Monday 18 August 2014

As long as you don't look at the back...


One thing I was really missing in my wardrobe was a denim skirt. I have so many patterned blouses and tops (and skirts), but nothing to combine them with. Nope, I don't wear trousers. Never. So, when Tilly released her book I was immediately taken with the Delphine skirt, which although simple, looked elegant and playful at the same time.



The skirt I'm showing you today is not the first version I made. I made a wearable muslin before (which turned out great), but didn't had the time to take pictures yet. But no worries, you will see it soon because I love it.



Fabric: Light blue denim that I bought especially for this skirt. It took me three trips to Goldhawk Road before I finally decided to buy it. I had fallen in love with the fabric at first sight, but the price of 8£/meter made me hesitant. But then I just couldn't resist and bought 1 meter :) By the way, is it normal that denim smells like chlorine? Even after washing?



Pattern: Tilly and the buttons Delphine Skirt. I cut a straight size 3 according to my waist measurement.



Adjustment: I took the waistband side seams in by 1/4" at the top tapering to nothing towards the bottom. I made a massive swayback adjustment by taking out 2" at the center back of the skirt panel tapering to nothing towards the side seam. However, that's what I'm not fully happy with. Because I took out so much, the waistband looks pointy at the center back. Probably, I have to take out some of the fabric from the waistband as well. But this would mean the waistband will get smaller. I haven't decided yet what best to do. So if you have any suggestions, please comment :)



Construction:  Thanks to Tilly's amazing instructions, no problem at all. Tilly suggested to use a contrast facing, which I did. I used some liberty cotton lawn that I had left from the Hawthorn blouse that I'm wearing with the skirt.



Embellishments: As also described in Tilly's book, I added some belt loops and made a belt. But instead of adding a bow I added three buttons. I didn't plan to use these buttons. Actually I wanted to make the skirt version with the six buttons down the front of the skirt. When I emptied my button jar on the denim to see which buttons I could use, I noticed how perfect the big buttons goes with the denim. And thus the idea of my button belt was born.



The only issue is that somehow my belt turned out smaller than my waistband and that's why the belt is pulling the skirt up at the belt loops. Because of this the waitsband looks even more crooked. I also noticed on the photos that the hem in the back looks shorter than in the front, buh. I didn't realise it when looking in the mirror before hemming the skirt. I actually made Lescha measure the distance between hem and floor and he confirmed that the back is 1.5 cm shorter than the front. I'm contemplating to shorten the front to make the hem even. Hm, but I'm not in the mood to unpick the hem at the moment. Let's see...



Do I like it? Despite it's little mistakes, I love the skirt. I have worn it twice already and it held up well when I was out all day flat hunting.

In other news, I finally got a flat and will be packing my sewing room in the next couple of days. In the new flat, I will not be having a sewing room, but a little corner in the living room. I'm actually looking forward to sewing in the living room as I always felt a bit isolated from Lescha when sewing in my room.


49 comments:

  1. Great skirt! I love the shape of it, very clean lines and it looks great with your blouse. The button belt is the cutest thing!

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  2. Such a lovely skirt, I like all the details and how you've paired it. I don't know about the bleach smell though, I have bought only dark blu denim.

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  3. Denim skirts are so useful - I wear my denim Hollyburn all the time (I don't wear trousers either so it fills the role that jeans play for most people)! The button belt is really cute - I love it when the perfect buttons are sitting there waiting to be used in your button jar. I'd only re-hem it if the difference is annoying you, I'm sure nobody else would notice. And congratulations on finding a new flat!

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  4. Ooh I like it. I think I need a denim Delphine too (and I think I have a metre of denim already that I could use ;o)

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  5. Cute skirt! Denim skirts are a wardrobe staple in my book, I'm constantly reaching for my denim Miette. The hemline looks great, I wouldn't worry about re hemming unless it irritates you.

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  6. Great minds think alike! I want to make a denim Delphine too. Your skirt is lovely, and I have found that there is a chlorine smell for denim for a few washes. I also love your blouse, and am going to read your post on it.

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  7. I love it! I have not sewn with denim before but now I will so do it! Its funny about adjustments. Sometimes you just can't get the feel of the garment through a rough muslin so sewing a garment through and through gives you the ability to really analyze it and next time can tweek any changes. Enjoy your lovely skirt! Good luck on your move and dream of future sewing to get you through it LOL

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  8. PS could you tell me where you got the sew in label? I would like to order some of them. Thanks so much

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    1. Hi Nancy, thanks for your comment. I got the labels from http://www.wovenlabelsuk.com/craft-hobby-labels/wl-02.html. Sorry for my short reply, but I'm in the midst of packing and moving my sewing room. There is much more than I thought there would be, haha.

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  9. Wow, I LOVE this! I actually really like the triangle shape of the seam at the back - I thought you'd done it on purpose as a design feature before I read the post ;) Your belt is the cutest too. I WANT this skirt!!

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  10. It's a very pretty skirt and I love the button! Ah, I'm sure after a little while you will forget the little mistakes that nobody except you notices anyway and fully enjoy your skirt. :)

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  11. This is really cute! Did you do something to the side seams to make the flare a bit less? In Tilly's book the flare looks super exaggerated and I'm not sure that look would suit me!

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    1. Hi Noelle, no I didn't do any changes to the side seams. I guess it just depends on the stiffness of the fabric how strongly the flare is.

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  12. That's one awesome skirt! I found your blog while searching for someone mentioning issues with the back of the Delphine skirt. I've just finished my first version of it, in denim too, and the fit in the back is all wrong. I'm still a beginner, so I don't even know how to call this problem :) Ok, I've googled 'swayback adjustment' and it seems to be my problem. Have you found any new ways of fixing it since writing this post maybe?

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    1. Gosh I love your name :) If you have a sway back you will have fabric pooling just below the waistband (you can see the issue a bit here: http://ela-sews.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/delphine-skirt-and-bronte-top-for-autumn.html). so what I did was to take out a wedge from waistband and skirt back. i took the largest amount from the center back and tappered to nothing towards the side seam. That's why I have the triangular shape. I haven't made the skirt again, but I guess you could only remove a wadge from the skirt back and not the waistband. Try to pull up the skirt back (loads in the middle towards nothing at the side) and pin it to the waistband and see if that helps. I hope that's not to confusing. I'm not very good in giving clear explanations, ups.

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  13. Hi
    I love this outfit! The cardigan is gorgeous - is it hand-knitted? If so, could you tell me what the pattern is please?
    Thanks:-)

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    1. Sorry just looked in your knitted makes section and found it there!

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