My skirts are (sort of) famous!

My recent skirt sewing binge is featured over at Stop Staring and Start Sewing, the blog of Jona Giammalva, author of "The Essential A-Line", my new favorite skirt sewing book!

My first class on fitting the pattern and making the basic A-Line skirt will be held on Fridays, November 1 and 15 from 6:00-9:00pm (Parts 1 & 2) at Material Girl Fabric Shop in Crystal Lake. You can stop in the shop or call to register. I hope to see you there!

my new favorite fall skirt

Are you tired of seeing photos of my skirt creations yet? I hope not, because after this one I've still got one more to show!

This is a tiered version from The Essential A-Line by Jona Giammalva. The book version has four different fabric tiers, but I've included just two here because I love that main fabric so much.

Fabrics shown are Kaffe's Lotus Leaf in Umber used as the main skirt fabric and his Violets in Ochre used as the bottom tier. I added the Kaffe Shot Cotton in Prune as the bias binding between the fabrics and at the hem.  This one looks fabulous with a lavender tee and jean jacket!

Once again I used a centered back zipper rather than the side invisible zipper shown in the book. These skirts are very easy to make (especially when you've worked the process six times!), but just in case I ever need to alter the sizing, the center back zipper will allow me to take in or let out the side seams to adjust the fit without ripping out the zipper. A side seam invisible zipper is less conducive to alterations.

This skirt is lined with a poly/cotton blend broadcloth and includes a waistband facing, just like many of the others I've made. You can see more of my Essential A-Line skirts and read more details about how I've constructed them by clicking here and here.

Next up for skirts - inverted pleats!

P.S. If you are a local reader, my two-session Essential A-Line basic skirt class will be held on Fridays, November 1 and 15 from 6:00-9:00pm.

these skirts aren't just for summer

These are fall skirts! I've now finished three more skirts using the book The Essential A-Line by Jona Giammalva (previously blogged about here.)

I cannot say enough good things about this book! As you probably know, I love skirts, and this book is by far the best one I've seen to help you make your own fitted pattern that can be varied in so many ways.

The first skirt here is the basic A-Line constructed as directed in the book. It has a side seam invisible zipper and traditional (slippery fabric!) lining. What do you think of that fabric? I can wear ANY color with it! It is called "Effervescence" in Jewel by Robert Kaufman. The fabric is printed with a border running along the selvage on one side, but I was able to cut around that.

Can you see that zipper? No, you cannot, because it is invisible!

Next up is a variation of the basic A-Line. You may recognize this AMH print because I already have another skirt made from it!

This time I changed the pattern from the book to utilize a center-back zipper installation. Since I'm going to be teaching some beginning sewists how to make these skirts, I think a regular centered zipper is far easier to master than an invisible one.

I also added an interfaced waistband facing to this version because I think it helps the skirt to lay better around your middle section.

The lining is a poly/cotton blend broadcloth that is layered together with the main fabric, so it does not hang freely as a traditional skirt lining would. This gives the skirt a bit of a heavier feel (perfect for cooler weather!) while still blocking out any sunshine "see-through".

The hem is encased in a bias binding - one of the hem variations shown in the book. This fabric is one of my all-time favorites: Paperweight in Gypsy by Kaffe Fassett.

And lastly, my version of the book's Patchwork skirt. The author made her patchwork skirt with all 5" squares, but I was inspired by another skirt I saw over the summer made from many different sized cuts of fabrics. I got together with a friend of mine a few weeks ago and we each made one of these skirts (similar but different due to fabric layout) utilizing a shared set of 16 fat quarters. I'll share another post soon with photos of that sewing session - so fun!

Again I added the center-back zipper and waist facing.

And the bias binding hem. This hem fabric is Oval Elements in Licorice by Art Gallery Fabrics.

These three fall beauties are now hanging in the window of my LQS advertising my upcoming November class! I've structured the beginning basic skirt class in two three-hour sessions to be held in the evenings.

Then in 2014 I'm planning to add more classes so students can make some of the book's variations of the basic A-Line skirt. Currently there are two versions on the cutting table in my sewing room - the inverted pleat skirt and the tiered skirt - with a Friday deadline! Must get busy sewing!

Enjoy the week!!