My first red skirt ever

So what do you do with the leftovers of red plaid fabric that was used to line son's vest?  Make a skirt, of course.  This brilliant idea popped into my head while I was clearing the cutting table on Sunday.  An easy project.  Instant gratification.  Not quite.  The fabric is a rather large plaid - matching absolutely necessary.  Added problem - I must have bought the end of the bolt, because there was all sorts of nonsense stamped at one end of the piece.  No problem!  Don't ask why I was so determined to get a skirt out of this leftover piece.  Well - here it is.

 

(Along with the ever-present helper.)  I managed to cut the front all in one piece.  The back just wouldn't fit onto what was left without having the stamped numbers somewhere in the hem.  The ink was quite stiff, and I just wouldn't be happy with the result.  Some redesigning was in order.  I laid down the pattern piece from the bottom up and figured out how deep a yoke I would need at the top.  Drew the yoke with a curved ruler.  Took out the darts from the yoke piece.  Voila!

 

 A bias (sort of) back yoke.  Actually - I really did try to get the yoke on true bias, but it just wouldn't fit, so I just made it fit.  I fused very fine interfacing to the yoke piece on grain, so that there wouldn't be any issues with the zipper insertions, or stretching later on.  Well - I did make it fit  the fabric that I had.  I now have my very first red skirt.  Not a colour that I've ever thought to wear, but the fabric was there.  It's washable, so I can wear this at home with no worries about blobbing something on myself.  I have black and white tops to wear with it.  Perfect.

I didn't line this skirt, because I'd rather not have to deal with lining after washing the thing.  I'd rather wear it with a halfslip, and to ensure that no-one will ever get a peek of my slip - I made a pleat instead of a slit at the back.

 

It's such an easy thing to do - you just add a rectangle of fabric the width of the slit extension.  (Yes, more matching was required in this case).

 

I just stitched at the sides, then top-stitched an upside-down V at the top of the pleat from the right side.  You can even lengthen the slit, if you need more room for walking, with never a worry about indecent exposure - just make sure that you remember to also lengthen the extensions on either side of the slit.

Yes, I know - I didn't match the bias plaid absolutely perfectly at the zipper - but the yoke seam is dead on!    When on public view, the yoke will more than likely be covered by a jacket or sweater, so I wasn't in the mood for "unstitching" and redoing.

 

 Whatever happened to the little bars that were sold with hooks along with the curved eyelets?  Seems to me hooks always came with a choice on the same card.  Not anymore, and since the curved eyelets have to be set further back to allow the "hooking" to happen, they end up showing.  Hence the necessity of making a french tack to be able to hook up the waistband!  Yes, I used the selvage edge, as the finished edge of the waistband - that's why there are little fuzzy threads.

So that's what happens when I get a brainwave while clearing up after a project - only made possible because I just happened to also have some red thread in the drawer (I was seriously worried that I would run out before I finished any visible stitching) and a red invisible zipper (which was way too long, but that was easily fixed).  End result - I had a new skirt to wear to-day, and that made me happy.  Now what was it that I was supposed to be sewing next?