Subtle Alterations to a Not Quite Right Skirt....
I made a skirt at the beginning of the year - what I call my first blog skirt. I was determined to make a good first impression, and did a good job of an adaptation of a New Look skirt - complete with the suggested style length.
I wore it a few times in winter, but really was not happy. The skirt was just a touch too long. And proportions with a jumper or top were half/half and very dowdy looking.
I also wasn't happy with the width of the waist band - I like them just a little wider. And normally I insert zips well, but I think I was a little anxious about showing all of you my work - so I have a few wobbles on the left hand side which I had ignored, except obviously I hadn't, as I was a little irked every time I saw the offending wobblies.
I also did not like the kick pleat - I think the fabric was a little soft for it (a softer stretch cotton sateen).
So I undid it and cut of some of the length to the new hem length (yes, I made a mistake and forgot to add the allowance - easy to fix, I'll show you later...)
I re-inserted the zip on the left hand side and attached a new waistband - looks good inside now, doesn't it?
Now, when we get to redoing the kick pleat area - notice there is a little mark where thread pulled - I hate that. I tried to cover it - pens can work, but was not happy. I'll show you one of my other tricks for little issues like this later... I have turned the kick pleat into a split at the bottom of the skirt - I have sewn across the top, but hemmed the turnback by hand - slip stitch.
At top of the split, I actually make a little bar tack reinforcement - I do this with a few hand stitches. There is a "proper" way of doing this, but for run of the mill clothes, I find this works well enough and is not that noticeable. You can also anchor a hook and eye behind it - it just helps take any tension so that you don't split the seam:
In any case, it will be covered, along with the offending pulled thread with a daisy - I keep bits of guipure lace on hand for such emergencies.
Voila- A nice little quirky feature instead of a pulled thread that annoyed me:
Now I must show you what to do if you accidentally cut of the hem allowance, or maybe there is not enough fabric for a hem allowance. Make a blind hem.
I used a 1 inch (2 cm) bias binding strip and attached that. I then finished the hem by hand- very neatly. I quite enjoy hand stitching:
Much much happier:
If you look closely, you can see the little daisy (and you can see I've been wearing socks today!)
Now I love this skirt and will wear it a lot - I liked the fabric so much I actually have another skirt length put away for when this one is no longer wearable :)
Have a great weekend everyone, and tomorrow I will post an update on the Make a Garment a Month Challenge.
Sarah Liz :)
![]() |
And even I was not happy - taking photo's for blogs was a new thing for me! |
I wore it a few times in winter, but really was not happy. The skirt was just a touch too long. And proportions with a jumper or top were half/half and very dowdy looking.
I also wasn't happy with the width of the waist band - I like them just a little wider. And normally I insert zips well, but I think I was a little anxious about showing all of you my work - so I have a few wobbles on the left hand side which I had ignored, except obviously I hadn't, as I was a little irked every time I saw the offending wobblies.
I also did not like the kick pleat - I think the fabric was a little soft for it (a softer stretch cotton sateen).
So I undid it and cut of some of the length to the new hem length (yes, I made a mistake and forgot to add the allowance - easy to fix, I'll show you later...)
I re-inserted the zip on the left hand side and attached a new waistband - looks good inside now, doesn't it?
Now, when we get to redoing the kick pleat area - notice there is a little mark where thread pulled - I hate that. I tried to cover it - pens can work, but was not happy. I'll show you one of my other tricks for little issues like this later... I have turned the kick pleat into a split at the bottom of the skirt - I have sewn across the top, but hemmed the turnback by hand - slip stitch.
At top of the split, I actually make a little bar tack reinforcement - I do this with a few hand stitches. There is a "proper" way of doing this, but for run of the mill clothes, I find this works well enough and is not that noticeable. You can also anchor a hook and eye behind it - it just helps take any tension so that you don't split the seam:
In any case, it will be covered, along with the offending pulled thread with a daisy - I keep bits of guipure lace on hand for such emergencies.
Voila- A nice little quirky feature instead of a pulled thread that annoyed me:
Now I must show you what to do if you accidentally cut of the hem allowance, or maybe there is not enough fabric for a hem allowance. Make a blind hem.
I used a 1 inch (2 cm) bias binding strip and attached that. I then finished the hem by hand- very neatly. I quite enjoy hand stitching:
Much much happier:


If you look closely, you can see the little daisy (and you can see I've been wearing socks today!)
Now I love this skirt and will wear it a lot - I liked the fabric so much I actually have another skirt length put away for when this one is no longer wearable :)
Have a great weekend everyone, and tomorrow I will post an update on the Make a Garment a Month Challenge.
Sarah Liz :)
You look so great in this skirt! And the little daisy is adorable - though I had to really look for it :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you Beata - yes it's a cute touch :)
DeleteGreat fixes! It is a pretty skirt.
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
DeleteA great skirt to wear in the coming warmer months - just love your daisy trick - you are full of very clever surprises ... J
ReplyDeleteThank you Judith - I'll keep sharing my little tricks and surprises in case other people find them useful too :)
DeleteLove the daisy trick. Definitely something I would do.
ReplyDeleteYes, I love some of your solutions :)
DeleteI like the shorter length skirt. That really did give it a better look and makes it more attractive on you. Nice tips you shared with us. I really like the fabric.
ReplyDeleteThank you Linda - and always a pleasure to share tips :)
DeleteYes! I love the new length, as it matches the sporty fabric.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mary - and sporty is more "me".
DeleteNice refashion!
ReplyDeleteThank you Faye :)
DeleteThe guipure lace is a brilliant idea. Somehow your tweaks have made the outfit look younger, too - well done!
ReplyDeleteThanks Kat - and I think the shorter length is what makes me look younger - less dowdy.
DeleteSO proud you fixed your skirt. The new length is much better. SO pretty on you.
ReplyDeleteIt is, I agree - thank you Judy :)
DeleteI like the new length of your skirt, it look much better and flattering on you! Thanks for sharing a daisy trick, that is a clever idea :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you Hana - I love sharing little things that have saved me over the years, because it might help other people as well :)
DeleteWow! You did a FABULOUS job at making this skirt "right"! Nice work!
ReplyDeleteThanks GGIT :)
Delete