so i was casually wandering through the john lewis haberdashery... not looking to buy anything, honest... when i found kittycat fabric:
comme ci!
so homeward I bore a treasured bag of textilian fab-ness, and i made me this:
I had a look at a pleated skirt I already own, then made it without a pattern. I am reallyreally pleased with how it came out, because all the seams and pleats are neat, and the length is great... and it has kittycats all over! (prrrrrrr) It is pretty simple to make... I could write a tutorial if anyone wants...
loving home to comments offered
TUTORIAL
This skirt is made from 1m of fabric, so the length is based on that, but adjust as you wish!
FRONT OF SKIRT
1) Cut 45cm of fabric (this makes the length of the skirt). The width needs to be half your waist (or where you want the top of the skirt to sit on you, do not underestimate this measurement!), plus 80cm plus minimum 3cm for seam allowances.
2) Hem the fabric (diagram 1)
(I did this by folding the edge of the fabric under twice, ironing, and hand stitching it down with a diagonal stitch, making the skirt 43cm long, but hem how you wish really… but it’s easier to do this before putting the pleats in.)
3) Mark out the lines shown in diagram 2 for the pleats with tailors chalk.
(Use measuring tape etc to make it neat and accurate (the numbers show the cm between each line) and measure from the centre so each side is equal.)
4) Now fold the pleats along the lines. (See diagram 3) From the front, they should appear to lie AWAY from the centre. Pin them in place and IRON well.
5) Now get the sewing machine out. Using a straight stitch, sew along the edge of each pleat from the top of the skirt to 12cm down (diagram 4)
BACK OF SKIRT
6) Cut 2 pieces of fabric 45cm long, and ¼ your waist measurement, plus 56cm plus minimum 3cm seam allowances wide. Hem as before, making sure the lengths are equal to the front piece. These pieces make up the back of the skirt.
7) Measure out the lines as shown in diagram 5 on the 2 pieces (one a mirror-image of the other… measure away from the center back)
Fold, pin, iron and sew the pleats as before, with the pleats appearing to lie away from the centre back.
9) Pin the two back pieces right side together along the center back. Sew these together (you have allowed for a minimum 1.5cm seam allowance), leaving 10cm at the top to insert a zip. Tack this 10cm gap closed.
10) Lie the front piece and the back piece together right sides together. The top, bottom and pleats in the fabric should line up. Pin the pieces together. Now measure ¼ your waist measurement plus 1cm from the center on the top edge of the fabric, mark this.
11) From this mark, measure a further 15cm on the bottom edge. (see diagram 6)
12) Draw a straight diagonal line between these marks. Pin or tack along this line and check the fit of the skirt. Cut 1.5cm away from this line (for seam allowance), and sew along this diagonal line. (repeat on other edge of skirt)
N.B. I finished my seams by folding the raw edge under itself and sewing it, but if your fabric does not fray easily, you can simply finish the edge with pinking shears.
WAISTBAND
13) Cut a 10-14cm wide piece of fabric that is the length of your waist plus 3cm. This is for the waistband.
14) Fold this piece in half wrong sides together (so it is 5-7cm wide), pin and iron.
INTERFACING WAISTBAND (optional)
15) Cut a piece of firm interfacing that is the length of your waist, and the width of your folded waistband minus 1.5cm. Place inside the folded waistband, and sew along the top edge. (see diagram 7)
16) Unfold the waistband, and pin one edge right sides together all round the top of the skirt. Sew 1.5cm from the edge, then fold the waistband up so the seam is on the INSIDE of the skirt and the waistband extends above the top of the skirt.
17) Fold the other edge of the waistband 1.5cm under itself (it helps to iron the fold). Re-fold the waistband in half so that the un-sewn edge is on the INSIDE of the skirt.
You can fold the waistband over such that it covers the seam attaching the other edge to the skirt.
18) Pin this edge on the inside of the skirt. Hand sew it down.
ZIP
19) You now need to insert a zip into the back. I did this by placing the front of the zip against the tacked-together gap at the back, pinning the sides of the zip to the skirt, and sewing through the zip and the skirt as close as possible to the teeth of the zip. I also sewed a hook and eye above the zip to completely close the gap.
