Christmas circle skirt

Now that the gift exchanging is over and done with, I can talk about a skirt I made as a present.

I wasn't sure what to buy, so, knowing that the lady in question likes a 50s dress, thought I'd make her a circle skirt. I used the directions Casey posted in her sewalong to craft the size - using a 40" circle to give a likely hip (since I don't know the right dress size!) measurement, and sewed it onto a 28" band of elastic. This way the skirt can be pulled on and suits a good range of waist sizes!

It's a full circle and so it's massive. I think it'll look really good with a petticoat underneath. I couldn't resist the fabric, so very gothabilly!

To attach it to the waistband, I first overlocked the waist seam, and then pinned it to the inside of the elastic at regular intervals. Then I simply stretched the elastic till the fabric fell flat and zigzagged it on.

Simples! And it gives a nice even gather too!

While the maths was something of a challenge (working in a combination of inches and cms didn't help that), this was a breeze to make. I got to use my rolled hem foot and was pleased at how evenly the hem turned out. All in all, a great little project, and I'd strongly recomment Casey's sew along instructions to beginners.



More stock for my stash

I took a trip to my local fabric shop yesterday to pick up supplies for Casey's Swing dress sew-along and came home with a little more than I'd bargained for!

My first purchase was the dress fabric, which I chose some wine red wool crepe for. I was looking for something with a good drape and not only did this fit the bill, being medium weight and very soft, but also because of the wonderful colour. It's very close to Mac's Russian Red lippie which is my favourite, so I know I'll be coordinated!

The fabric only cost me £16 for 4m (which will be more than enough for the dress) so including the pattern and findings, should cost less than £30 to make. Good stuff!

While I was browsing, I came across this black net. It has a slight stretch to it and is very soft. I figured I could use it for sleeves and maybe a collar on a blouse at some point. I only bought a meter so I'll have to be a bit creative about what I use this for!

The other net I picket up was this millinery net. I bought a brown hat a while ago which is very 40s other than the very chunky net, which looks very 80s to me. I figure I can replace it with this and make it look a bit older. I'm going to be a bit careful how I do this though, as millinery is a totally new art for me!

Finally came this lovely cotton. It's very light and not the finest quality fabric but I couldn't resist the print. There was a whole batch of slightly different rose prints to choose from and I had a really hard time deciding. I think if the pattern grows on me I might go back and get another colour. At only £3.39 it won't break the bank! All I have to decide now is what to make with it. My first thought is a dress, but that's all I've made for ages and I have several more lined up, so I'm not sure. I have 4m of the stuff. Maybe a circle skirt? Any suggestions?