Sewing Vloggers

Sunday, April 10, 2016

Simplicity 1166


What Simplicity calls a "1950s Vintage" skirt is complete. I am pleased with the results and should get a lot of use out of this for work. I love wearing skirts. I like short skirts, too, and just above the knee is probably my best length. Where I work there is an open staircase that the public  is constantly near or under. It is not a place for shorter skirts, but  since I love skirts I just make them longer if they are planned to be for work wear. And this one's long! Its an inch longer than the last denim skirt as that seems to be a bit more flattering.

Forgive me for not modeling. I plan to make the white blouse on this vintage reproduction pattern and when that is complete I will model the entire outfit. In the meantime here are details to share.


Fabric:

This is made from Kaufman's Essex linen blend which I usually get from Fabric.com, amazon prime and all. It is a yarn dyed fabric made of linen and cotton threads. It appears the white threads are the cotton. In the last post I gave info on matching threads to yarn dyed fabrics. Above you can see how the gray thread is pretty unobtrusive in the topstitching. That is something you want here because of the stitching irregularity that can happen when you use one of the matching thread colors. I'm pleased with the gray and it was perfect for the buttonholes.

Pattern:  

This is Simplicity 1166. The pattern is self described as "1950s Vintage" and consists of this skirt, a half circle  with pleats and a shaped waistband that is higher in front. There is also an interesting shirt and a bra top in the pattern as well.

Things I did differently from the pattern: My seams  were all Hong Kong finished. The waistband was attached and the facing had a serged finish. It was then stitched in the ditch from the public side to secure. The pattern has you turn under the facing and ditch stitch from the front. By serging and leaving it "out" bulk is reduced, important at a waistline!  The hem is also serged and topstitched on the very edge of the hem as well as an inch and a half in.  I cut out but forgot to put in the pockets, shame on me! A snap is specified to go at the waistband seamline under the overlap. I used a pants hook instead, It's shining in the second pic below.  It's really needed as the waist is snug and there is a lot of weight in the skirt trying to pull it down. The hook keeps it all in line.


Issues with the pattern? The pleats. The pattern has lines marked on the front skirt piece to match and  make pleats. I had one leftover. There was also one pleat marking on the skirt back. Perhaps brighter souls won't have any issue but the pattern is not clear at all, IMO, on how the leftover pleats go together. Finally I figured out that they met at the side seam line. I basted them in and put the skirt on the dress form. That did not work. It made the side seams stick out and didn't fall smoothly at all. I wasn't doing that! So, I manipulated this and that and after a lot of fiddling I pleated the leftover front line to the side seam. That lay fairly smooth. The remaining ease for the back pleat was moved to the center back seam where I did a small inverted box pleat which when I tried it on seemed more flattering anyway. But it took a bit of aggravation to get to that point. You can see how above the seam ends up inside the pleat and folded. At least now it lays smoothly.

If I made this again and I might, I would just go straight to manipulating the pleats like I did in this one. Much of the skirt is on the bias and the skirt hung for a week before hemming. 

The other issue I had was the overlap of the waistband and center front. It seemed pretty meager and was just not enough in my opinion. So when I moved around the pleats I made the overlap bigger as well. I'm glad I did.  Something this pattern does, like jeans do, is that when you have pockets or pleats close to CF and there is that overlapping the pleats can look lopsided like you seen in the technical drawing. I know there is nothing you can do but it bugs me. 

Conclusion:

This is a classic skirt design and one that I love. In the summer it will be cool and flow-y. It will work great for my work and I really look forward to making a white shirt from the same pattern to wear with it. I wouldn't say "highly recommend" because the pleat issues could confuse the less experienced or the less patient as they did me. But if you are willing to work through I think you will have a good basic skirt to add to your wardrobe. 

I am not going to start the white shirt immediately. I have the fabric but need to order interfacing and will tonight. In the meantime I want to make a spring/summer bag. I love the big tapestry bag I recently made but the warm weather is coming and making a new bag will be a nice change of pace before settling in with the shirt.  Today I played with some samples for the bag. I am not decided on how this will work out yet but here is one of my samples and I think it will work well for summer.


.....................Bunny



20 comments:

  1. Terrific skirt. It will be something you wear a lot!

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  2. You are SEW smart Bunny...these pattern people should HIRE you to beta test their patterns before publication!
    I know this beautiful skirt will look terrific on you, with your tiny waist. I'd love one done in a summery lightweight floral. Great job!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Rett. Now you have me thinking floral!

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  3. The skirt is lovely! It has just the right amount of structure to hang well but looks like it will be very comfortable.

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  4. The skirt is pretty. I can't pull off pleats otherwise I would be all over that pattern. Can't wait to see it modelled with the blouse.

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  5. Replies
    1. Thanks, Ms. C. I can't wait to make the blouse.

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  6. When you look at the skirt on the dressform you can't see any of your pleat challenges because they were handled like a champ! It's a lovely skirt in a pretty color and I'm sure it will be wonderful to wear when the weather gets hot and humid!

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  7. What a beautiful skirt! You've done a wonderful job resolving those pleats.

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  8. Hey Bunny, nice post. I really commend your patience on the skirt, it certainly paid off. I just LOVE the cut of that blouse! My next project is a classic white shirt as well and I was wondering what your fabric choice for it is? Looking forward to your next adventure!

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    Replies
    1. I purchased an Italian cotton shirting from Farmhouse Fabrics. They have a really nice selection of shirtings.

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  9. This is fabulous Bunny! I love cross dyed linen and it looks wonderful in this skirt. Without your expertise I wonder how many wadders this pattern will generate. My favorite finish is Hong Kong and while more work, it makes such a pretty inside. My grandmother, who sewed, always said that the inside should be as pretty as the outside and you've certainly accomplished that.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks, Nancy, and I totally agree with your grandmother! I am wearing this skirt as we speak and have really enjoyed it. I am giving serious thought to making another in a different color same linen maybe with some piping. Glad you liked it.

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  10. I might be able to help with that missing pleat-line. One of the pleats is marked incorrectly so you may have missed it if you didn't infer the right number (they replaced a 2 with a 1). That might be it.

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