Lesson 1 - Straight Skirt
In other words... how to draft a classic Pencil Skirt.
Out of general doziness I drafted the first skirt with wrong measurements and then started to wonder, why it didn't fit ... ah well.. so I drafted it again.
I then tried out a version for "big ratio for waist and lower hips/thighs", which suggested darts slanted towards the hip bone. I didn't quite like the outcome (hence no picture) and just went with the normal darts that I had to extend 1 inch in the skirt front piece to achieve a smoother fit in the mock-up.
This is what the drafting scheme looks like:
I wanted the pencil skirt to be quite "wiggly" so I didn't just use the straight skirt pattern but took the side seam in a bit: from the hip point I used the curve stick and tapered in slightly and then out again to the original seam. It's only about a centimetre (1/2 inch) at the most, but it does make a difference, I think.
I then stumbled across about 1,6m of a nice looking fabric at a local sale, and albeit being Polyester I took it with me (along with some lining fabric). It's a medium weight fabric suitable for suits in a very very dark blue. I don't usually go for Polyester. I don't ususally go for dark blue, either. :) The lining fabric is a very dark aubergine coloured Polyester (again...), I used the less shiny side as my "right" side. :)
I basted the fabric and lining together and then treated it as one layer (more in the sense of an underlining) because I wanted to try it out. :) The good thing about an underlining is that the nice outer fabric gets a bit of support and you can also make an invisible hem. I also inserted an "invisible" zipper. Now I might have to be careful I don't turn invisible myself. :)
I've not taken many construction pictures, it's just a skirt, really.
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| I fact I have only taken 1 construction picture. You can see the underlining with the darts marked and then center basted through all layers and partly pinned together. |
And voilà, the all-over result:
[I am looking a bit strange on these... I've got a nasty cold and somebody elses's voice which didn't really make me feel like dressing up a lot and putting on make-up. I did make an effort putting on nice shoes, though.]
The skirt also needs a bit more ironing.. I know...
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| as you can see, you can't really see the kick pleat, but I promise, it's there... |
For an easy step by step introduction on how to sew a pencil skirt for beginners refer to this site, her instructions are quite good and she's got a good sense of humour, too. :)
http://blog.tuppencehapenny.co.uk/2012/11/beginner-sew-along-1-yard-pencil-skirt.html
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