Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: Skorts and Stripes

 



It's that time of year when I start itching to pull out all my boots, but it's still too hot for that yet. I don't know about you, but I always struggle a little to make transitional pieces that'll carry me through to a weather change.


Thankfully I found just what I needed in the three fabrics I chose: this avocado chambray linen, peach rib knit (out of stock, but here's more rib knits)  and stretch salmon striped cotton (also out of stock, but here's a similar brushed stretch twill).


Skort hack!


I love the comfort of shorts, but I don't really like the look on me. I much prefer a nice breezy skirt in the summer, but if you want to say ride a bike in breezy Colorado air, it doesn't work so much.


That's where skorts are awesome. Skirt in front, shorts in back!


I didn't have a skort pattern on hand, so started with a basic shorts pattern from Ottobre 2-2017-5. It's a simple shorts pattern with elastic on the back waistband. You gotta love elastic in the back for that comfort factor when it's hot out! I did move the zipper from center front to the side so the skort would be uninterrupted.


To add the skort portion, trace off the front as a full pattern piece, flipping the piece over at center front. Make sure the side seam extends a couple inches past the original shorts hem. On one side, add an angle that dips down and curves up to a couple inches above the shorts hem. Cut 2 of these.

To make the skort, hem the bottom of each of the skort pieces. You don't have to, but I added mitered hems because a mitered hem makes everything look classier (here's 3 ways to miter a corner)! Layer the skort pieces on top of each other, then anchor them to the shorts' fronts. From there you sew the shorts as you would normally, though know that you'll have to do something with the zipper. In the end, I definitely winged it with the side seam, just topstitching the skort side seam in place and sewing the side seams together with the shorts below the zipper.


Stripey drapey

Once upon a time I made Burdastyle 2-2013-109. Living up to my husband's “you're obsessed with asymmetry,” this is anything but a basic tee. I love the drapey bit that wraps around to the front and the tank look on the other side. It's such a fun top to wear and it goes with EVERYTHING!


I have learned that you really do need to drape the shoulder piece.  As it's drafted, there ends up being a huge gap in the back neck.  To fix it, make the top minus the shoulder piece, pin it in place as you try it on (or use a dress form), then finish it up.



This peach rayon/cotton rib knit is ultra soft and it was perfect for the drapey shoulder. My only regret is that I didn't buy more to make it into the dress version of this pattern!



Simple skirt with sassy ribbon



I've had this awesome ribbon in my stash for a couple years and had no idea what to do with it. Originally I bought it for a tunic neckline before I remembered that a boxy tunic is not a great look for me.



Then I stumbled across Burdastyle 7-2016-116. It's a simple A-line skirt with side panels that wrap around and attach to front and back panels. This couldn't be faster to sew. In fact, I banged out the main seams in about 15 minutes. Fitting took a little more time, but then it came to the waistband.



The pattern calls for striped petersham ribbon to be sewn on the outside of the waist. I really love petersham as a waist facing. It's super stable, and it looks lovely on the inside of a skirt. I had a nice pale butter petersham that would look nice with this salmon stripe. I even thought about sewing a strip of the lovely selvage down the center of the petersham to mimic a striped ribbon.



And then I remembered my awesome ribbon. The colors and the mirrors are really special. It almost looks like a belt to me. 

To sew it on, I pressed 5/8” of the raw edge of the skirt towards the right side. Then I sewed on the ribbon just overlapping the top edge. Because of the mirrors, a zipper foot is the best choice. It took a little more effort to align the top edges at the invisible zipper. First I had to remove a mirror from each side, then wrap the ribbon around to the back. Some careful stitching, unstitching, restitching happened before I got the edges to line up perfectly. I finished it off with a large hook and eye.



I'm really loving all three of these pieces. That I can add them into the mix with the rest of my wardrobe like this RTW tee is even better.  Hopefully I'll be able to layer them up for another month when the cool wind starts blowing!


Have a wonderful rest of your August!

~Elizabeth from Elizabeth Made This

Comments

  1. If someone didn't want to draft their own, your skort hack is very similar to Burda 06/2014 #124
    https://burdastyle.ru/vikroyki/shorty/shorty-burda-2014-6-124/

    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: Workwear Ready

I'm excited for my first post in 2023! At the beginning of the year, I recently went back to working in person so now I am looking to make and wear pieces that I can wear to work.  The goal is to be functional but also very fashionable since I am a fashion design professor. I saw this blue denim fabric and knew I wanted to make some pants; I just wasn’t sure what kind.  I decided to make Mimi G x Simplicity S8985 View B pants.  I liked the oversized flare look, I just made one slight modification to them by adding a pintuck along the front.  This was easy to add since the waistline was called to be slightly gathered to fit.  The fabric had a hand closer to linen and was very lightweight which was great and very satisfying to sew.  I lengthened the pants by 3” and finished with a 2” hem. The top I used Simplicity S9707.  It’s an oversized partial button down top.  I decided to create a high low hem by combining two different views.   I loved the print of the fabric but honestly as s

Made By A Fabricista: New Year, Same Me

Happy 2023 all! It’s a new year & I am back with a new Fabric Mart make. If you’re new here I am Macy & I love to make dresses (they’re my specialty). I enjoy sewing a variety of fabrics & shopping for them even more, but floral fabrics truly have my heart in a chokehold. If you’re returning visitor, thank you for coming! Today, I am sharing my brand new Simplicity 9642 make. I absolutely love this dress; I love the feel & movement of it, as well as the fabric. Fabric Mart had the most beautiful royal blue floral velour/velvet fabric & it paired perfectly with this pattern. The fabric has such beautiful flowers in the actual fabric that are: red, yellow, tans, & emerald green for the leaves. The fabric was remarkably easy to cut & sew with.  The 9642 Simplicity pattern has a fitted bodice & flared skirt. They have a variety of sleeves & lengths to choose from, but I chose View C. The sleeves have a series of pleats, which creates a “poof” like look. 

Made By A Fabricista: Spring into 2023 with Liberty of London!

Hi Fabricista Fans! I'm excited to be back with my first FabricMart project of 2023 and my second with Liberty of London Tana Lawn ! This fabric is so luxurious and wonderful to work with, I just can't pass it up whenever I see it come on sale! With such a high thread count, Liberty of London doesn't easily crush, and although it's 100% cotton, it's so flowy that it's perfect for billowy dresses, blouses, and skirts. With my $50 budget this month, I purchased 2 yards of Tana Lawn and made a Peony Patterns Rosemary Dress with inseam pockets for my youngest daughter. This is a gorgeous button down dress with long and short puff sleeve options. After cutting it out, I realized I had plenty leftover for a skirt for my eldest, so I whipped up the FREE Peony Patterns Apple Berry Skirt for her. Since she needed a top to go with it, I raided my stash for some additional fabric, and found a lovely eggshell Fabric Mart Rayon Lycra hidden away. (Don't worry, I still ha