Skip to main content

Made By A Fabricista: Birthday Skirt in Red!

HI Fashionistas!

The month of May is a month of celebration for me and my family. We celebrated my birthday and Mothers Day this past weekend, and my husband and I will be celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary this week.

So for the month of May, I sewed up a voluminous pleated circle skirt in a beautiful red shirting fabric. Here it is:



Initially, I had planned on creating a high low dramatic hemline, and that is what I was planning on wearing until mid of last week. But after trying it on, it felt very heavy and was not too flattering on me, so I chopped it off to an even hemline about 19 inches from the bottom of the waistband to get this look.

The skirt is completely self-drafted and I will talk about that more in this post.  Here is the back view:





A bit obsessed with these owl earrings lately..


I drafted the waistband for the skirt 1first. It is basically a rectangle. For the length, I used my waist measurement, plus 1/2 inch ease, plus an extra 1 inch for seam allowance (since I stitch using 1/2 inch seam allowance to attach the zip on the back). For the hight of the waistband, I wanted a finished measurement of 2.5 inches so the pattern height is 6 inches (double of 2.5 plus 1-inch seam allowance total) 




To get this type of volume, I measured from my side seam to side seam on my body (let's call this measurement W) and then drafted a half circle skirt pattern on muslin using a waist measurement of W. I then cut 3 from that pattern and paneled them together. Once that was done, the waist of the 3 panel skirt was larger than my waist circumference. So then I added some pleats to the skirt to make the measurement of the skirt match the measurement of the waistband. Since the waistband was drafted to my waist, all I had to do was freehand some pleats to make the two fit. And Voila! Extra volume!

So you know I had to twirl in this skirt!


This was so fun to wear!


I wore it for my birthday on Saturday:






I also wanted to share a picture of Connor. He is 3 months now. He has started smiling a bit, although he is stingy with his smiles. He is such a serious lil' dude! 



And I also ended up wearing it for Mothers Day. It's a fun skirt to wear!



I hope you are having a lovely may. It is getting toasty here, we have had temps in the 90's this past week. The summer is going to be super hot, and I plan on staying home a lot and hosting a lot of playdates to keep myself and my kiddo busy.

I'll see you soon with my next make.

XOXO-
Vatsla from Fashion Behind The Seams

Comments

  1. A very interesting blog. The skirt is beautiful and you wear it well. Thank you for teaching us how you made the skirt. If you were in one of my sewing classes I would have given you an A+.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Vatsla:

    Beautiful skirt and overall look! I can relate to the month of May taking precedence in one's life. My eldest son is May 2, Mother's Day was May 13, my B-day is May 15, my eldest sister born 364 days before me is May 16, one of my good sister friends is May 4, my first grandchild is May 23, my niece is May 29, her mother is May 20 and to top it off, my future son-in-law is May 17th!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow! You were definitely busy in May! Thank you so much!

      Delete
  3. Love your skirt! It drapes beautifully and is perfectly proportioned for you. Thanks for sharing how to!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made By A Fabricista: Pattern Emporium’s Lyrical Top Featuring Fabric Mart Fabrics

 Sewn in a lightweight  rayon challis , this top combines style, comfort, and fluidity. There’s one thing I love in a summer sew: effortless drape—and the Lyrical Top by Pattern Emporium delivered just that. This pattern is a new release, and when I spotted this dreamy rayon challis from Fabric Mart Fabrics, I knew it was the perfect pairing. Lightweight, breathable, and with just the right amount of movement, the fabric really brought the pattern to life. Today, I’m sharing all the details—from fabric choice and construction to styling and fit—plus a few thoughts on why this top might just become a repeat sew. Pattern Overview: The Lyrical Top by Pattern Emporium The Lyrical Top is a relaxed-fit design with bloused sleeves and a gently flared frill cuff. It comes with three sleeve lengths and two neckline variations. I chose the tie-neck view, but there’s also a collar option for a slightly different vibe. I’ve been looking to add more stylish tops to my wardrobe this year, a...

Made By A Fabricista: Oversized Jenna Shirt for Summer Fun

 I may or may not have had several meltdowns during the making of this Closet Core Jenna Shirt… But let’s back up first. During the month of May, I promised to wear handmade garments every single day for the popular sewing challenge “Me Made May.” I really enjoyed thoughtfully putting together my outfits each day. While I was doing this, I was taking notes of the gaps in my wardrobe. Particularly, I don’t have many transitional shirts that could work for on-camera work attire and be comfortable for the weekend. When I saw this delicious cotton lawn on the Fabric Mart website, I knew that I wanted to make a button up shirt that would be both work appropriate and a nice overshirt for summer evenings over my tanks and tees.  I have made a few button up shirts before using a vintage Stretch & Sew pattern but I decided to try my hand at the Closet Core Jenna Shirt (up to a 60” chest) which has had rave reviews on social media and pattern sites for being a great pattern with e...

Made By A Fabricista: A matching set and a happy error.

 Hi sewing friends! Today I’m sharing a new outfit I made inspired by looks I’ve been seeing pop up in my Facebook and IG feeds a LOT this year. I’m talking about those monochromatic matching top and bottom outfits, sometimes in linen, sometimes in a flowy knit - the ones that advertise they go effortlessly from loungewear to office wear to going out wear. So I decided to “sew the look” using Fabric Mart fabric and a few patterns I already in my massive pattern library. First, let me share that I have very few solid color pieces in my closet. I’m so taken in by whimsy and geometric prints that this is still a gaping hole in my wardrobe -  a matching solid color set was actually a practical addition for me.  So let me walk you through how I created this look, and also tip you off to an error I made while cutting that worked out pretty well after all. Can you spot the error? Hint - it’s somewhere in the top: Here’s how I went about building my matchy match outfit. And here’...