Thursday, January 8, 2015

Christie's Skirt and Blouse

Christie is our fearless leader at Ardenwood.  And I am going to try my hand at making her a new outfit.  It needs to be done by April when Ardenwood's 2015 season starts.

She said she wanted something in a dark color, straight in the front for the skirt.  Since this is for her work (at Ardenwood)  she has to look period, but be able to move easily.  She needs to be able to get into it fairly quickly and easily by herself.

Several people that haven't really sewed have asked me to show all the steps to putting this together, so here goes.

This is the pattern I will be using for the skirt:


























 I will be using the version with no poufs in back and not ruffle on the bottom.

First I copy the original pattern pieces I will need in the sizes that I will need.  The tracing paper I use is actually a roll of the thin paper the doctor uses on his examining table.  But it works great for patterns.















All marks on the pattern of the size needed are copied on the paper.
Such as the arrow showing how the pattern is placed in relation to the grain of the fabric. It is the line with the arrows at each end.

Also there is the symbol for placing the fabric on the fold, at the bottom of this photo.  It is a line with an arrow at each end pointing to the line the fold goes on.















The darts for the size being used will also need to be traced.
















And the little arrowheads that mark where seams should be matched are also traced.
















The name and number of the pattern is written on each pattern along with the name of that pattern piece and number of pieces to cut.




















This pattern runs short for the skirt which ends up just right for me, but for Christie, I had to add some to the bottom of the skirt pieces.  I added a note in red to remind me in the future.
















 I then added 8 inches to the end of the skirt pieces.  The ruler must be kept parallel to the "grain" line while marking added length.
















By the way, I use "weights" to hold down the tracing paper while I am tracing patterns.















So now that we have the patterns all traced, I am off to Joann Fabrics to find material to use in the next step.





















































1 comment:

  1. Wow, I realize I have been a fool all these years. I have just cut the patter out and started. I will now use my Mothers advise and trace onto paper with all the directions and wash my fabric. You are so wise, Master Sewer.

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