It took me a while to finish this skirt, and a bit longer to get around to wearing it, but here it is! The Hobby Horse skirt. Ta-da! I probably spent more time on this skirt than anything modern I've made in the past couple of years.
The main time consumer on this was the lining. I decided after I'd mostly constructed the skirt that it would be good to line it. The fabric is a cotton-linen canvas, but since I was making a straight skirt, I wanted it to have some structure to it. The canvas does have some shape, but the linen content does mean the fabric softens with time. I happened to have some cream-colored rayon bemberg in my bin that was the right length, so I washed it up and cut it out.
My previous issues with lining have mostly been due to poor fit at the top of the skirt, which I attribute to darts on the lining. My skirt has three sets, and it is tricky to get them all the same size between the lining and the skirt.
She suggested that it was better to simply pleat the excess lining fabric where the darts were, rather than trying to sew the darts in. Brilliant! It worked a charm, and I now have a lovely lined skirt. Her method of attaching the lining to the zip didn't work because I don't use invisible zips, but it was such a small amount of additional hand sewing, I didn't mind.
I hand sewed the inside of the waist band, which took a bit of time (and was mostly accomplished in freezing cold at the park while my girls were playing).
I know I say this about a lot of skirts when I make them, but this is my best fitting skirt to date. I do fit my skirts every time I make one, so I think that has something to do with it, but the lining really makes it feel like a nice skirt. I added a navy twill skirt to my sewing queue and decided to use up some navy bemberg I had to line it as well. Now that I'm happy with my lining method, I think I'll probably line more skirts!
I ended up with a rather big hem on this one, as I have decided that I like these skirts a smidge shorter than where I drafted the original pattern. I had gotten some lace hem tape in a grab bag of trims and decided it made for a nice finish on the skirt. I did machine the hem because I was starting to run low on patience for hand sewing with this skirt and I'm glad I did. It does look quite nice.
I really like the print on this fabric--it is Rifle and Co. for Cotton+Steel. It isn't a great color near my face, but I think the navy top helps break it up. I also have a coral three-quarter sleeve tee shirt that will work nicely for slightly warmer weather.
I was questioning whether it even made sense to have proper separates in my rotations, given how infrequently I wear them, but I decided it is nice to have a few just for variety. I'm glad I made this skirt as I learned a bunch of new things, and gained some confidence about nicer finishing.
Just the facts:
Hobby Horse skirt: Rifle and Co. Hobby Horse linen-cotton canvas fabric (from fabric.com), rayon bemberg lining (from Joann's of all places!), zip, lace hem tape, dress hook and eye, snap, Anne Adams 9481 (redrafted), McCall's 6361 (for the pockets)
Thermal henley: LLBean
Cowl: ThredUp
Tights: Foot Traffic Cotton Signature Tights in navy
Boots: KadiMaya via amazon
Earrings: etsy
Ugh! I love this print! It seems sort of Scandinavian to me, and reminds me of my grandmother.
ReplyDeleteIs the color in these photos accurate? Because if you tease out that blue color into a blouse, it could look really awesome on you!
Caryn
The periwinkle blue I thought about, but that color actually doesn't look that great on me--it tends to kind of wash me out. The navy in the print is easy to work with, however, and I have a navy linen Portrait blouse planned for warmer weather. I think the coral tshirt will be lovely as well. The colors are really great! I just wish it had been on something other than tan, as then I could have had a whole dress out of it!! The print is so wonderful, and yes, does tick a lot of Scandinavian folk art boxes for me. :)
DeleteLove it, what a fabulous print!
ReplyDeleteLike you I was dubious about making a skirt, as I'm really a dresses sort of gal. But having taken the time to draft a pattern that fits properly, I find I wear then a lot. Thanks for the lining tip, I'll try that on my next one.
I should have said I got the tip from Tilly at Tilly and the Buttons! She had a great way to make the lining attach to the zip, but you have to use an invisible zip to make it work right, and I don't use that type, so I hand sewed it to the zipper edge like you do. :)
DeleteLove it! It's so good to hear that this canvas works for garments.
ReplyDeleteI made two dresses out of other prints in this line--the folk art birds tapestry from Rifle and Co. for Cotton and Steel, and another Cotton+Steel canvas from a different designer. I love them both and wore them a TON during my winter rotation. They have nice body for cold weather clothing.
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