It's the dang hem.... It goes on forever!!!

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  2. This is simply the cutest outfit I have seen in a long time! I love every detail and the drudgery of the skirt was so worth it!!!!

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  3. Dangerous jungle January at night! That's got to be Mr b's best comment yet

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  4. www.tresbienensemble.comJanuary 21, 2015 at 3:59 PM

    I don't think a black circle skirt is boring; I think it's classic! And, now you have a perfectly vintage way to style your vintage blouse!

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  5. You look jolly glam there missus. I need a kick up the bum to get sewing again.

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  6. Fabulous! Your husband's comment made me laugh :)

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  7. Nice! I love a circle skirt and a plain black one is classic.

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  8. This makes me want to buy Edith (even though I have 2 vintage patterns nearly the same......).

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  9. I love how your crinoline is working its way into so many outfits! Twirl, twirl, twirl!

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  10. Ok, I need a circle skirt! Your husband's comment is a real gem. You look GORGEOUS! Fabulous job sewing such a boring project and getting FABulous results!

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  11. This is why I'm so glad I'm still in the honeymoon stage of sewing, "I can make anything in the world to fit me out of any fabric in any color!? I'm gonna make an emerald green linen brocade party dress! Because I can! And a yellow Moneta with a peter pan collar!"

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  12. Your skirt looks excellent and very practical, and I love that glimpse of your shirt :). I know what you mean about sewing a black skirt - I've got a basic black dress hanging in my sewing room and I just can't make myself fix my sleeve stuff-up and finish the thing! All the bright colours lure me away....

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  13. Best outfit ever! Totally worth the boredom and unpicking

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  14. Anytime I see an Edith blouse on your blog it makes me want to sew one for myself. To hell with the sewing plans!

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  15. Ah, yes basics. I swear they are the most tedious projects ever! Knowing how useful they will be is never enough to bring the energy levels up when creating them. Gorgeous outfit though - well worth the effort of getting through the skirt!

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  16. My first reaction to seeing your skirt was, "I wonder what she has under there?" Such a perv thought. Do people that sew get a perv-free card? I love the way the skirt drapes and how full it is. Lovely.

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  17. This looks so cute on you! What a fun outfit! You're a dangerous jungle indeed! I've literally never sewn anything in plain black, although I'm always admiring chic black garments on other people. Just can't bring myself to do it!

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  18. Lovely outfit! I love full skirts and a black one should be to must (note: add circle skirts in different colors to my sewing list).


    The edith is lovely and adds a fun touch to the classic outfit.

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  19. What a great ensemble. Your husband's comment is very funny! But truly, the blouse is so retro crisp and lovely!

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  20. This outfit is perfection! I love how elegant and classic it is, yet a bit playful with that fruit print. Now I want to make a circle skirt, even though it's not on any of my sewing lists. x

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  21. We need some sort of carrot/stick thing to make us sew those things we don't feel like making.

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  22. Aww thanks. :) Wanting to wear the skirt with the Edith blouse was one of the reasons that the skirt got done. Thank god for that. :)

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  23. I was thinking, "YEEEESSSS!" when he commented about the shirt. So good, so good.

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  24. Just the sewing is boring. I am happy to wear it since it goes with so many things. :)

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  25. I'll be happy to send Froggie over to gently prod you with a stick to get you sewing again. ;)

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  26. LOL, he's so funny. Watch out for that dark jungle!

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  27. As boring as basics are to make I'm really glad to have one. Knitting a sweater that should look great with it.

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  28. It is a really nice pattern....though it does sound like your vintage collection has you covered. ;)

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  29. It's so fun to wear and it keeps your legs warmer than tights alone. Though it a bit big for my tiny bathroom. :)

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  30. Sew a circle skirt, do it, do it. The one good thing is that they don't take long if you get your waist measurement right.

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  31. Stupid bossy lists. We gotta sew what we feel like right this instant or until we see something new and shiny. :)

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  32. Haa haa! Make all the fun things!!!!! Those boring basics can wait.

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  33. Right? It's so nice to wear black but it's so boring to sew. Especially when the wear is gray and dark.

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  34. Froggie point blank refused to do any hand hemming on black. He said there weren't enough M&M's in the world. I do see his point.

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  35. Awww shucks. It is really fun to wear. Can't wait for warmer weather to show off all the fruit. :)

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  36. Yeah!!!! Nothing more fun than throwing the sewing plans aside for a fun project.

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  37. I wish there was a reward at the end of sewing basics to get you to power through it. "Good job, here's a surprise cake." That would totally work for me. :)

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  38. HA HA HA!!! You do have a perv free card with a bonus flash of my petticoat.

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  39. Why sew with black when you can sew with piranha fish? Then you can be a dangerous river! OK, maybe I'm just crazy tired but go with me on this. ;)

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  40. Yes do add a black circle skirt to your list. It is a really nice thing to have in your closet. Then you can sew something fun and bright after the boring skirt is done. :)

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  41. Thank you. :) It is a really fun outfit to wear and I always like sewing up an Edith blouse.

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  42. Thank you Danka. You could always slip in a circle skirt on your sewing list. They do sew up fast if you're in the mood to machine hem.

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  43. I don't think my heart could handle that. Lol I LOVES a peekaboo petticoat. I have one petticoat that I made but would love another, and trying to decide to make or buy.

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  44. You're not the only one ! I just made a skirt and it's also too big at the waist. And I did mesure it before....

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  45. AHHHHH NOOOOO! Pretty sure you can blame sewing elves for that problem.

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