A Tangent in Voile

Summer in New England this year has been weird and wimpy. The dogs days have been few and far between.

On one hand, this is wonderful. Already, in August, it feels like fall. I’ve worn pants a few times, turned off the AC, packed my swimsuit away until next year.

But is the fall weather here to stay? I’m banking on summer making a reappearance, no matter how briefly. In fact, I worked on my wardrobe just in case I’m right with another flirting the issue skirt, by Anna Maria Horner and made in one of her voiles. I made one back in May. This latest iteration is pretty much exactly the same; I tweaked some of the measurements just a bit.

If the idea of sewing clothes intimidates you, this is the skirt for you. There’s no pattern to work from: you’re really sewing four big rectangles together and adding some elastic to the waist. I find voile a little annoying to work with (give me a hearty quilting cotton any day!). This skirt is so easy to construct, however, that you will have no need to unpick stitches and risk hurting the delicate fabric.

Can I just say that my other noteworthy finish of the week was Kate Racculia’s Bellweather Rhapsody? A skirt and a novel wrapped up in the same week that there’s no summer school, no camp? Yeah, I’m feeling pretty good, but still anxiously awaiting the start of school! (If you haven’t read my ode from earlier in the week, rest assured that I’m a better sewist than poet.)

Linking up to TGIFF at Devoted Quilter and Finish It Up Friday, as well as Sew Cute Tuesday ...

A Flirty Little Folks Skirt

Piecing a quilt top can be intimidating. After hours of cutting fabric and sewing the individual blocks, matching the seams up for a clean finished product can be a tiresome process—and it’s one that I’m still trying to perfect. At the end of it, however, you’re working with a big, flat rectangle. I like sewing rectangles; there’s safety in rectangles!

Sewing clothing is a whole other matter. There’s little forgiveness in something you intend to wear for the whole world to see, instead of, say, something you fold up and let live on the back of your couch.

Following the lead of Rachel, of Stitched in Color, I faced my sewing-clothing fears and came up with a lovely version of Anna Maria Horner’s Flirting the Issue skirt, in some AMH fabric, no less.

A few winters ago I tried my hand at AMH’s Figuring the 8 scarf. It was super easy to make, but I was never fully satisfied with the results (in other words, I never wear it!). The original pattern called for a velveteen front with a voile lining. I used voile for both the front and lining. Maybe if I had used something heavier, like the suggested velveteen, for the front, it would lie nicer? In any event, I feel as if I’m wearing a neck brace, not a scarf. (Note to self: find the time to trim off a few inches of the width of that scarf, and see whether you like it better.)

My foray into scarf making, however, gave me just enough extra fabric to tackle a Flirting the Issue skirt. Like the scarf, this skirt came together super fast. I wasn’t sure that I’d like the overall cut (I’m a tailored pencil-skirt kind of girl), but it works. And it’s crazy comfortable.

I used AMH’s Village Path, from her Little Folks line, in lilac. On the bolt the wavy stripes are horizontal, but for my skirt I oriented them vertically. I like it!

What would I do differently the next go-round?

(1) I’d make the waist a bit shorter. This skirt does look best when worn at your natural waist. (I measured a bit below my belly button for this version.)

(2) I’d consider finishing the seams. I’ll probably handwash this skirt anyway, which will reduce the wear on the seams, but it never hurts to make your seams as pretty—and strong—as they can be.

(3) I’d avoid rookie cutting mistakes! Sigh. I cut the back of my skirt six inches too short and had to sew on the difference, so there’s an extra vertical seam. At least you can’t see it unless you’re really looking.

This project rejuvenated my interest in sewing clothes, but I truly need to wrap up some quilting projects. My skirt tangent has come to an end. Back to quilts!