I feel like I’m coming down to the wire now with the projects I had wanted to complete in November, that is, the ones that included some type of theme/sew-along and therefore had deadlines not of the arbitrarily self-imposed variety. The Monthly Stitch had “Something From a Sewing Book” as their theme this month.
Before the month even started, I had narrowed my pattern choice down to either something from The Colette Sewing Handbook or from Gertie’s New Book for Better Sewing. I’ve wanted to make up most of the patterns from both of those books for some time. I was having a hard time coming to a final decision, so in the end, I asked Pete to pick for me. He chose the Scalloped-Waist Skirt from Gertie’s book and suggested that I make it green like hers.
I used a poly-taffeta fabric; it’s pretty soft/lightweight and it isn’t underlined. I worried that using hair-canvas interfacing would give the waist too much structure in comparison to the rest of the skirt, so I used shirt-crisp interfacing instead. This also gives the advantage of being able to wash the skirt. It works quite well except that I do have to check when I sit down and stand up again that the waistband hasn’t folded over at the top. I made it according to my waist-size measurement and didn’t have to make any alterations.
The problem I had when I wore this skirt last weekend had to do partly with the weather. It’s been relatively cold and dry, and I ended up with a ton of static. When we got home, I unstuck the skirt from my legs and put a crinoline underneath it for pictures. A rare instance where it becomes more practical to wear a crinoline than not.
Another side effect of cold but dry weather is how it changed the lighting. The fabric doesn’t seem that shiny, but the pictures turned out quite shiny and metallic. In real-life, the fabric is mostly olive green w/ a hint of gold.
I really like the shape of this skirt. It feels very feminine and a bit retro/vintage, but not in a costume-y kind of way. I could see myself making another at some point. In the meantime, I’m pondering over my options for making a better blouse to go with it. I’m not so much liking the black sweater, though it was the best option I could find at the time.
Next up in my queue: First of all, a warm winter coat for Romeo ASAP! Also in the plans are a 1940’s wool jumper/jacket with blouse combo for Guinevere, a navy-blue Cake hack dress, and finishing up with this year’s stash-busting (I have a few things done and photographed that just haven’t made it to the posting queue yet.)
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