Happy Days

I had a thought (isn’t how all sewing adventures begin) that at least one of the pieces of border woven material i bought on my trip to Spain would make a lovely box pleat skirt. I happen to have a pattern for just such a skirt from Sinclair Patterns. Oh but the thing about this pattern is it is a retired pattern. I bought it before it was retired. It does not have any projector files (not a drawback for me. I have not jumped on that sewing bandwagon yet) and I suspect it has not been updated with new sizing, etc.

I decided to try it anyway - what could go wrong (famous last words). I have been really into to making sets lately. Last summer I used the Love Notions Aria shirt pattern for a test sew. This is when I realized I really should measure some things like shirt plackets, but I digress. Anywoo, the test fit, but was actually has not made it into my wardrobe since I never did the sleeveless binding or added buttons. The material I used I bought at least 2 years ago from Joanns when it was on clearance and I got it for $2 a yard. It is the Fonz from Happy Days (a long running show from the late ‘70’s-’80’s).

Well guess what I still had leftover with enough to make the skirt. First issue was I did not trust my own measurements. Now you can fudge around with getting your exact measurements for a pattern when sewing with knits. Wovens are not nearly so forgiving. I decided to err on the side of eating too many coookies lately and cut bigger than I needed.

Second issue was the width of my fabric. The pattern instructed you to cut the front on the fold of the fabric. I did that but the pattern piece was too long for the width of my fabric. I ended up cutting it width wise less than I had planned (this turns out not to be a problem as we shall soon see). The markings on the pattern for the box pleats were confusing to this poor old seamstress.

I went rogue and just used them as a suggestion. Can I just say I make a lovely box pleat. They may be my favorite kind of pleat to make. Due to the aforementioned lack of material width and over confidence in my wing it and it will work sewing lifestyle we had some more issues.

The pattern includes pockets which I did cut. Because I sew I add pockets to everything. It also includes a zipper. I have not installed a zipper in forever. This is one skill I have not forgotten and my zipper installation went perfectly fine. I sewed the sides of the skirt together.

Third issue - the skirt was huge on me. Even I haven’t eaten that many cookies! Time to do some adjusting. I tore out the basting side seams and removed the pockets (spoiler alert they will not make another appearance). Now the cutting of sides, basting, trying on and repeating this process began. In the process one set of pleats at each side were lost in the battle. After about 3 tries I finally got a skirt that would stay up and not fall to the floor.

Fourth issue - the waistband. Now how I can cut out a skirt that is 4 inches too wide but a waistband that is 4 inches too short is beyond me. I had to add a little length to the waistband. At this point I was not even pretending I was reading the directions. I ironed a ¼ inch fold on the inside of the waistband and attached it. Because of all the back and forth with the sides I forgot to actually add the waistband before the zipper install. I will be adding a hook and eye to this waistband to keep it buttoned and decent for me. Sometimes I am not half as clever as I think I am.

Finally success I thought on the hem. Well kind of - halfway through sewing the hem my machine was done for the evening. My bobbin ran out of thread and I bent a needle. I can take a hint so put it to bed for the night and returned the next day.

I also had to add binding to the sleeveless top I made last year and find buttons to add to the front.

Instead of a hook and eye I sewed on another button and made a chain thread loop to help with the waistband above the zipper.

I still believe the skirt is a little on the large size. I know what I will do differently on my next version of a box skirt. I did find Youtube videos on how to make a box pleat skirt with no pattern. I should probably watch those a few times to get the measurements correct before I eventually cut into my Spanish fabric.

The outfit is wearable, but not my best effort. I will have to do something about the waistband. The waistband on this one does nothing for the skirt. I would also on my next version probably hand stitch the waistband so no thread will be visible. This is why I try new things not with my “good” fabric. I am actually more excited about the sleeveless version of the shirt than the skirt. I knew there was a reason I saved this trial shirt for almost a year before finishing it off. This version did help me to learn more when I made my second version of this pattern.