Meta circle skirt V2.0

Thought I'd be one and done, didja?

Well, I'm back, and this time with ANOTHER meta circle skirt. Although I complained about not feeling very comfortable in V1.0 due to using a pretty lightweight fabric, I do still wear it because I find a circle skirt to be very flattering overall (Plus, who doesn't love twirling around in one?).

I decided some time ago that I wanted to be extra, as the kids would say (Seriously, I have to push down the "extraness" with every make... you guys are getting the watered down version with most makes 😳), and make a maxi circle skirt, so when I found this 108" wide quilt backing cotton sateen (at a store I had a giftcard for, no less!), I felt that the stars had aligned and decided to give'r.

With 108" to work with, I was able to cut a giant doughnut shape into my fabric just as I would have if I was making a shorter circle skirt. I decided to put pockets in, so I ended up making two more seams than I had to. I probably could have put the pockets higher up, but am just glad they are there. Not using a purse is so liberating!

Embrace the wrinkles, I took the pictures after wearing it, k?

I used a nice metal zip for the back. I figured the skirt has a weight to it, it would be nice to have a weightier zip on it. I didn't worry about pattern matching. This thing is so huge that you can't always see the seams in between the folds of fabric.

I used horsehair braid to finish off the hem (a.k.a. my new fav method), but decided to forego the blind hem in favour of actually getting to wear it out to the theatre/not spending a million hours hemming.

 As with pretty much any other time I make a circle skirt, I cut the waist to be much smaller than I should. Either my math is wrong (pretty sure it's not), or the waist stretches out way too easily (yes I staystitch), because my waists usually end up too big. This one, however, with the smaller cut ended up great, and I actually had to trim a touch off the top to get it to fit my waistband.

Overall thoughts:
Pros- extra swishy, feels very fancy, large pockets, nice weight and feel to fabric, hangs prettily, tons of compliments from strangers!
Cons- pockets too low (my fault), makes washroom trips challenging (like there is a LOT of fabric here people), not super practical for day-to-day use, gets toasty af in the summer (my fault for picking a hot day to wear it out lol).

Although it is super fancy, I still might wear this dude into work on occassion. If nothing else, it will be nice for when the hubs and I go out for a nice dinner, go to the Shaw Fest to catch a show, or have a wedding or other fancy thing to attend. It was sitting on my PIP pile for so long I'm just glad to have completed it.

Would I recommend you try a maxi circle skirt? Yeah I actually would. I said to Trev that if I  knew how to sew when we were getting married I would have been wearing this skirt (albeit in a different fabric), with a homemade top or bodysuit. I think this could be really scrumptious in a velvet or wool, something warm and cozy for winter, or something sheer (with a slip) for summer.

I wish I had gotten a .gif or video of it twirling to really give a sense of how nice it moves, but I didn't, so instead, here's an outtake:

Would you try a maxi circle skirt? What fabric would you make it in?

GOOD THINGS COME IN THREES Axel // Linden

It has been a couple of weeks of intense sewing over here in the McTavish household. I entirely credit the upcoming school year (now since started) and all of my old (like five years +) RTW clothing that is covered in grease stains and holes (nothing says professional like wearing rags to work).

Making good on my last post complaining explaining my complete and utter disregard for properly matching patterns to their proper fabrics, I went ahead and purchased a few patterns that would work well with what I have on hand (yay stash busting!).

Two of those patterns are the Linden sweatshirt and the Axel skirt. To be honest I wasn't entirely sold on Axel until I saw Megan's killer striped version (SWOON) and only then thought how I may just be able to make it work.

FIRST// Linden v.1

I had read that the Linden was pretty roomy so I made a wearable muslin using some leftover fabrics from previous projects. I had to do some creative piecing as a result, but I am pretty happy with the look overall.

I cut a size 6 in the bust, 8 in the waist, and 14 in the hips as per the measurement chart and indeed found the fit a bit roomy for my preferences (although it doesn't really look it except for maybe in the photo above).

I added a wee pocket just for some visual interest to break up the grey.

Overall opinion of the pattern at this point: I was surprised the seam allowances were so small but then after giving it some thought I really liked it. I saved a lot of time from trimming my seam allowances down for neatness. I like this sweater and will wear it but it will probably be my camping/lounging-around-the-house sweater more than my wear-out-to-a-fancy-dinner sweater.

SECOND // Axel v.1 Linden v.2

My "sexy" come hither face?!

Axel: This is my first version of Axel, in a terrible, almost scracthy, black, vintage (80s) polyester that almost ended up in a donate bin, but I thought the better of it figuring I should make a wearable muslin of this new-to-me pattern before ripping into my soft, supple ponte.

I cut a small waistband and a large hip. I actually tried to grade between the sizes by making my own curve from the waistband to the hip, similar to the original pattern, but found I had to pinch out a ton of fabric that was weirdly pooling just above my hips at the widest part. This first version of the skirt is snug (you can see the pulling across the front) and I found the slit comes up too high for comfort, but I think this has to do a lot with me measuring my natural waist instead of where I would prefer to wear the skirt. As a result of this natural waist measurement, the waist creeps up and thus, so does the skirt. In the end, I'll wear the skirt, but not to work (maybe a date night?).

Overall opinion of the pattern at this point: I actually didn't fix the weird pooling until after my third version so I was a little frustrated with the fit, and the fact that it was riding up to be risque, BUT despite this I was SO happy that from cutting to finish, this pattern took me two hours to complete. We are talking world record speed sewing here folks. Also, I do like the slit and the fact that the skirt is midi giving it the sexy librarian vibe. I was very excited to try out a second version very soon.

Linden: After the roominess of the first version, I figured I could try cutting down to a straight size four and get away with it. I went for version two this time, again using some leftover fabric, and let me tell you I don't want to get out of this top. It is my new favourite thing! It is comfy and trendy, and yet not so trendy that I couldn't get away with wearing this in a few years.The fabric itself is a poly/rayon ponte knit that is very light for ponte (I got away with wearing it in our ridiculous summer heat a few times), which gave me an idea for v.3.....

THIRD // Linden v. 3 Axel v.2

Linden: I had just recently been talking to a certain someone about the Penny Raglan from Grainline when I was in the process of finishing my second version of Linden. When I saw how well the Linden worked in a lighter weight fabric, I got the idea to make Linden in this luscious drapey navy rayon jersey, essentially mimicking the Penny Raglan, but with longer sleeves (this could easily be remedied but I actually like the longer sleeves on this version).

The only thing I would do different if I tried this again is I would use a slightly longer neckline binding piece. I'm not sure if my neckline stretched out or if the binding just wasn't stretchy enough to fit, but I really had trouble getting it to fit. I may also cut the sleeve length if I use a lightweight fabric. I've already got two more Lindens cut out and ready to go, one of each version, using a nice fuzzy sweater knit I've been hoarding since last year. I can't wait for those!

Axel: So, let me start by saying I almost got rid of this fabric because I felt it "wasn't me" (seriously July Carlee, WTF?). When I got the Axel pattern, I saw the fabric in the pile and rethought my decision. This is also a vintage 80s polyester, but this one is much less scratchy than the black poly for version one.

Gratuitous leg shot

Some changes that I made: I added about two inches of length above the slit so that the slit would still retain its angle without potentially exposing my underwear. I then cut maybe two inches off the bottom, but this was only because there wasn't much of this fabric left and the pattern would not have fit otherwise. I graded from a small at the waist to an extra large at the hip. I still have the same problem with the skirt inching up (I didn't realize the waist issue mentioned above until after both skirts were made), but the extra length above the slit gives me a bit of wiggle room before I need to yank the skirt down. For my next Axel, I will properly measure out where I want the waistband to sit instead of at my natural waist to prevent this. This fit is much less snug, but still very form fitting (a.k.a. fitted but not unflattering to a pear girl like me).

Overall I am really quite pleased with this version of the skirt in particular and have gotten quite a few compliments on it at work already. I hope to make some more soon but its more likely that a few other projects will have to move up the queue first for practicality's sake. I highly recommend Axel, especially since it is such a quick make (2 hours the second time too...woo hoo!). A great stash buster and a great sewjo booster. I look forward to my next versions!

What about you? Have you tried either of these patterns? Do you want to now? What are your thoughts?

{New Jam}

Clueing for Looks

A few years back, Shanen came over for an evening hangout and--long story short--I got her hooked on Sherlock. So for Christmas two years ago, I thought it would be fun to make her a Sherlock skirt. We only just got around to taking pictures now.

I saw a few Sherlock skirts on Etsy, but figured that if I could find the fabric on Spoonflower (which I did here), then I could easily make one myself. You may recognize the overall theme of this skirt as "Bored Sherlock".

I picked up one yard of the cotton poplin, and figured it would be enough for a subtle gathered skirt.

Channeling the Sherlock collar flip.

When my local Fabricland went out of business a few years ago, I also bought them out of their wide black elastic. I figured that since this skirt was a surprise, I didn't want to sew a skirt with any major fitting. Shanen's mom helped out by measuring her (telling her it was for something that she was working on), so that I could get close to her sizing. I cut the fabric into a rectangle and stretched the elastic to fit the length of fabric, plus seam allowance. Easy-peasy.

I made sure to do my best to not end up with a weird pattern placement on the butt.

Can you spot the magnifying glass? Girl is dedicated to the theme.

I lined the skirt with a lovely blue Bemberg Rayon.

I also bound all the seams with blue binding, but didn't get a photo. One of my favourite parts of the skirt, however, is this:

Wait, what?
THIS:

I was trying to think of a way to add the smiley face from the wallpaper in the show to the skirt. At first I was planning on getting some fabric paint, then it hit me...embroidery!

I added a patch pocket, because, let's be real, all skirts are better when they have pockets, and then I did a simple split stitch smiley face. I was even extra careful to match the pattern of the pocket to the skirt.

Doing her best to channel Sherlock's thinking face.

Overall I am super pleased with how this turned out, an luckily, Shanen was too.

There is no better way to find fellow Sherlock fans in the world than to wear a skirt made out of his wallpaper print.

Oh! And let's not forget the best outtake of the "shoot":

Someone was having trouble keeping a straight face.

{Honey, you should see me in a crown}