FO: Black Hollyburn Skirt

I've been very good about buying fabric lately. I got on a kick of trying to catalog my stash on Trello à la Camille of Attack of the Seam Ripper. This was such a great idea when I read it last year, and I have added any new fabric and info to my trello board as soon as I can, but guys - my stash is massive. I used to think it was massive before I moved, but I got rid of more than a bucket full at my estate sale last September so I thought I was good. Then Hancock closed ... and I went to The Sewing Studio ... and I found more fabric at thrift stores then is probably good for me (but I was on the hunt for my Medieval dress and was in costume making "oh this could come in handy" mode at the time). The result has been that I have so much fabric that I am not nearly as tempted by the new and pretty as I have previously been. My stash is outgrowing my closet where it lives, which is my biggest wake-up call.

Anyway, what does that have to do with this skirt? In light of my non-fabric-buying-mood, I knew I would be safe to go on a button trip to The Sewing Studio. I was extremely close to finishing my Alecia Beth cardigan, and I wanted to have buttons on hand so I can call it done when the time came. I has looked at Hobby Lobby (my only local-ish store) but came up empty handed. So I decided to venture to Orlando and run a few errands one day, one of which was go to my favorite store :) I hit the mother load on buttons (they were clearancing entire tubes of buttons for $2 and $3), and I restrained myself on fabric except for just this one piece. In their bargain Annex there is a table of garment industry remnants that they sell for $5 per yard. This fabric was just too cool at the time, and it was a great price, so I decided to buy enough to make a Hollyburn skirt. I cut the skirt out within days, so that makes this fabric not count as stash :) Hooray! lol

I know this looks like a very boring skirt, and you'd be partially right in assuming that. The fabric is a black matte polyester with slubby lines all over. When I was in the store with the fabric, something about the fluorescent lighting made the slubs really stand out and look cool. I thought it would make a cool basic skirt - but in real life the texture isn't anything super exciting, lol. But there was something else this fabric had going for it - the party here is on the inside: this fabric is satin backed! Imagine a satin backed crepe but heavier and with a nice texture on the outside and that's this fabric. I knew it would be a great basic item with just a touch of something special, and I am always in need of a black skirt (who isn't, right?), so the satiny back side made this have no need of a lining but still feel like it has one.

I used the trusty Hollyburn skirt pattern from Sewaholic. I've made this pattern a few times now, so I knew the adjustments I needed to make. This one I did slightly different, but it still turned out with a good fit :) I need a bit more at the waist than the largest size of the pattern, and last time (on my Deep Purple Hollyburn) I added about a half inch to each seam, but that feels like a bit too much in the center front. So this time I only added to the side seams. I was slightly afraid it would put the pockets in a weird place, but all is well.

The pockets are always my favorite feature of this pattern, and these are just great, lol. They really are the perfect pocket. I always want to put my hands in them. One change I did make with this skirt is that I cut the fabric on the cross grain. When I bought it, I just figured the slubs went along the grain of the fabric, but they actually go on the cross grain. There was literally zero difference in the stretch (or lack thereof) from the grain to the cross grain (since this is totally polyester and such a tight weave), so I decided to just go with the cross grain. I can't tell any difference whatsoever in the fit, so it all worked out. I just really didn't want the slubs to go horizontally across my hips, and I'm happy with their direction this way.

I decided to go with a lapped zipper on this skirt because I think it looks a bit dressier plus I love them. They just look classy and I've really developed a knack for sewing lapped zippers. It's funny that I avoided them for so long because I just didn't understand how they worked, but now that I do I can't stop sewing them, lol.

Here's a close up of that lovely zipper :) I used a thrifted 9" zipper from my epic stash, and in this super slick inside fabric that is a little too long. As in it actually is difficult to keep the fabric up on my hips to zip it up, so I try not to open the zipper up all the way, lol. Is that a first world problem, or what? And of course the I had to add a close up of the lovely pocket :) Man, they're great.

Here's the satiny inside :) I overcast all the seam allowances because this stuff loved to fray. Another change I made was to sew the waistband as two pieces instead of just one that is folded over. The slubby texture is slightly rough, and I wanted to take full advantage of the satin side for lining, so I used two pieces of waistband to ensure I had the satin side touching my skin. It worked out really well. I even hand sewed the waistband closed! I hate doing that, lol, but since it was so nicely finished inside I decided to go the extra mile there.

I also decided to hand stitch the hem. I have a hard time hemming this skirt by machine unless I'm top stitching it, but again I wanted to keep things a bit smoother outside so I just went for it. It's a bit wavy outside, but to be honest I can't remember if I pressed it after sewing the hem, lol. So it may even out when I steam the heck out of it.

So that's my new skirt :) I know it's not super exciting to look at, but I find it very exciting. I'm always on the look out for a good black skirt! I didn't realize until I was taking photos of my recently finished makes, but this skirt looks really cute with my Sailor top. I actually managed to unintentionally make a mini capsule wardrobe out of the Sailor top, this skirt, and then another skirt and shirt that will soon be blogged. Always nice to have choices that work together!

Summary:
Fabric: 1.5 yards of black textured poly with satin back - $11.25
Pattern: Hollyburn Skirt by Sewaholic
Notions: 9" black zipper - $0.10, black knit stay tape - $0.10, black thread - $0.50
Time:
Total Cost: $11.95

OAL2016: Deep Purple Hollyburn Skirt

This project was a bit of a splurge for me (definitely guilty of retail therapy). I was going through a hard time in my personal life (I was still living split between two places and things were breaking at both locations plus a bunch of personal life junk), and I had a 15% off code to Fabric.com (affiliate link) that my mom and I planned to use together. I was already making my Hetty cardigan out of my stashed coral colored yarn, and when I went to pick a fabric for my Hollyburn skirt I kept coming up with nothing but less than thrilling options in my stash. This is ridiculous since my stash is ridiculous and I still can't believe I didn't have anything. Maybe it was my mood, maybe it was the planetary alignment - I don't know, I just knew nothing that somewhat worked seemed like anything I wanted hanging in my closet and I didn't want to waste time and resources sewing something I wouldn't wear just to fulfill an online challenge. It was about to be my birthday, and I had a coupon ... so in spite of my strict budget I splurged on some Robert Kaufman Brussels Washer Linen in a lovely deep purple color :) I adore linen skirts and wear them quite a lot, and this fabric is a 55% linen and 45% rayon so it had a lovely drape that would be great for this pattern. Elegant drape plus cool and breezy linen? Sign me up, friend. So, it may not be quite as eye catching and exciting as the dress I made last year for the Outfit Along, but this is a great wardrobe staple that will mix and match with a zillion things I've already made or thrifted so I find it very exciting :)

Given the fit issues I had with my first Hollyburn earlier in June, I added to the waist of the pattern. I made the waistband finish out at 40" so I would have a little bit of ease (I'm actually around 39" at the waist) and I added 1/2" to the sides of each panel piece before cutting. After sewing up the whole thing and inserting a beautiful lapped zipper, I tried it on to discover it was too big :/ It just sagged and really looked dumpy. *Sigh* such is my old bad habit - thinking I'm bigger than I am when it comes to sewing. Because of the order of construction, I was able to fix this issue by just taking out the lapped zipper (sob) and pulling the excess in at the center back seam. This worked out better for my body anyway as my front is longer than my back as far as my waist goes, so this made the side seams actually sit where they should on me. I took out 3/4" on each side and re-did the lapped zipper and it was great :)

I went with a lighter purple zipper because it was all I had in my stash. It turns out that purple is the color that I am lacking, so the choices were slim to none and I was lucky to have this lavender one in the right length (you can see it a bit at the top of the waistband - oops). As far as the finished skirt - I absolutely love it. This fabric is kind of magical and I'm so glad I decided to take the plunge with it. It drapes beautifully! Don't believe me? Check this out:

Look at how fluid it is! Ah, lovely. Interestingly enough, the drape seems to make this skirt fall a bit more like a circle skirt would when I wear it. Also the dark color completely hides the center front seam, so you know I'm happy about that :) The pockets are great too - as ever. Man I love these pockets...

Details! There's a close up of the lapped zipper - seriously my new favorite technique. It just feels like magic. And you can see the lavender zipper when it's open. I think it's kind of a cool touch, like it's close enough to the color family but not the same because it's cooler than you. I had to show off the pockets because they are just wonderful. The last pic above is of the hem that I HAND STITCHED. Good golly that took forever, folks. I also hand stitched the waistband closed, so you know I was really dedicated to this project. The invisible hem adds just a touch of classy to the skirt and makes it borderline fancy for my wardrobe :) All my inside seams are just pressed open and overcast (you can kind of see one there).

And let's look at that drape one more time ... Love it. I'm really happy with this skirt in case you can't tell, lol.

And here's me showing how it swishes. I feel down right girly in this skirt even though it's just a basic solid color and doesn't seem like much to write home about.

So there is Part 2 of my outfit :) Check back for the final installation very soon!

Skirt Summary:
Fabric: 2.5 yards of Brussels Washer Linen in Dark Purple - $16.50
Pattern: Hollyburn Skirt from Sewaholic Patterns
Notions: light purple zipper - $0.10, thread - $1.50, knit stay tape - $0.25,
Time: 6 hours
Total Cost: $ 18.35

Christmas FO: Ginger Bearded Beanie

My brother and i Have a sort of un-official Christmas tradition that I make him some type of ridiculous hat. I always ask him what he would like, and he always says a hat, and occasionally he has specific requests. This year he first told me he wanted a plain beanie in purple (his school color). After that was made, he requested another beard like his previous gift so that he could interchange different colors and "accessorize", lol. 

I knit the beanie with my standby pattern, basic hat by Ooo Baby Knits (a free pattern). I made it the largest size and it fits him great. Before the beard request, I was trying to fancy it up by duplicate stitching a gray letter V (his team is called the Vipers), but it just wasn't coming out well. I'm one who really needs a chart for any type of color work and I was just winging it. When the beard was added to the order, I happily took out the V, lol.

So, here's just the hat by itself :) I used Hobby Lobby's I Love This Yarn in Grape from my stash and it's so wonderfully soft. The color worked out perfectly too - he can wear it with his basketball jersey if he wants.

The beard is crocheted and I used another free pattern - Bobble Bearded Beanie by Ashlee Prisbee. This is the same pattern I used last time and it worked out great. I made the largest size and used Vanna's Choice yarn in Terra Cotta from my stash for it. This is one of those odd colors that I tend to use all the time. You wouldn't think you'd need that much bright orange yarn, but I've gone through many skeins now so I try to keep it in my stash all the time. To make the hat and beard connect, I added buttons (2 on each side) so the beard can button on and off.

So now Briggs can truly accessorize his previous green hat and brown beard by swapping them out :) His hat was quite the hit on Christmas day, and everyone had to try it on. We had a lot of fun. Merry Christmas, Briggs! I hope it keeps your head and face warm :)