I tried to think of some kind of poem about my new skirt that rhymed with the ever-so-popular song of 2013 Blurred Lines, but then I decided that I was a raging feminist who wasn’t going to support that nonsense thank-you-very-much, so that’s why you’re going to have to settle for a post rife with various different squeals about how much I love my new skirt. If you could imagine the following in different pitches all the way through, that would add to the drama I think, so thanks in advance.

Ta-dah! I was flipping through some dresses that I had pinned to my vintage inspiration board on Pinterest and came across a gorgeous little number by Lana Lobell. The popular candy swirl dresses that people sew for children had always caught my eye every time I saw another one, but I hate how piece-y and home-made most of them look (seriously, those bizarre fabric choices) and I’m not a fan of circle skirts in general, so I had to think of another plan of attack.

This skirt is self-drafted, and it took quite a while to create the pattern myself. So many angles. So much trigonometry. I tell everyone how much I hate math but then when I self-draft my own things, I invariably end up doing a lot of math. However, my pattern didn’t even come to fruition because the fruitcake at the store I bought this fabric from (that was a nice way of putting it, actually, I was rightly whining about her all day as my photographer will attest) sold me 106cm wide fabric instead of the 110cm she claimed it was. All the spools of fabric were listed in inches and instead of using a calculator like a smart person, I just asked a staff member. Good job, Demi.

Anyways, that threw all my calculations out and I had to slash open the skirt for a zip. This skirt was a nightmare, but so worth it. I wanted to make a dress like this but wasn’t sure how it would work so I’m glad I made this test run. It’s not 100% perfect, because of all the various different techniques I tried to avoid slashing into the skirt (elastic waistbands look terrible on me, I’ve decided), but it’s good enough to wear to the shops, so I’m generally happy with it.

Gotta have that self-covered button.

Anyone interested in the pattern/tutorial for when I make the dress? I’m planning on sewing a full candy striper dress soon using this pattern! (We’ll see how that one goes, and this time I’m not asking the staff at the fabric store anything.)

16 Comments

  1. Wow you’re a sewing wizard! This skirt looks perfect! The fabric covered button really is the icing on the cake. Such a great piece and you’re rocking it here with your mixed prints!

    • Demi

      Thanks Jamie! Fabric covered buttons are the shizz yo 8-)

  2. Your skirt is so cute, I love the print and the shape is so pretty. Well done!

    cheap-skatefashion.blogspot.com

    • Demi

      Thank you Bronwyn! It’s not perfect but it will be better :)

    • Demi

      Thanks! I’ll see what I can do :)

    • Demi

      Thank you Kerri! The pleats are a bit uneven but hopefully this’ll all be ironed out before the final version!

    • Demi

      I love the fabric too, if only there had been enough of it, haha!

    • Demi

      Thank you so much Becca! I guess the tutorial is coming right up :)

    • Demi

      Thank you! Tutorial should look much better than this one too, haha.

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