Breaking the rules

Rule breaking, especially when you sew, is usually a recipe for disaster.  But sometimes the universe works in your favour, and you find yourself having a win for a change.

I picked this skirt up in a second hand store. A lovely, well worn denim, with a really nice coffee coloured raw dye appliqué. It was a long skirt, and a couple of sizes too small, but I could immediately see what I could do with it.

And here is my first rule breaking. I probably should have measured properly, to ensure I got the length right. Instead I folded the skirt straight across, til I got to a point where it would go comfortably across my middle. I figured that given how I carry my weight in front more than back, this would give me the ease I would need. Then, just cut it off. This gave me a skirt that was sort of midway between an A-line and straight skirt.

A quick try on showed that it was a little firm across the hips to get away with just an elastic waist. I unpicked the side seam and inserted a zip.

I roughly cut two pieces of quilting cotton the same shape as the waist. These were stitched together at one side seam, and the I bound the bottom hem with satin bias binding.

These I then attached to the waist edge, turned to the inside, and topstitched along the top edge.

On the back, I measured a width, and then topstitched again 2.5cm down, to create a channel for the elastic. I anchored the elastic at the zip side, and then threaded it through until I came to the other side seam. Pulled up the elastic, did a couple of try ons. Once it was tight enough. I anchored that side down, stitching all the way to the edge of the facing.

After ages trying to perfect fit, I have come to the conclusion that the shape of my hips just works better with an elastic back. And since I normally don’t wear shirts tucked in, I am not bothered by it.

I am genuinely surprised how well this worked out. Its a wearable skirt, at a good (not frumpy) length.