Folkware #209–Walking Skirt

This is a fun skirt to make. I have several that I wear – one in hemp summer cloth for summer and two in wool for winter.

Here is the post when I reworked the hemp summer skirt – https://austerity101.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/the-fix-the-folkware-walking-skirt-in-hemp-summer-cloth-revisited/

My partner found for me some red denim that has a velveteen brush like finish on the right side. Total cost $4.00 for the skirt. The tread was given to me and the closure was a find at a thrift store in a bag of buttons and such.

The material is not part of the recommended list as it is normally too heavy but this is just a bit lighter than the regular denim so I went ahead with the cut.

The pattern is an easy sew except for the placket – it can be tricky. Here is a close up of the back seem just below the placket opening.

The placket sewn to the extending flap, showing the opening , and a placement of where it will go on the back panels.

A small clip is needed for the opening to function properly. This is the trickiest part of the construction. Attaching the bottom of the placket to the skirt while maintaining the top stitching on the placket itself.

The placket in place – I was not happy with the placket as it buckled at at the bottom opening so I ripped it out and cleaned it up. Once finished only one button or in this case the hook will be necessary to secure my modesty!

In this shot above I have the back pleated but the end result was an overly large back side on an already large lady so I removed the pleats and inserted a gather as per the instructions. To gather heavy material – use dental floss! It holds forever and doesn’t break under the weight. I secure one end with a pin and pull so that I have an even texture along the line, baste to secure and ensure that there are no unsightly folds in the seam.

The finished gather. (please note that this is the correct color of the fabric – I have too much still to do to correct each photograph.)

Gentile has taken a liking to the ironing board and she is as stubborn as she is old so it can take a bit to get her to share the space!

For all of my waistbands I insert an elastic band the width of the finished band to keep the waistband from folding when I sit. This allows for a long wearing waistband with the right amount of firmness at all times and no unsightly folds.

I ran over the basting with a 2.5 stitch to secure the waistband, clipped the edges ( perhaps a little too close) and

slip stitched the waist band into place

With the waistband secure, I moved on to the hem. For a rare change, I actually ironed my allowance up. Normally I just turn on the sewing machine and away I go. As it is denim and with the a straight stich on a denim hem has an annoying habit of turning up, and this can very hard to iron out.. To stop this I did an embroidery stich over the hem. It adds color and dimension to this very red skirt and will keep the bottom smooth.

thanks for taking the time to read about my adventure in sewing.

The Skirt

The Pattern

The Material –cotton and rayonAdjusting the left front

panel for a pocket!

The Help

The pocket in a contrasting woven cotton strip.

The first look – workable!

A belt could work.

The back pleats

The new pocket.

This is still a work in progress.

This morning

when I got dressed, I was pleased that everything I chose for this warm summer day I made from natural fibers. Green silk camisole, folklore vintage pattern cotton tap shorts, folklore vintage pattern walking skirt hemp summer cloth skirt with insert of cotton laces just above the bottom hem and topped off with a bolero that I made from hemp summer cloth. The bolero is a ongoing work in progress but it is fun to ware until the afternoon heats up.

This evening, the bolero is put away for the heat of the day and I am about to finish the red cotton slip. Just a firm ironing and the buttons that are the small mother of pearl buttons. It should look pretty good!

Now for my Jacket

austerity101

I tried it on for fit and it is good! It will feel better when the outside temperature is below 10C! It is now neatly folded in my cedar chest for the duration of summer.

The Starting Point:

I am good a finding what I need. Sometimes it is not what I want but I do find it fills my needs. I have been picking up fabric at the local thrift shops for years. I have many large pieces of wool for just such a project.

To make my jacket I first needed to resize the pattern for my mature figure. Just adding an inch to the pattern only worked with the hips and bust. As the original pattern is for the wearer of corsets the waist needed to come in. And not just in – the sides needed to be graded with shoulders being left at…

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The Muslin Jacket has a new home

My muslin Jacket from the traveling suite has a new home today.

It was a pretty good fit with only a little tightness to the back. My friend is net shy so I promised to hide the face details. She was happy with it and wanted to pay for it but it was scrap I was happy that it found a good home.

The sewing Room;

It is actually the kitchen table – the room is packed away for each dinner.

I shortened the skirt a bit with pin tucks at the bottom. There are a few places that the folds are out of sync with the strips and I will work on them over the weekend – maybe!

I found this on Bells Archives as article in the CBC news online. It is the traveling suite 1002, same sleeves, cuffs and two rows of buttons and in plaid.

The lining is finish.

The lining is now finished. Now on to the wool!

Traveling Suite 1002

The finished look is .

My partner has made it known that each piece is nice on it’s own and together they don’t quite work. From a distance it works. And as each is in effect only a muslin worked from the fabric stash, it works. The skirt can be worn for more formal occasions of which I never attend so it will end up as a donation.

The pattern is easy to use, the cut is good. An intermediate sewer will have no problems with either of these pieces. I loved putting it together.

I like the fit across the shoulders – it works for my broad shoulders. The waist on the jacket can work as is but can use a little more tapering for a more modern look. The front has a nice look though I do not recommend plaid unless you are able to match the pattern. I ended up lining the jacket as it is for a friend however I did not think of this until after I had done the button holes and top stitching. So the lining was attached with a quick slipstitch.

The belt is just a tie that I had kicking around as my black belt is currently hiding in a safe place. The contrast works for these photos.

I had a lot of fun with these patterns and I look forward to the next piece.

Cathy

The traveling Jacket- 1002

The traveling suit – 1002 – 1912 Sewing Project

Again, the cut is wonderful. More so if you actually wore corsets! I know I don`t so I will have do modernize the final piece. Todays fashion allow for closer fitting clothing so when I took the initial measurements I decided not to change the size but sew and see what I get. For my muslin I used a wad of wool blend that I purchased it at the thrift store for 8$. This thrift shop find unfortunately was scrap from someone else’s sewing project and was only large rectangular pieces. Luckily suited this jacket for size and weight.

It looks good.

The back looks like a rectangle and needs to be shaped more at the waist to be modernized.

The front at the waist can benefit from some tweaking to better show the waist. I have yet to add the belt loops and make a belt.

The sleeves are a nice cut and the gather at the top give a sharp look at the shoulders.

Now to finish.

almost done!

The traveling skirt – 1002

What I like is the cut and ease of placement of the seams. They fit well. I have been pondering the skirt as it larger in what I am used to in overall fit for these old patterns.

Keep in mind that this a traveling skirt i believe that it is to be worn over the better clothing. I have a habit (sometimes good sometimes not!) of not reading the instructions and only following the cut of the cloth as my guide. This has led me in this case to not finishing the left fount seam as instructed. I have placed small strips for strength for the finishing leaving the seam open with either buttons or hooks & eyes to keep it closed. When I look at the picture of the completed garment what comes to mind is a left opening overskirt with buttons to keep the skirt closed on the left side panel.

For my muslin I used some gray woven strip. I felt that the lines in the fabric would encourage any flaws in the original pattern. When cutting the skirt I was short 4 inches in length for the back, so I doubled the amount of width needed and created a back ruffle. Not per the pattern but as it for the muslin, it could survive the embellishment.

I enjoyed this construction. The high waist was easily tamed with a waistband elastic zigzagged on to the edge and top stitched into place. I may change it at a later date. I have placed hooks and eyes for closures and they work around the waist well but closer to the bottom they will be problematic. I will look to placing buttons there and will wait until the jacket is all but finished to add this detail.

The fit on me is somewhat large. Could have been my fuzzy math in sizing the pattern or it could be that it was expected that there would be a bustle in the back side and an additional skirt or two underneath. I will continue the contemplation of this while I size the jacket.