FO: Quill Peggy Skirt

After making my new Sailor Top, I found myself with yet more sewing time thanks to being sick for a few weeks (ugh,I know). Let's call this sewing time the only perk of that illness, lol. So it only made sense that I should make the skirt I planned to wear with the Sailor Top next, right?

This is the outfit I managed to make - and it's kind of ... eh... I mean it's not awful. When I first finished this skirt and put the whole thing together, I was really bummed. As I mentioned before I bought the top fabric specifically because it was the best fabric I could find to coordinate with this skirt fabric. The skirt fabric definitely came first - I love this print and the quality - and after a whole shopping day finding nothing else I went with the quilting cotton for the top since I knew I would have a hard time matching this skirt with anything but a plain white t-shirt, which just feels boring to me now. I did wear this out on my birthday (with my yellow Swedish Hasbeens) and a girl who works at Anthropologie complimented my whole outfit, so maybe it's not as bad as I thought originally. Anyway, let's talk about this skirt, shall we?

This is the Peggy Skirt by Blue Ginger Doll Patterns. I've made this pattern few other times and I always plan to make more. It's a great high waisted skirt with tucks at the waist and adorable pockets that gape away from the body. I did my usual adjustment of shortening this by about 4 or 5 inches (the pattern is made in a more vintage midi length) just because I like knee length skirts. No changes other than that since this is a fairly easy skirt to fit. The fabric is called Quill designed by Valorie Wells for Robert Kaufman and it's a cotton/linen blend. Guys, I love this fabric. It's firm enough to feel secure wearing it but so breathable. One of the things I like most about this pattern is that the skirt kind of bells away from your legs, and this fabric really helps with that shape the pattern creates. And it doesn't wrinkle as bad as I thought it would - yay, lol.

As I hope you can tell, I went to great pains with my pattern matching on this skirt. These large medallion shapes are lovely, but they would look like crap if they didn't line up right and it would completely distract the eye. I spent quite a bit of time matching up the design, and it looks almost perfect everywhere except where the side seams flare out. Technically these seams are matched as well, but the flare interrupts things. Since I had to choose what would match I went with the front and back seam and the pockets. You can see how I still tried to keep the medals in line in the above photo though.

The back seam I am pretty stinking proud of, lol. It isn't totally perfect, but at a glance that seam basically disappears - exactly what I was going for. This was my first time matching a print this large, so I'm really thrilled with my results. There is even a lapped zipper in that seam :)

Check out that shockingly bright zipper! I love doing lapped zippers for many reasons - they look so tidy and I find them more enjoyable to insert - but a big reason is for the opportunity for coordinating but not "matching" zippers. I had this acidic yellow zipper in my stash (can you believe it?) and it is the exact color of the yellow in the fabric. This is a metal zipper from the 60s, which I'm also quite happy about because those things last forever. So while no one will really see it but me, I love how this design choice makes the skirt feel extra cool. I know that sounds silly, but there it is.

And of course you can't talk about this pattern without highlighting the awesome pockets :) My hand is covering it here, but you can see in the earlier photo at this angle that I pattern matched the pocket lining (and it turned out really well). I adore these pockets, folks. Do they make my hips look wider? Yes. But I feel that you can see it's the pockets that do this, not my body, so it contributes to the design in my opinion. And they just beg you to put your hands in them as they are open all the time :)

And I couldn't talk about pattern matching without giving the best prize ever to the front waistband seam. Check that out, ya'll! I think because I haven't done a ton of pattern matching, I am always surprised and thrilled beyond belief when it works out, lol. I'm so proud of that waistband seam. I just feels like magic that it worked.

And some close ups of the details. I used a large acid yellow vintage button from my stash (which I love). And you can see that pop of yellow in the zipper here as well. And I just had to show that lovely pattern matching again close up :) I stitched in the ditch to secure my waistband, and you can just barely see the stitching if you look close. I also should mention that I hand stitched the hem to get a truly blind finish.

So that's my newest Peggy skirt :) It's comfy, it's pretty, it's pattern matched. What more could you want? This skirt really taught me that taking your time with cutting out can pay off in a big way. Incidentally I found a shirt in Anthropologie that is the perfect color match for the yellow.green in the print (and it was on sale!). Being from Anthro, it's a very detailed and different type of shirt - it's all eyelet and lace with a high collar - so I'm curious to see how much I wear it because all together this will be quite the attention grabbing outfit, lol. I'm still on the fence with what top to wear with this skirt, but I can tell you it will be worn! I love this skirt and I am determined to make my fears of it being a wardrobe orphan unfounded. Yay for projects that pay off!

Summary:
Fabric: 2 yards Quill by Valorie Wells Cotton/Linen blend - $9.70
Pattern: Peggy Skirt by Blue Ginger Doll
Notinos: yellow 7" zipper - $0.10, knit stay tape - $0.25, Pellons SF 101 - $0.50, blue thread - $1.50, button - free
Time: 4 hours
Total Cost: $ 12.05

FO: Plaid Peggy Redo

Here's a project that was actually 4 years in the making! lol I'm so glad it's finally done and on my bod. 

I originally bought this fabric back in July of 2012 during The Sewing Studio's big bi-annual sale. It was a designer remnant, so I'm not sure of the content. It's yarn dyed and woven with pretty large strands of thread, some of which are stretchy making this a "stretch woven" (which I now avoid like the plague) but this didn't behave like a normal stretch woven in my experience. Back then I wouldn't have known the difference anyway, lol. I bought this with the intention of making a Picnic Blanket Skirt with the tutorial on Tilly and the Buttons. I cut into it relatively soon after I bought the fabric (within a few months) and ended up making this is small stretches over a couple more months, finally reaching the point that you see below.

I had the pockets in, side seams and front plackets done, and the waistband was stitched on but not closed. It only needed the waistband finished inside, a hem, and button holes/buttons to be finished completely. But I hated it. In retrospect, I don't know what I was thinking really. This is a fabric with a lot of body, and I have a thicker waist so I try to avoid any added bulk there. I put it on at this point and felt like a house. It was not a good look. I was very disappointed, so instead of dealing with it then I chucked it in my "WIP" drawer - where it sat for 4 years! Can you believe it? lol In my defense that drawer didn't get opened much since it was full of things I didn't want to work on, ha ha, but still. I knew it was in there and that I liked the fabric and liked the idea of having a skirt from it. I had the notion somewhere down the line of turning this failed project into a Peggy skirt from Blue Ginger Doll, but never did anything to make that happen. Jump forward to a the 8th of November of this year. I'm participating in #BPSewvember on Instagram - a photo challenge hosted by Bimble and Pimble - and the prompt for that day was "Dear Past Me". I chose to tell past me that this gathered skirt was a bad idea and that it would sit for 4 years unfinished. I never realized how long it had been until making this post and doing a little blog investigation. I've been wearing my first Peggy skirt quite a bit lately and thinking that I would like to make another. #BPSewvember brought this skirt to my attention. Bada bing, bada boom, I decided to finally remake this into something I would actually wear...

Since I was re-cutting this from the other skirt, I was at the mercy of the pieces available. I unpicked the whole thing and laid out my pattern pieces. I was able to cut the Peggy front from the Picnic back and the Peggy backs from the Picnic fronts. There were strips of the Picnic fronts left that were wide enough to cut the pocket facings and fuse pieces from, and I had a little of this fabric left uncut that I used for the pocket bags themselves. The waistband happened to be almost identical between both skirts since I chose to make the straight option of the Peggy, so I just left those pieces as they were.

I had been very careful to match the plaid across the fronts of the Picnic skirt (well, as careful as I was capable of being at that time, lol), so I was able to match the fabric across both back pieces as well, but any other plaid matching was not an option. I wish I had thought of the side seams 4 years ago (and I'm pretty surprised I didn't to be honest), but they wouldn't have matched on the Picnic skirt either. So, I just didn't worry about the side seams on the Peggy. There are worse things in the world than disconnected plaids. At least the front and back match, so that feels like a win. I don't notice it while I'm wearing it anyway.

The shining, proud moment of this skirt for me has got to be the back plaid matching. I realize it's not perfect since the black lines are doubled up and look thicker, but the plaid is matched perfectly horizontally across the seam. Woo hoo! And wait ... it gets better ...

There's a lapped zipper in that seam! I know, right?! lol I've never paid so much attention to so many things at once while sewing such a short seam before, so the fact that it worked out (after much perseverance) has me pretty stinkin' pleased with myself. The result is that my zipper is perfectly hidden under the lap. Things got a little trickier with my waistband and I had to shorten the button side to make it level, but that doesn't bother me since I don't think it's noticeable when worn (except to us sewing folk). Considering that in my first Peggy skirt I couldn't even figure out how to make the button flap piece and had to close it with hooks and eyes, I'm just happy I got a button on it this time :)

So, the other best part about this skirt is undoubtedly the pockets. This is another aspect that it seems I didn't quite get right on my first try at this pattern, but I definitely nailed it this time. The pockets are designed to have a natural "pocket gape" so they always lean forward and stay slightly open, which I managed to accomplish this time (the first one seems to just lay flat and I don't remember what I did after so long). The result is that the pockets are just always poised and ready to receive my hands, which just makes me want to put my hands in them all the time. It's like, "Oh, well don't mind if I do," every time I look down at my skirt, lol.

Details! Since this fabric was so prone to fraying, I overcast everything inside. My previous Peggy skirt has had fraying issues since I didn't really know to finish the seams back then, so I wanted to make sure that didn't happen this time. The second photo on the top above is of my rather makeshift cutting. I ended up with some of the fusible interfacing from the Picnic skirt button placket area showing inside my pocket bag. I was able to hide this inside the skirt, but it still funny to see it there. No one needs to know! The button I used was a vintage one from my stash that has a faceted design on it - it was the only one, so I was pretty thrilled to use it. The bottom left photo is of the pocket itself as it naturally hangs. See that gape? Isn't it great?! When cutting out the pocket bags, I knew I didn't want to mess with plaid matching in the pocket bags, so I deliberately cut those pieces on the bias. I actually like this better because it draws more attention to the pockets as a fun feature of the skirt. And there's the lapped zipper again - man, I love that thing. I even managed top stitch the lap at the joint of a black and white line in the fabric, so it's completely invisible in the fabric. I used a vintage zipper from my stash that I snagged for$0.10 way back - woo hoo! And I went with a machine blind hem so that the plaid wasn't broken up by topstitching (since the sides of the skirt curve, it would've looked weird in my opinion).

Here's how the skirt looks with my shirt untucked - it's not bad in the photo, but I just don't love it in real life so this will be one of the few skirts I actually tuck my shirt in with (gasp!). Since this i shigh waisted, I don't have my usual issue of my shirts not being long enough to stay tucked - hurray! It's also worth noting that I shortened this skirt by several inches from what the pattern is designed to be. I did this on my first Peggy as well just because I feel knee length is more flattering on me. It worked great though because the Picnic skirt pieces weren't long enough for the full length Peggy anyway :)

So there you have it - my plaid Peggy skirt :) Talk about making lemonade here, right? I'm so glad to have this plaid monkey off my back and on my butt, lol, in a form I enjoy wearing. Now I want to make more Peggy skirts! This project also made me realize I need more solid colored shirts to wear with it. I'm sure those won't be far behind ...

Summary:
Fabric: 2.5 yard remnant of black and white gingham style yarn dyed plaid stretch woven - $7.50 (there's still 1/3 - 1/2 a yard piece left of the fabric though)
Pattern: Peggy Skirt by Blue Ginger Doll
Notions: fusible interfacing - $0.50, 7" black zipper - $0.10, black button - free (stash), black thread - $1.00
Time: 4 years and 6 hours, lol
Total Cost: $9.10

FO: My First Peggy Skirt

You guys ... I sewed something! It's a miracle, I know. With all my home improvements I've been working on since the new year, I've had very little time to devote to any projects other than a little bit of knitting before bedtime. This past week though, in an effort to practice some "selfish sewing" for Selfish Sewing Week, I finally spent a few nights to myself doing what I wanted to do ... which was sewing this skirt.

This is my first go at the Peggy Skirt pattern from Blue Ginger Doll. The Peggy skirt is a high waisted design that has super cute pockets, subtle front pleats, and 3 waistband options. I had loved the many iterations of this from Mary at Idle Fancy, so when I saw there was a big sale before Christmas I decided to bite the bullet and purchased the pdf pattern. I promptly put the pdf together and traced off my size, then life got crazy and it sat unused in my drawer. I have some burnt orange corduroy fabric with a matching lining that I've had in mind since December, but I wanted to do a true muslin just to sort out the fit before cutting into that. This past week, since I already had the pattern ready to go it was the obvious choice to maximize my sewing time. Also, since this is a "pattern I already have", I'm gonna throw this baby in the pot for the Stashbusting Challenge too. Why not, right?

Since this was meant as a muslin, I just made the straight waistband without the optional tabs to keep it focused on fitting. I dug through my thrifted fabric stash and found this poly "linen look" fabric in a deep navy blue. I had 2 yards of 60" wide, and since I paid maybe $1 for the whole cut I wouldn't be too upset if I hated the result. So, I cut in and set to work. According to the finished measurements, I cut out the size 18 and added about 1" to the waist and hip just to make sure.

As show above, my absolute favorite detail about this pattern is the pockets! They are so fun! They are at a nice angle so they don't really add additional bulk to the hip - in fact, I can still put things in the pocket and you can't see it from the front: magic! The only qualm I had about this pattern is that the pdf is all in black with no different types of lines or anything to show which markings go to which size. This wasn't a big deal at first since I was making the largest size, but when it came to the notches on the waistband, I was completely lost. It's just a sea of little triangles with no indication as to what size they belong to. Other than the center front, I was completely alone as to which  notch to line up with, so I just made due. This ended up not working out so great. I've message Blue Ginger Doll asking about the notches, but I haven't heard anything back yet. (Anyone out there who has the printed pattern that would be willing to share this info would immediately receive hero status with me!)

Once I had the skirt all put together except for the waistband, I put it on, zipped it up, and watched it promptly fall off of me. I really have no idea how it came out so big! I went according to the finished measurements and my waist is 1" thicker than the largest size, so adding an inch seemed the reasonable thing to do. Well, I went back to my sewing table and drew the original pattern cutting lines on in chalk, recut the sides, unpicked and resewed them, then tried it again. It stayed on that time, but I was getting some weird "wings" of fabric at my hips. I pinched out another full inch at the hip, grading up to nothing at the waist. I still have to measure to see what size I officially ended up with, but it was definitely smaller than the 18. So strange. Since the skirt was too big, the waistband was most definitely too big as well. The problem is that this waistband has no easing anywhere, so you really can't fudge the fit. I just matched the center front notches, sewed it on and hoped for the best. I ended up with a huge overlap at the back closure - so much that I was trying to enclose the bottom of the tab ... and it did not look good at all. I ended up just fudging it, so now my waistband is a bit loose at the top edge and it closes with two hooks and eyes instead of a button. Oh well, I just wear it with my shirt un-tucked as seen above.

The only unfortunate part of this loose waistband issue is that it leaves a decided line under my shirt here. Eh, I still like the skirt, so it's not that big a deal. I think I'll try to angle the top next time around though.

Here's a close up of the front and back of the skirt. The only bad part about having to take it in so much is that the edge of the pocket does tend to stick straight out when worn - it's not a big deal and I know if the pockets were moved inward slightly this wouldn't happen, so at least I know for next time. Since I was just making a muslin and I wasn't in the mood to figure out a lapped zipper like the pattern calls for, I just did a regular slotted seam insertion and it looks just fine to me.

And here are some close ups of the details. No joke, I had this zipper that matched my fabric exactly and was the exact 7" length I needed. How awesome is that?! This zipper is from the 60s or 70s and cost me a whopping 10¢ - yeah baby! I finished all my inside seams with pinking shears, and cheated with the waistband - the pattern tells you to fold it under and hand stitch it down to enclose everything ... yeah, that wasn't going to happen, lol. I just folded it under, pinned it down, and stitched in the ditch from the front. It's not perfect inside, but I don't really care since it's a wearable muslin. I LOVE the topstitching at the pockets, though next time I think I'll pull it in closer to the edge. And I used a machine blind hem which I have to say came out PERFECT on this make. Gotta love a textured fabric for making your blind hem truly disappear, amiright?

Now that it's made and I've worn it a few times, I kind of wish I'd gone the extra mile and lined this skirt. The fabric was a beast to work with - it unravelled like nobody's business and I had to use a clapper to get any of the seams to sit flat. I am surprised now though at how much this feels like linen when I wear it. It's very flowy and bouncy, so it drapes nicely and makes this skirt very flattering. Oh, and I should also mention that I chopped several inches off the hem as well - the pattern is made to be a mid-calf length, but that length really wasn't doing me any favors. I chopped it to mid-knee length instead and I love where it hits now.

In the end, I am really pleased with this skirt :) Not only do I know I'll there will be more Peggys in my future, but I now have a new appreciation for "linen look" poly fabrics. I've worn this skirt twice already and only have minor wrinkles at the waistband and that's only because it's such a high waist. Try saying that for real linen! Also, I have to say I love how it looks with my favorite Anthropologie sweater (a birthday splurge last year for their sale section) and my new Swedish Hasbeens - I know, I'm so trendy! lol Does this mean I'm officially a member of the sewing blogger club with these shoes? I bought two pair thanks to the heads up from Heather at Closet Case Files about their major sale a month ago. I'm completely hooked now!

Here's to more Peggy skirts and more cute shoes!

Summary:
Fabric: 1.75 yards deep navy "linen look" polyester from thrift store, $1.00
Notions: 7" deep navy zipper plus hooks and eyes, 25¢
Pattern: Peggy Skirt from Blue Ginger Doll pdf, $9.45
Hours: About 6, but 2 hours of that was from having to adjust the fit so much