Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: The Ivory Eyelet Bias Skirt!


McCall's 4970: the ivory eyelet skirt


Hi everybody! Some fabrics just say summer, and cotton eyelet is definitely one of them in my opinion. For this month's post I played with a gorgeous ivory eyelet and made a bias skirt using McCall's 4970, a pattern with 3 lovely skirt options.







The fabric

I had originally selected this cotton eyelet a while ago with nothing specific in mind. I could have chosen one pattern or another as this fabric is just right for so many things: tops, dresses, blouses, skirts, even shorts. The base is a very fine quality ivory cotton lawn, and the embroidered pattern goes vertically. It sewed and pressed beautifully!

This fabric is so pretty that it sold out in no time, but a similar option could be this cotton eyelet. Don't forget to visit the embroidered eyelet fabric page where you'll find other lovely fabrics!


McCall's 4970: I made view B

The pattern

McCall's M4970 has probably been aging in my stash since the pattern came out in 2005! Oddly, I could only find one version of it on the internet. I hope my version can serve as another reference if anyone should want to make this skirt.

For a moment I envisioned to make a tiered skirt, an obvious choice with eyelet, but wanting a little more visual interest in the end I selected McCall's 4970 view B and cut a size 10, my usual with the Big Four. The design change I made was to cut the center of the front and back pieces to add a center seam, and place the vertical lines of the embroidery on the bias to form chevrons. I also debated whether to place the zipper on the side as per the pattern, but finally decided to put it in the back.

I was worried that the invisible zipper would cause bumps and wavy seams as it is sewn to a fabric piece on the bias. Inserting zippers on the bias is never something I look forward to, even more so when there's a pattern to match! But since the embroidery adds substance to the cotton lawn it came out surprisingly well, and I was able to match the chevrons without any fuss I must say. I almost patted myself on my back when I saw the result!


McCall's 4970 back view - the invisible zipper is inserted in the CB seam

Close-up showing texture of fabric + invisible zipper

I finished the top and bottom of the ruffle with a narrow 3 thread rolled hem on the serger, using ivory Mettler silk finish cotton thread to match the eyelet fabric.

I could have lined the skirt, but decided to leave it unlined and to wear a skin tone slip underneath instead. 

That skirt is breezy and summery and it lift my spirits to have a new summer garment in my wardrobe! I've always loved eyelet but I don't recall working with that fabric a lot in the past. I'm quite happy I experimented with eyelet for this month's make - thank you so much Fabric Mart for providing us with a steady flow of inspiring fabrics!



I'll leave it here for now - I hope you are enjoying the weather and are finding time for sewing summer garments!

What's inspiring you these days?

Virginie
from


Comments

  1. The skirt is lovely and I really like how you chevroned the stripes to get the embroidered fabric some additional interest.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Such a beautiful skirt and yes - cotton eyelet screams summer!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love your new skirt! The way the wind plays with the ruffles is very pretty!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely skirt Virginie! It is so fresh and absolutely screams summer!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Eyelet is so lovely for summer. Excellent work with the chevrons--it's so subtle but beautiful workmanship!

    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: Quilted Jacket Chronicle

What do you get when mixing the best things about apparel sewing and machine quilting? A quilted jacket! It's funny that I elected to sew myself a quilted jacket for this Fabricista blog because I don't consider myself much of a quilter. I can count on my hands the number of quilted projects I've made over the last few years. While I fully appreciate the end product of quilting, I don't normally gravitate toward starting quilting projects. That's why making a quilted jacket is a new and exciting project for me! It gives me the fun of making a quilt on a much smaller scale. If you are an avid apparel sewist and are new to quilting, this is the perfect project to take for a quilting test drive! For my quilted jacket, I used the Seamwork Easton Jacket pattern. I decided to stick with a solid-colored fabric for the jacket's exterior and ordered 4 yards of Dark Umber Brown Lycra Stretch Canvas Suiting from the Fabric Mart website. I wanted a contrasting color for the

Made By A Fabricista: Well Suited for Fall

Fall is my favorite time of the year! The weather is cooling down and I'm always excited to transition into the cooler weather. I get to create with some of my favorite fabrics and I'm always inspired by all the cool fashion trends for the season. So for this month's fabricista feature I snagged some cool medium-weight twill fabric in a beautiful warm cinnamon color.   This fabric has a medium bottom weight feel to it, great for pants, outerwear, jackets, boiler suits and more. I used a needle suited for medium weighted woven fabrics and my serger for finishing raw edges. The color of this fabric is so warm and inviting. I think it is the perfect color for Fall. I couldn’t wait to create a fall ensemble with this fabric. I chose Simplicity Pattern S9893 because I’ve been dying to create this pattern since it launched. It is a cool cape with cargo pockets, storm flaps, hidden buttons at the shoulder, a collar with button tabs and even more button tabs at the underarm. This c

Made By A Fabricista: From Fabric to Finish Line: Creating My Running Gear

In 2021, I ran my first 5k; I was instantly hooked. I loved the instant sense of accomplishment of crossing the finish line & completing something, but all in all at the time I was absolutely no good at running. Now in 2024, I am an avid runner. I absolutely love running & I still love completing races. It had never crossed my mind to sew any running clothes until lately, but I’m sure glad I did.  On Fabric Mart they had the most amazing windbreaker like animal fabric & I knew it would be a perfect match. For the jacket I decided to block it so that it would give it a bit of extra definition. The actual fabric was really easy to sew with & to cut, however, it was a bit hard to pin & left needle marks within the fabric so I suggest using clips instead. I absolutely loved how it turned out. The pattern that I used for the jacket is a free sewing pattern from Mood Fabrics called the Cory Jacket. It is a fairly simple sew & can be made in a day.  For the shorts, I u