Tag Archives: skirts

Gathered Butterfly Skirt

Posted in 2015 Sewing, Finished Projects by

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I loved this silk chiffon fabric the second I spotted it at Mood here in the city. Maybe because it was back in cold and snowy January, and this looked happy and springy to me.

Even though I bought two yards (60″ wide), I could’ve easily gotten away with buying just one yard for this gathered skirt. And, honestly, I really only used two-thirds of a yard anyway. Kind of kicking myself now because the fabric was a bit pricey, but maybe I’ll turn the remainder into a dress…

I cut two pieces that were 24″ long and about 28″ wide (including seam allowances). I used the gathered skirt of the Sewaholic Cambie dress as a guide, but I ended up going with 1/2″ seam allowances instead of 5/8″. I feel like gathered skirts can be somewhat tricky for rectangular figures, at least on me. It’s a comfortable design for summer though, so why not?

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Cherry Pie Agatha Cardigan

Posted in 2014 Knitting, Finished Projects, Knitting & Crafts by

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Okay, so I haven’t timed my posts just right. Because of that, you’ll be seeing yet another finished knitting project at some point in the next week or so! I like to space these babies out between sewing projects, but what can you do? Between travel and the holidays, I made much more progress on my knitting than my sewing. But it’s okay – I am pretty psyched to have added another warm wool cardigan to my wardrobe arsenal because, brrrr, it’s cold out there!

This is the Agatha cardigan by, you guessed it, Andi Satterlund. I have loved this design long before I actively took up knitting. So beautiful and intricate. Ravelry tells me I added it to my queue in September 2013, close to a year before I knitted my first ever cardigan. I made a few mistakes with this one, but since I’m still in “I turned that string into a thing!” mode I’m pleased with it. I started this around Thanksgiving, slowed down a bit over the holidays, and finally finished in January. Still playing catch-up with project posts, t’would seem.

I first wore this cardigan to work and then for dinner at Benihana in midtown – gotta look put together for my hibachi shrimp!

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FESA: Butterick 5455 Pencil Skirt in Plaid Wool Bouclé

Posted in 2014 Sewing, Finished Projects by

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Here’s the follow-up to my outfit post from last week where I’ll be focusing on the pencil skirt I made to go with my new Marion cardigan (update: the wool is a bit scratchy where it directly hits my skin, which was always one of my hesitations with knitting, but it’s not too bad and I ain’t stopping now!).

Anyway, this is the skirt portion of Butterick 5455, another FESA creation and a dress pattern that I scored for a song at a thrift store this past summer. What a glorious feeling! I’d like to try the whole pattern one of these days.

I had to bring in the waist a bit, but I’d leave it as is if I made the dress. Actually, I took the waist in just a pinch too much and really had to pull at the fabric in the hopes it would stretch to fit me more comfortably (saying “please, streeeeeeetch” while you’re doing that helps). Thankfully, it worked. Just remember you learned that “industry” tip here first. ;)

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Easy Peasy Skirt

Posted in 2014 Sewing, Finished Projects by

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This is hands down the easiest skirt I’ve ever made. It’s also without a doubt the most comfortable! Don’t you love whipping out a project in no time at all? Those are few and far between for me, but I’m thinking it would be nice to add more of them into my sewing rotation. It just feels so good to have something done and done with minimal effort (and cost!).

But before I chat about the skirt, I just wanted to add that these photos were taken next to Grand Central where I was meeting friends for drinks at the Campbell Apartment. I may have asked one of them to snap some photos while we waited for everyone else to arrive. :-D I later headed over to meet up with Lladybird Lauren (in from Nashville), Vicki of Another Sewing Scientist (in from Montreal), Juli of Sweet Little Chickadee, Fleur of Frau Fleur, and other lovely ladies! Gotta love Friday night in Manhattan chatting about irons, sewing machine repair, and Elna presses. ;)

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Wearing Yesteryear: Class of January 2013

Posted in Wearing Yesteryear by

We’ve been pummeled with another round of snow today here in New York City, and now that I’m all cozy in my apartment again I remembered that I’m way overdue for my January Wearing Yesteryear post! But first, check out this elderly woman shoveling snow in front of her building this morning. She must be in her 80s, but was out there like the tough cookie she is! Her younger neighbor joined her as I took this shot of all the snow accumulating on the stoops of these Murray Hill brownstones.

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Intense! And this was just 9am. We still had a few more hours to go, and this evening the snow is back at it! I walked about 15 blocks in this and passed a bunch of shop owners shoveling outside their stores. Call me crazy, but I actually enjoyed my walk in the snow. :)

Anyway, back to the snow-free sewing world – here’s my lone graduate from January 2013:

The London Fog Skirt

Blog Debut: January 15, 2013
Pattern: Simplicity 5454
Worn In: Spring, Summer
Wearability Meter: Very!
Lessons Learned: When shortening the length of a skirt, true the seams properly.

I love this skirt! The color makes me sooooo happy and the pockets are fun to have around. I wore this regularly over the summer with a number of different tops. It’s a bold color, but it still manages to pair well with both prints and solids. Win-win! I typically wore sandals or flats with it.

The one thing I goofed up on was shortening the skirt. The original pattern is a straight skirt at about calf-length, and when I shortened it I came out with a fuller skirt than I had anticipated (I wanted to preserve the original silhouette). Next time, I’ll narrow the hem to account for the fact I’ve adjusted the length. My mistake wouldn’t have been as big a deal if I had used fabric with drape, but this cotton/linen canvas is a tad stiff.

Oh well! Can’t complain. I’m just a slight perfectionist. :) I’m still excited to wear this skirt and I’d like to make more! If you like this design but have a hard time finding it, you might be interested in the similar Hollyburn Skirt from Sewaholic Patterns.

That’s it from me. I have a new shirtdress done and it just needs to be photographed. Stay tuned! In the meantime,

Happy Valentine‘s Day!