Lessons in Denim

On Day 31 of Me-Made-May I was rocking a brand new garment that I have yet to properly introduce to you. A little denim skirt using the Simplicity 2451 pattern that I treated myself to after successfully completing Me-Made-March. This pattern has a curved front yoke with hip pocket and a pleated front panel. It's kind of tulip shaped but not too, you know, poofy.

I made it using some beauuutiful soft denim that I've had in my stash for years (Stash Bustin'? Tick!). I picked up the two smallish pieces of this denim in a charity shop in Southend for a quid each, or some similarly conducive amount. I was particularly buzzed because it's broken twill denim, which has a weave that looks like zigzags or w's, rather than the usual diagonal twill weave denim is normally cranked out in. Broken twill denim is often used by Wrangler and it reminds me of the 1970's and I LOVE it. So I was clinging to these pieces for an age as they weren't long enough to make jeans from. Well, I'm happy I waited at this skirt pattern worked well in denim I think.

However, I didn't want to just whip up a dark blue tulip skirt because I've already made a dark blue tulip skirt, this needed something to make it a little different. Enter: piping! Now, I've long been an admirer of piping, I even confessed my love for it recently on the Colette Patterns blog, but I've always been a little afraid storing the concept as 'something to try in the future'. Well the future is now people!


I bought this cool bias binding and the closest thing my local haberdasher's had to cord and used this Burdastyle tutorial on how to make my own piping. Easy as. And the I used this tutorial on how to actually sew the stuff in. Now I'll be honest with you, I didn't do all the hand tacking that they advised, only on the trickiest parts, but I'm really happy with how it turned out. Of course, it made the make up of the skirt a lot slower, but it was totally worth it for a more interesting and nicely finished garment.

Another bit of practicing what I preach came in the form of contrast pocket bags and facings. I didn't want to use denim for these because, A) I didn't have enough, and B) they would have been too bulky. So I cut up a tiny floral skirt I found on the street and used that instead. In fact, the skirt was so tiny (but not a child's, according to the label) that there wasn't much left after I'd taken what I needed! The floral fabric had some stretch in it, so I used it cross-grain instead on the facings. It wasn't an ideal choice, but with a bit of stitching in the ditch and the facings are nicely trapped down and behaving themselves.

Another thing about this style of skirt is that it makes me wear longer tops tucked in (see top pic) so the front detail is visible and to prevent strange front bulges. This is something that I NEVER do as a rule, but it felt nice to be forced out of that bizarrely entrenched condition and look at my other garments in a slightly different way and create a silhouette I wouldn't have considered otherwise. I have a theory that it was growing up in the 1990's that makes me so adverse to tucking tops in, having any sock showing if I'm wearing trainers with a skirt or shorts or wearing back packs on two shoulders! Does any one else feel like this?

The final fit of this skirt is a leeetle big. It sits on the hips ok, until you start to walk, then it sometimes does the migrating thing, which doesn't matter if you've got your hands in your pockets to anchor it down! It's very comfortable, but when I use this pattern again, I'll make a size or half a size smaller so it sits a little higher and tighter. I am pleased however about the finish of this garment. I really took my time to make everything look as professionally finished as I could, facilities and skills permitting. I also got to learn some new skills and apply some practices that make this item, for me more than just a cute new denim skirt. Which, of course, is also what it is!