Busy hands | Disquiet mind

Self-drafted Half-Circle skirt, v.3

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 23:25:13 GMT

So I made another half-circle skirt, identical to v.1 and v.2, but in a 100% polyester micro-velvet. It's a soft, plush, non-stretch, deep black (when not over-exposed) velvet. I had high hopes for this fabric. The first issue is that it comes in a narrow width, so I could only fit the pattern pieces in one orientation, and actually had to go buy a second longer length to fit them. Also, the twice turned hem turned out thicker than ideal. But mostly this fabric is a static electricity/cling nightmare. And the (half) fullness of this skirt means the fabric is constantly rubbing against itself. I have bought a slip, and ordered a petticoat, to see if they can make this more wearable. But needless to say I have scrapped the other projects I had in mind for this fabric.

Finished, front
Photo by chebe

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Self-drafted Half-Circle skirt, v.2

Sun, 05 Oct 2025 12:01:13 GMT

So I made another half-circle skirt, identical to v.1, but in Luxury Crepe Black Dress Fabric (100% polyester). To pair with my Vogue V1869, asymmetric top. Are we seeing the vision? The plan is to create a flexible collection of fancy occasion separates, that can be mixed and matched. And few things are as versatile as a simple black skirt.

Last Friday I went to Dublin Frocktails 2025, my first Frocktails. I, uh, didn't get any photos, because I'm bad at this. So you'll have to imagine how the two pieces went together. (The skirt is shorter than the lowest point of the top, and the crepe had an amazing lustre under the venue lighting.) It was a fun event, and was great to see so much creativity, and skill, and excellent taste in patterns and fabrics. I hope to be not so exhausted next time, and maybe even get to socialise a bit.

Finished, front
Photo by chebe

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Self-drafted Half-Circle skirt

Sun, 05 Oct 2025 11:27:28 GMT

I'm back to self-drafting skirts again. I haven't been completely satisfied with the instructions given in the Sew What Skirts book, so I did a bunch of research around the internet and came up with my own process that works for my brain.

( Details )

Finished, front
Photo by chebe

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Short and Sassy square skirt, v.2

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 20:40:04 GMT

Things have been getting complicated around here, I thought to myself. How about making something fast, and fun, to cleanse the palette? Well, I continued thinking to myself, I do have that tricky fabric that I haven't figured out yet. I wonder what can be done with it?

( Details )

Updated waistband, front
Photo by chebe

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McCall's M8479 (2024), view b, v.2

Sat, 17 May 2025 15:50:14 GMT

McCall's M8479, woven short skirt pattern with faux-wrap options. I previously made the 'base' skirt, without any of the wrap options; v.1. Now it's time to wrap.

( Details )

McCall's M8479, view b, finished, front view with wrap closed
Photo by chebe

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McCall's M8479 (2024), base skirt

Tue, 11 Feb 2025 14:31:51 GMT

McCall's M8479 is a woven short skirt pattern with faux-wrap options. I was having a hard time understanding how all the pieces went together, so I made a 'base' version of the skirt with the most common pieces and without any of the wrap choices, which isn't technically an option provided. It is closest to View A, but without the over-wrap half skirt (read on for explanation of this).

But first, why a skirt pattern? Well, simply, I need basic/versatile skirt options to fill a gap in my wardrobe. And this skirt pattern has a fly front zipper, which I haven't tried before. Skirts use less material even than shorts, so it's a lower stakes way to practice. And I really couldn't figure out what they were doing, without examining the pattern pieces closely. Curiosity, basically.

( Details )

McCall's M8479, finished, front view
Photo by chebe

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Legend Sisters The Hazel Skirt

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 13:36:44 GMT

The Hazel Skirt is a hi-lo full skirt, with different length and waist options. I went with the high-waist, without the straps, with the shorter length skirt. I toiled the waistband, in size Mushroom, and then cut out a size Diamond.

( Details )

Hazel skirt, finished, front view, in black pvc
Photo by chebe

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Self-drafted short skater skirt

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 13:19:09 GMT

After making the Aberdeen t-shirt I still have plenty of that Spoonflower fabric left over, so I figured I'd try something more suitable to its weight, like a skirt for layering.

I don't actually have a skater skirt pattern. Or instructions for how to draft a flared knit skirt. So taking inspiration from the many I've worn over the years I attempted to draft my own skater skirt.

( Details )

Skater skirt, finished, front view
Photo by chebe

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Seamwork Christina skirt

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 14:36:42 GMT

Seamwork's Christina is that wardrobe staple; the pencil skirt. This one is a little different with a curved hem, faced back split, and invisible centre-back zip. The Bonus pattern is a more conventional pencil skirt, with pockets. I took the side pockets and added them to the base skirt. This is a non-stretch woven, close-fitting skirt. So first things first.

( Details )

Seamwork's Christina straight skirt, fitted, finished, front view
Photo by chebe

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Seamwork Pauline skirt alteration, v2

Sat, 02 Sep 2023 19:37:18 GMT

I made a modified Seamwork's Pauline skirt previously. And it worked out so well that I want to iterate on it. So how about I change the front seams into zips, and use the same black stretch lamé (96% Polyester, 4% Elastane) as in my v2 Margo skirt?

( Details )

Modified Seamwork Pauline in stretch pvc, finished, back view
Photo by chebe

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Seamwork Pauline skirt

Wed, 24 May 2023 19:14:37 GMT

Seamwork's Pauline is a midi-length straight skirt with a split to the front on a princess seam along the knee. I said 'MOAR', and mirrored the split on the other side to get two splits. I straightened the top of the front-side panels a smidge, and took 16cm off the length, to just about knee-length. With the Margo sizing still in my mind I made this one on a base pattern of size 16, with a size 20 at the waist. The back is plain, with double waist darts on each side. This was only a first version so I didn't bother adding pockets or anything.

I made it up in this plain cotton twill, in black, (100% cotton), 240 g/m2. 9" invisible zips apparently don't exist any more, so I used an 11"/ 28cm invisible zip, in black, in the side seam, and closed with a hook and eye, also in black. (This pattern actually calls for the use of a hook and eye, this is a sensible pattern.) I once again skipped the interfacing.

This little skirt might not look like much, but it is a fantastic fit. The slight narrowing under the hips is very flattering. And as a basic black skirt will go with anything in my wardrobe. This is up there for the best thing I've ever made. I do want to look into ways to stop damage to the tops of splits / vents like this though, as that's the weakest part of this kind of skirt.

Seamwork's Pauline straight skirt, slightly modded, finished, front view
Photo by chebe

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Seamwork Margo skirt, v.2

Wed, 28 Dec 2022 12:32:55 GMT

Remember Seamwork's Margo I made not too long ago? Well I made another version. But this one's a bit different.

A friend pointed me at The Closet Historian's youtube, and I have become obsessed with her retro-futurism and cyberpunk designs. Many of her outfits and look-books feature shiny shiny pencil skirts in a variety of novelty fabrics. I want.

But. I'm having difficulty sourcing the really nice cosplay fabrics she uses inside my tax region. So until I figure that out I'm trying out the more old-school dance-wear fabrics that are available to me, like this stretch black lamé (96% Polyester, 4% Elastane), which feels like a lighter-weight spandex coated in mock-pvc.

She made a video about how to make her simple stretch pencil skirts. But, I'm worried that for daily wear they might look more fetish than sci-fi (which is what I'm aiming at) on me, so I'm using Margo instead. That's a 16-18/XL, with the hips narrowed, and I took 3" out of the length.

Using a fabric like this requires a slightly different set of tools. I'm using my clips instead of pins, to avoid unnecessary permanent perforations in the material. I trialled a teflon foot versus a regular foot, and there are catches with both. My teflon foot opening is very narrow, so I can't use twin-needles or zig-zag stitches with it. And because the whole point of it is to not grip the fabric I need to use two hands to guide the fabric through the machine to keep stitching straight. But the regular foot causes the top and bottom fabrics to travel at different speeds, creating a twist in the seam. Luckily I was able to press this out, but think I'll be sticking to the teflon foot whenever I can while top-stitching. (The back of this fabric behaves like regular spandex.) The bonus is that this fabric is unlikely to fray, so I skipped seam finishes. I did press, and hem though. Just with a straight stitch, not a twin-needle.

It fits with minimal tension across the waist and hips, and is loose further down. As you can imagine it's not all that flattering across the tummy. (But that can be countered with structured under-garments, or a longer top over it.) I'm almost tempted to go down a size, to get a fit closer to the pencil skirts. We'll see. I guess I should have figured, from this being a dance fabric, but it's actually quite comfortable, doesn't fight movement at all. Not sure its reached 'sci-fi' though, at least not on its own.

Finished Margo skirt
Photo by chebe

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Seamwork Margo

Wed, 28 Dec 2022 00:26:18 GMT

Seamwork's Margo is a pencil skirt with side-splits, but in a knit fabric. Apparently I sat so long on this pattern that it has been archived. But I quite like this quick little skirt. The waistband is self-fabric, no elastic. There's no fasteners. The below-knee side-splits add a little extra interest (and sewing technique to practice), the seams are finished with a serger/overlocker, and the hems are twin-needled, in absence of a coverstitch machine.

I made mine in a purpley-auberginey-berry colour (think the lighter of the purples on a Quality Street tin). The thread isn't an exact match, but pretty close, I used Gütermann thread colour 718. In a lighter-medium weight jersey. (I can't find the receipt so I don't know what the fibre content is, but it's stretchy.)

Trying the finished skirt on I noticed two things; the hem is longer than I expected, and the hips bulged out a bit too much. I trimmed the excess off the hips (making it more of a straight skirt), and found out from another pattern that these are drafted for someone 6" taller than I am. I won't shorten this one (I'd have to re-do the side-splits), but I will definitely shorten the pattern for the next version.

Finished Margo skirt
Photo by chebe

( Close-up detail )

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Colour Stealing Underskirt

Sun, 02 Sep 2018 15:24:31 GMT

I've had an idea for an elaborate electronic skirt for, literally, years now. And no matter how long I waited progress just wasn't being made. At one point I realised that EMFcamp was fast approaching and I needed something for it. So I scaled back my ambitions, found a white tulle/net skirt on sale, and got to work.

I had a few Neopixel strands laying about the house, and found to my surprise that each 20 pixel (2" pitch) strand was almost exactly the width of my skirt. Two strands would completely encircle it. Rather convenient. And I wanted to be able to set the colour of the Neopixels from things around me, so I needed a colour sensor. I also wanted a potentiometer so I could adjust the brightness depending on ambient light, and would need a button to change between modes. Oh, and a microcontroller to make it all work. Which gave me this circuit.

( Details )

But white is very much not my aesthetic. Which is a large part of why I made this an underskirt. You can use this one underskirt with a variety of overskirts to achieve different effects. Here I've used a black crushed velvet skirt with uneven hem so that some of the glowing tulle/net still peeks out. In dark enough environments, there is a side benefit of seeming to exist in a puddle of light on the ground. (Which can be handy when trying to navigate a campsite.) Overall this skirt is fun, but not the most practical. Though I do foresee it coming in handy from time to time.

Skirt
Photo by chebe

Parts;
Fabric scraps
Petticoat
Skirt

Potentiometer
Adafruit Flora
Adafruit Neopixel strands
3-pin JST SM Plug + Receptacle Cable Set
Adafruit Colour Sensor
LilyPad Button Board

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Gertie Sews Vintage Casual - Easy Knit Pencil Skirt

Sun, 22 Oct 2017 13:46:00 GMT

My first project from Gertie Sews Vintage Casual is the Easy Knit Pencil Skirt. The name says it all really. I made mine in a nice dotted Ponte de Roma knit. Sew it up, wear. The length hits about mid/upper shin/calf, and it is so comfortable to wear, but looks so smart. Will have to make more.

Notes;
The book says to use 30mm elastic, but I couldn't find any anywhere. It's either 25mm or 38mm. I used 25mm, it doesn't seem to affect the outcome.

It also says to use a twin needle to hem. Which seems straight forward, but whether it was the fabric or the machine, this just refused to work for me. Used a stretch/lightning stitch instead.

Finished Easy Knit Pencil Skirt
Photo by chebe

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Short and Sassy square skirt with yoke, made from measurements

Sun, 04 Dec 2011 14:59:49 GMT

Fourth skirt from the 'Sew What! Skirts' book, Short and Sassy (page 73), a simple square (a.k.a. handkerchief) skirt with elasticated waist. ... Well, almost. I added a yoke. I've added yokes before, but this time I was following the 'very simple low-waist skirt block' (page 134) from Winifred Aldrich's 'Metric Pattern Cutting for Women's Wear'. This particular block is good for easy-fits and fabrics with stretch/elastic waists. The only alteration made to the general instructions from 'Sew What! Skirts' (SWS) was that the circle was measured as my hips, and the waistband left out (as the yoke took care of that).

Construction is very straight forward; sew up the side-seams of the yoke, make the elastic casing, insert elastic. Add yoke to skirt (slight gathering may be needed). Hem.

Okay, ready for the maths? Really pretty simple, promise.

( In theory )

Adding yokes or not is simply another variation you can try. There are also other waistband and closure methods that can be used. There are so many possibilities you can make, and all without buying a single pattern!

( In practice )

There we are. A little light twirly skirt perfect for dancing in. And I've learned a lot about how square and circle skirts are made so I'll be able to make the next one perfectly first time. I'm also loving the yoke block based on Aldrich's block and am looking forward to trying the other blocks.

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One dress becomes two garments; skirt with added yoke

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:24:42 GMT

See, I bought this dress several months ago, €10 on sale, and figured I might wear it for New Years or something. But I didn't. Eventually I decided that it was simply too lacey, and too short for me to really feel comfortable in it. So I did what any sewist would do; I fixed it.

Firstly I found a point where I'd be happy having the dress end, if it were a top; just a bit below the centre-back zip. I pinned the outer lace to the lining, and just cut across. And left the pieces (carefully) to one side.

Next, made a yoke. I have mentioned before about a straight skirt block tutorial from House of Marmalade that I'd followed. I was pleased with the result and used the top part of this block to make a yoke.

I picked a point low on my hips where I wanted the yoke to end, and marked that as the bottom. I followed the skirt block for a bit, until I felt it had narrowed sufficiently. Then I continued the line straight up from there to the waist (instead of curving in to my waist measurement). Also, because the block tutorial was for a high-waisted skirt, I stopped a fair bit down where I would prefer the top of my skirt to sit.

Then I added seam allowances, and allowance for an elasticated waistband (roughly width of elastic multiplied by two, plus seam allowance).
( End result )

Copied it out onto some fabric I had simply laying around, which happened to be purple interlock/knit, placing the degree-of-greatest-stretch around the body/hips. Only two pieces; front and back. Sewed them together, then added the elasticated waistband.

Took this yoke, and the band of purple lace-with-lining I'd cut off the dress earlier, and with right sides together I matched up the side-seams, and sewed it all together. (Seams were finished on my overlocker/serger.) The lace/lining was already hemmed, so I was done! One quirky, casual/dressy skirt made-to-measure.
( Pictures! )

What about the top? Well, that's another story.

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Straight skirt block, from House of Marmalade

Wed, 23 Mar 2011 10:58:38 GMT

I've made skirts before, I've even drafted skirt blocks, heck the 'Sew What! Skirts' book is basically drafting custom patterns each and every time. But they have the same problem; they're too big. This baffled me for a long time, until I saw the House of Marmalade skirt block tutorial. It turned out to be simple; centimetres! I grew up using the metric system, got a feel for it, about when and how to round up, etc. Turns out that it doesn't translate all that easily to imperial (as all my previous instructions have been). I mean, 1.5 is a lot easier to remember, and add, than 5/8s, right? Guess it boils down to what you're used to.

So, I made the straight-skirt block, and tried it on for fit. (It's not a finished skirt/pattern, just the basis from which to create patterns.) Couldn't be simpler, one piece for front, one for back, side zipper. I followed the instructions closely, wanting to make sure I didn't miss anything. And I've ended up with a skirt that goes to my natural-waist. I do not like this style, I don't find it comfortable, or flattering. But it has just proven to me how well the block fits, and I can just lop off the top 10cm or so whenever I come to make a real skirt.

Speaking of which, the instructions say your hip (generally considered widest part) is 20cm below your natural waist. Well I seem to be shaped a bit differently. My widest part is 28cm below the natural waist. No, I'm not tall, actually on the short side. My natural waist does seem a bit high (even relative to other natural waists which by their nature are fairly high), but it seems I just have a long ... lower torso? Yeah, let's call it that. Anyway, end result being I marked in the 20cm measurement on the block, but also marked the 28cm measurement, and just joined the dots, to get a perfect fit.

And now we're on to fit. Well, firstly I really need to learn how to put in zippers. But allowing for that mishap, the skirt fits well, just not as snug as I'm used to, so there is some excessive bunching/gaping over the tummy. It's only a small thing, considering I usually have to lop 4-inches off the side seams! But it is something to work on.

Oh, and no pictures, because straight skirts are horrible on me. I do have a black cord I reckon would be nice in a slight pencil-skirt, but really I'm only doing this block so I can get a decent yoke onto which to add flared skirts. Because once I do, once I have that holy grail of fitted skirt yokes, then, then I will take over the world! *ahem* Sorry, then I'll reclaim my wardrobe from the pit of jeans it has fallen into. Well, I can dream at least.

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Got No Ties wrap skirt

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 19:17:00 GMT

Third skirt from the 'Sew What! Skirts' book, Got No Ties (page 67), a wrap made from loose-weave fabric. Funnily enough when I first looked through the book this was one of the skirts I was sure I'd never make. I'm not sure why exactly, just have little experience with loose-weave fabrics, so they just seem to be not my thing. But then, I was in Hickeys during the stock-take sale, and found this purple/black/white tweed for only €8/m. It sat there, looking at me, all soft, warm, and purpley. I figured I should at least try the skirt.

Got the fabric home, discovered it's polyester and acrylic, and dry-clean-only. "Nuts to that," I said, and chucked it in a 30-degree wool wash. Put it through the tumble-drier (seemingly losing half of it in the process), and then discovered to my delight not only that it survived but that ironing is not required.

I did up a pattern on paper this time, instead of directly on the fabric. Basic A-line, fitted-waist layout, but no zipper. I made sure to use my low-waist measurement, and while I curved the front waist, left the back waist straight. I also increased the extend/overlap section to 8". I think I settled in the end on a 19" length, which hits me just above my knees. A nice length on me. However, it's extremely hard to photograph.

( Skirt photos )

I didn't have snap tape, so I used two little metal snaps, one on the end of each of the wrap edges, and then secured with a kilt-pin. Then I enjoyed fringing the edges, and now have plenty of material to stuff my next pin-cushion.

I have complained about the clarity of instructions in this book before, and I'm saddened to see that the trend continues. For this skirt they never mention what to do with the waistline, you're left to infer that it's the same as for the hem, yet a close inspection of the photos shows that this isn't true. Other than that though, the instructions are fine.

Okay, I 'fess up. I mostly started this because I'm so unhappy with my sew-along mock-up. I think I'm going to have to make up another one, because simply, I'm not cutting the fashion fabric until I'm happy with the mock-up. So, my apologies to anyone waiting on me to go through the next few steps, it may be a while. Starting in to another mock-up is daunting, and messing with my sewing mojo, so I needed to do something fairly straight-forward that would give me almost instant gratification. That's how this skirt happened. I also have the pieces for a top cut out, but I probably won't get to sewing that up until tomorrow.

Hmm, I feel this skirt needs a pocket or two to give it more interest...

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The Breezy Beach Wrap

Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:10:10 GMT

My second skirt from 'Sew What! Skirts', the so-called Breezy Beach Wrap. I mentioned earlier that I found the instructions hard to follow, and the resultant skirt is not great.

( Here, let me show you. )

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World's simplest skirt (that still involves some sewing)

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 00:42:14 GMT

Take a rectangle of stretchy fabric, a little longer than your waist measurement, and as wide as the length you'd like.

Fold this rectangle in half length-wise, so you end up with something more square like. Right sides (the future outsides) together / against each other on the inside.

Sew the two halves together down the side with no folds at either end. Being stretchy material chances are the stitching will break, so re-enforce the seam. I sewed a straight stitch, then beside it a zig-zag stitch, then finished the edges (remind me to write a post on this later, but if using t-shirt like material it can be left raw.)

Find the top of the skirt, finish the edge if you like, then turn down a distance the width of your elastic band, plus a little bit. Make sure the outer edge is tucked in under the fold. So, one little fold (along the very edge), then another fold, the size of the elastic.

Sew all the way around (straight stitch is fine), at the bottom of the fold, through the three-thickness of fabric. But leave a little gap for adding in the elastic.

Take the elastic, pull it around your waist, stretching a little, until it is snug, and over-laps a little. Cut this length.

Add a large safety pin to each end of the elastic, and thread one end into the gap you left in the waist band. Use the safety pin to work it around, making sure the other end doesn't get pulled through.

Take out the safety pins, and sew the two ends of the elastic together, with a little over-lap (about an inch or two is good). And let sit back into the waist band.

If you're like me the bottom/hem of your skirt is the selvage of the fabric, or t-shirt fabric, so you don't have to do anything. If you need to hem, do the same as you did for the waist, only make the amount of fabric folded over less.

Turn right way out, and wear.

There you go, one straight skirt that will shape to your curves; casual, light, and non-restrictive. All without having to take out a pattern, or a ruler, and a great way to use up extra pieces of fabric.

P.S.
I am working on real content, but work and health are keeping me distracted. Hope to be back soon.

( EDIT: a small pic! )

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Adventures in Sewing

Fri, 07 May 2010 18:07:49 GMT

I made a skirt yesterday. One from the book 'Sew What! Skirts'. I'm not sure if I mentioned this book here before or not, but I like it, and recommend it, even if none of it is metric, and it says you need a sewing machine. It basically teaches you how to make skirts to fit you, without patterns. It involves a little bit of maths, and some rulers, and really what you are doing is drafting your own skirt blocks, for one time use only, directly on the fabric. I made the first skirt, called 'Singing the Blues', a drawstring A-line skirt, only I didn't add the pocket or the rickrack.

It took me about four hours, including re-threading my overlocker, and learning how to sew a buttonhole on my machine. I ended up making the skirt a bit too big (I have to stop rounding up my measurements!), but I think it still works in a Summery kind of way. I actually wasn't too sure about the fabric, it's floral, and reminds me of Hawaiian shirts. Yet the colours are striking and bold, and the flowers themselves remind me of blood-red splashes. It's certainly not the sort of pattern I'm used to wearing. But it is a medium-weight cotton, and the selection was poor.

I wore it to work today. That was quite a bold move for me. I have never worn anything I made myself out-of-doors, except costumes. I suffer from thinking that nothing I can do is good enough, for whatever that means. But I did, and received several compliments on it, none of which were 'Did you make that yourself?'. I aim for a handmade look, not homemade. And, I say this with relief, I think this a step in the right direction.

( Photo behind cut )

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