Monday 6 June 2011

Ginger Skirt -The construction


Once again, Colette Patterns have not disappointed and delivered a gorgeous pattern with dead easy-to-follow instructions that anyone (and I mean anyone) can do one of these. Fair enough, it is aimed at beginners so this is to be expected but I have struggled with so called easy patterns before so I thought it's worth the mention.

For my version of Ginger, I initially though of adding piping, just like the first Ginger Sunni, from A Fashionable Stitch did, but changed my mind quickly after. The fabric is a solid, simple teal and I wanted something I could wear dressed up or dressed down, depending on shoes and accessories. I thought a touch of lace would be ideal and decided to add it to the waistband. It was a easy job to do and I followed the same rules to those when doing my Crepe dress.
The construction of the waistband and its facing is sheer genius. I will definitely use this method with other waistband facing I'll do in future. It basically allows for a extra neat finish with little effort. When I say little effort I forget the fact I understitched the facing by hand. I don't think you can do it by machine on this waistband, as the corners are too tight (if that makes any sense). If you done a Ginger and understitched by machine, I would love to hear how. Saying that, now that I'm comfortable hand stitching I actually enjoy it! For the first time ever, I used a point turner, to help create pointy edges but almost ripped through the fabric so afraid of using it again. Anyone had similar experiences?
In terms of seams finishes, I decided to trim them down and finish them with my machine overlock foot. It's a very neat finish!
The skirt ask for an invisible zipper and I don't usually shy away from them. I was keen to make it as invisible as possible, as my previous attempts usually show a bit of the zipper tape. And in this point lay the only frustrations I had with this skirt. I actually did a superb job the first time I stitched the zipper, and managed to sew very close to zipper teeth, in a consistent manner on both sides. And amazingly enough that was a problem! The zipper didn't close after, I suspect because the stitching was in the way of the pull tab. I had to unpick (which was very painful) and sew a bit away from teeth, which means it's not completely invisible.
Isn't this a contradiction? Has this happen to you? Keen to know.
The zipper doesn't lay as wonky as this on me. My dress form needs adjusting .
All in all, this was a brilliant project, that can be done easily and quickly. Thank you Sunni for hosting this sew along!

9 comments:

  1. I love the lace overlay on the waistband :) I've never done an invisible zipper, I thought they were made in such a way that you could sew really close. But I've never inspected one so don't know how the pull tab thingy works. I'll have to give it a go at some point.
    Ashley x

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  2. Thanks for that review. Intrigued by the waistband facing.

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  3. I agree - the lace detail on the waistband is absolutely perfect! Beautiful job, as with everything I've seen you sew so far! xoxo

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  4. Yes, thank you for the review - I'm also intrigued by the waistband! And not having sewn an invisible zip yet (but about to) I will take note of your learnings this time. Lovely skirt - adorable colour & hope to see you modelling it!

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  5. Yes, this has happen to me to with a zipper. A small amount of the thread catches into the teeth and you can't zip it up. Not fun unpicking a zipper for sure. You did a such a wonderful job on this skirt. It's a great shape. I do hope you will make a few more, so very pretty. After seeing your skirt I am thinking of getting this very same pattern.

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  6. I cannot for the life of me sew an invisible zipper and actually make it invisible. I tend to use regular dress zips and sew them in by hand. I feel like I have more control that way. You'll have to let us know if you ever figure out "the trick" to invisible zippers.

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  7. First off, it's gorgeous and I am intrigued to see that facing method. Secondly - there are few, ahem, challenges I haven't confronted with a zipper. Though I do find the invisibles to be the safest in terms of clean insertion, I've had the no-close due to stitching too close to the teeth. I've picked it out (painstakingly) only to find that the next insertion is even crazier than the last. Point is, I feel your pain.

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  8. Thank you all for your lovely words! I am quite pleased with it, especially the lace overlay. It makes a simple skirt look a little bit special.

    Glad to hear I'm not alone with invisible zips. And don't be put off by this, if you never tried inserting one. You might find out you do it without a problem.

    The facing is very clever. Maybe it's not anything new but for me it was a revelation and a very easy, quick and neat way of finishing a waistband.

    Scruffybadger: If you go one post back in my blog you can see me modelling it. I posted things the other way round this time.

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  9. Definitely lace given the admiration to the skirt! It's delicious as well! Of course, place the invisible zipper can be a pain sometimes, especially if there is much in the tissue thickness, but you have to practice, so it surpasses everything.

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