Hi dearest Sewing Friends!
I've been sewing all week! It has been a revelation, really immersing myself in handwork, and in following a project to completion. I finished/ almost finished a couple of garments, so this skirt is the first one.
Another amazing buy from the 50c stall in Telese Terme, down in the valley from where I live in south Italy; I saw the fabric from a distance and pounced on it! This is one of those garments that no-one in this part of the world would have interest in ;-) Mostly clothes are terribly formal, dry and conservative here. But I rushed to grab it, anyway! And I'm getting more confident with buying things even if they are WAY too small or large for me - as I know I can be inventive and make it my size...
It began much longer (in length), and with this tiny waist. Like the plaid wool trousers that I recently transformed, it was either for a funky child, or a super-slim person - my hips and botty certainly wouldn't have been welcome inside the tiny top boundary. I cut the top off the skirt, and cut out the green silky lining material to begin the transformation.
It was quite easy to make a new waistband: I just folded down the ample fabric, once I'd cut off the top few inches and original waistband, into a triple-layered band. As always, I did this without measuring, as this trains the eye to be precise, and pinned it sacurely before sewing by hand. I love doing everything really slowly; sometimes I like to use the sewing machine if there are very long lines of sewing, but I do enjoy the long hours just putting one neat stitch in front of another - it is both a meditation and a means of putting prayer and positive affirmation into the clothing I wear.
The new waistband finished a bit squiffy where it met the zip, as the circumference was smaller from the higher up fabric and bigger from where I was fixing it into the main skirt. So I used material from the cut-off to create a small lengthening strip, and then sewed that into the top of the fastening.
I also decided to fit a new zip: the old one was nice - and a lovely colour of blue, but it was a bit long, and rather than waste the length (which might be just perfect for a later garment), I chose a new zip - and a new button. I love choosing new closures... the precise closure can really make a piece of clothing!
Oh, and of course I re-added the lining - it needed obviously to be shortened, but like linings of fairly vintage clothing, it also had a bit of wear and tear.... It was a nice experience, sewing it neatly in place, with the new length adjusted. :-D
I then made sure that the edges of the closure were all lining up nicely and neatly.
And then I stepped back a bit: it was all very wide - not because I hadn't measured, but because the skirt had more to reveal! Heheh! I ironed it and tweaked it here and there, to figure out how it might best sit right...
And in the meantime, I added a lined pocket at the middle front: I love pockets! And this skirt looked just about right for having a pocket visible in the middle... This was a nice part of its transformation: it was very fiddley, and took an age, but it got me into the fun of finishing it JUST HOW I WANT IT and not how others might expect it to be.
With the pocket in place, I could better see how the width of it could be altered temporarily, by pleating it and then adding poppers/ snaps to the insides of the waistband where the pleats were - allowing me to put the skirt on, and then fit it to my waist neatly with the poppers. Yey!
All in all, this is one of those projects that was relatively easy and comfortable to do. It got easier as I went on, and the finished result was very pleasing to me. I LOVE rainbow tartan-ish fabrics, and a wool skirt like this makes wonderful winter outfit, when layered over tights or leggings, and with boots and a shorter jacket. It will make me super happy wearing it out and about: warm, practical, fun, kind-of-Scottish, and lovely and heavy how it sits and flows when I walk (like a kilt does!) - woohoo - the perfect skirt!
Much love to you all - looking forward to sharing more with the other clothes I've finished this week! I've already completed a grey wool kilt repair, a favourite winter coat fix-up, and am working on this glorious jacket with very special buttons (yes, more super-special buttons!) but which was way too tight; I'm using an ambitious technique to add a big strip of almost-sculpted wool to the underside of the coat arms... :-D
www.claregaiasophia.com
Epic sewing, epic story, epic creation
Awww, thanks so so much for commenting here, dearest @exoexplorer !! Thank you soooo much for seeing my epicicity! ;-D Blissings!
The transformation is awesome! The skirt very closely resembles a kilt, and adding the pocket makes it very practical and functional. Great job! I've always levitated around sewing but have never made an effort to get into it for real, yet lately I saw the potential need for it, because my line of work kind of demands that I come up with my own attires. I shall have to take some advice from your posts!
Yey, thank you soooo much for this brilliant comment and for being inspired, dear @drrune ! I get a lot of inspiration from the NeedleWorkMonday community too - it encourages me to keep moving forward and experimenting, trying my hand, getting it more right as I go... It's REALLY exciting to get beyond a very basic level of tailoring, in particular - so fricking excited to get to the next project! Can't wait to see what you come up with!!
You done such a great job on this skirt, you really brought it more to life. I love pockets as well.
I have a sewing machine, but much prefer hand sewing, like you said it is so meditative and I love how you sew your intentions into your clothes. Well done beautiful one xxxxxx
Thank you, dearest @trucklife-family !!
Your appreciation is so appreciated! I adore seeing your creative unfoldings and thoughts on the meaning of life too - it's really beautiful to have your encouragement! I am SOOO enjoying how my sewing ventures are progressing: I am getting glimpses of mastery and where it can take me... it feels like, once you know a couple or more languages, andother new language is easier and easier to master. A new skill or a reawakened skill with the hands gets easier and easier over a lifetime - which gives me a sense of unlimited potential!!
That is indeed a very epic and exciting transformation!! I love your handstitching, so regular and neat, lovely to look at:)
And how you designed the skirt in the front is really cool, the shape and the pocket are awesome!! I imagine you must stand out quite a bit over there, when walking the streets;)
Oooh, thank you beautiful maestra of fabrics, dear @kesityu.fashion ! Your comments are a delight indeed. I do stand out here, hahahah, most certainly!! Even if I'm dressed conservatively, haha! But mostly I wear at least one quirky element every time I exit the house - my mission is to encourage this part of the world to have a better sense of humour about second skin! Lots of comedy moments happen, because of what I wear, and it makes a lot of connection for me in the community 😍 There's still a big tradition of handmaking things and needlework arts - even if they are old-fashioned - and there are a few very interesting radical artist folk too, who also dress/ present themselves online in fantastically unique ways - here is the profile of Stella who lives up the other side of the medieval quarter: https://www.instagram.com/je_suis_bordeaux/ I think that you might appreciate her!
xx
and you are the most welcome💕
love that, whenever I do have the energy or the habit I am having fun too with dressing however outside and stand out, or as you said just to have fun..:) and for sure even if you can earn some weird looks, you also get a lot more nice or interesting interactions!
...and even if it is more conservative stiles it is still nice to see more people appreciating handmade/crafts.
she does look very interesting indeed, I'll check her out:)