spring time in sydney - simplicity 4047

can i say first up that i love the design of the fabric i used for this skirt, but it was a shocker to sew.  as soon as i finished my last simplicity 4047 i wanted to start one in this fabric, a recent the fabric store purchase.  i imagined such a great looking skirt but unfortunately the whole process was a bit blah.

yes i'm standing on a sloping driveway in these pics which is why everything looks a bit lopsided.

being polyester and really stable i thought it would be a quick easy sew - mistake 1.  i went with the same size as my previous S4047 and things started ok with the 4 waist darts going in fine.

i then i went to overlock the back centre seam ready for the zip and my overlocker didn't like the fabric one bit.  i spent a good few hours playing with the tension and thinking my new second hand overlocker was a dud.  i turned to IG for help and thankfully leith, lara and susan came to the rescue and i pushed ahead and then went back to the sewing machine to do the zip and side seams.  my machine didn't like the fabric one bit either, it laboured, making irregular stitches and sounds that are more likely heard at a zoo.

i got the invisible zip in and side seams sewn and tried the skirt on - though unfortunately i couldn't get it on, even though i cut the exact same size as my previous wool version. i took the invisible zip out, replaced it with a longer lap zip and took out the side seams until i was able to get the skirt on and sit down.

i originally planned to line the skirt, but as it had taken up so much of my time i decided to go with a bias binding waist band.  the fabric is slippery enough that i think it should be OK.

you can see in the pic below how little my sewing machine liked sewing this fabric - i sewed the waist 3 times.  each time it started out ok, but by about 3/4 the way round sewing machine said no.   after 3 go's i decided to leave it how it is as it looks ok from the front.

now that a bit of time has passed i am not so angry about this skirt and i am happy how it looks with my  simplicity 1366 in chocolate brown ponti.  i love this new to me pattern - this top took around 2 hours to make.

the amazingly talented and fun leith of sew brunswick recently nominated me for the blog hop going round the www, i'll be back soon to answer the questions and also have a give away to celebrate 100 followers on blog login'!

emma

simplicity 4047 wool skirt

today's make is a simple pencil skirt.  i was given this absolutely beautiful italian wool from tessuti for mother's day.  when i first opened the present i wasn't sure what i would make, but mr flagg suggested a straight skirt and i was sold.  i have never sewn with real wool before so went to IG to seek some fabric prep knowledge. thankfully rachel suggested that i didn't need to do any prep if i was going to dry clean the finished item.  simple.  like.

the pattern is simplicity 4047.  i had a few straight skirt patterns in my stash to choose from, but i chose this one as google images collated a few examples for me that looked good.  in terms of sizing my waist and hips correlate with size 16 but i cut a 14 - basically because my pattern was only size 6-14.   i basted the side seams first and then ended up taking it in and cutting my lining as a size 12.

the sewing of this make was very straight forward, although i found the bulk of the wool a bit tricky for two aspects - the zip and the back vent.  i used a conventional zip and needed to do my exposed stitching line quite wide given the bulk of the fabric, so i also hand stitched the zip on the inside closer to the zip teeth so my zip opening does not gap...too much.

the other area i have a bit of bulk is the back vent.  i have only made lapped back vents before so i didn't even check the pattern for construction of the vent.  when i got to this stage i had a look at the instructions and found that the vent was constructed using an additional piece called a 'pleat underlay'.  grrr i then had to unfold all of the tissue to locate this small piece.  i do actually like how the back pleat works, but on this skirt it is a tad bulky given the weight of the wool.  to do the top stitching of the pleat i used some quilters quarter inch tape as a guide.

this skirt is super warm and great to wear.  i lined it with black radiance from fabric.com as i couldn't get any more elegance from martha pullen.  both fabrics are sold as 55% cotton 45% silk, but the elegance is easier to sew with, not being so slippery.  regardless both are great linings and the radiance makes the skirt feel great on.  i like the contrast of the mustard wool and black silk/cotton too.

and a few more pics...

back and front.

back darts and lapped zip.

lining.

i seem to be into skirts at the moment and am just about to cut two more of these out in spring fabrics.  having said that i am definitely keen to give the myrtle a go for summer too - it looks like a perfect work and play dress.

hello too to all the victorian bloggers and non-bloggers i met up with recently in melbourne.  it was fantastic to meet you all - i had a super fun arvo!  thanks again for organising rachel.

emma