Chevron Maxi Skirt

Can I just jump right in here and say that maxi skirts might be my absolute favorite piece of clothing in the world? Seriously, the right maxi is like the yoga pant of the 'fancy' world. I have great (but likely misguided) confidence that it will never go out of style, but either way, I'm going to enjoy it as long as possible.

The hardest part of shopping for a maxi is finding one the right length. Out of LOTS that I've tried on, only about 2 actually fit well without alterations. Luckily, they're super easy to make. :) I like using this tutorial for circle skirts a lot in general, because it doesn't require a pattern, just measurements and (relatively) simple math. For the maxi length I follow the 'quarter' instructions. This is perfect because it's not too full or too straight, and doesn't use a ton of fabric.

Even following these instruction, I add length to my measurements because it's MUCH easier to hem shorter, than try to add later. Another secret I learned when I hem anything by myself, is to use another piece of clothing as a guide. Basically, complete everything EXCEPT the hem, then get a similar garment that you like the length of and use it as a template. This is how I do dresses, skirts, pants, etc. to get the perfect fit, and do it without help. The most important thing is making sure the fit is similar. (For example, don't use a high-waisted pant to hem a low-rise)

I've been drooling over this fabric over at Hobby Lobby for a few months now, but it was a little expensive for me. I was so excited when I happened to stumble over it in the clearance bin last Friday! It's actually a plain stripe, not chevron, so I bought two yards so I had some leeway when creating the chevron. It drives me crazy if the stripes don't match and I was thankful I went ahead and grabbed two yards, I needed it! I also love that it's a stretch knit so I didn't have to bother with a closure.

Now, I told you I used the quarter pattern, but that's only partially true. Following this pattern would result in one, continuous piece of fabric. In order to create the chevron, I needed four separate panels, so I used a different maxi dress as the pattern. (The other dress was made using the link I provided) I folded the skirt part into fourths, and pinned it to use as a pattern template. I carefully noted where the center seam would be, and then used a quilting ruler to place that seam at a 45 degree angle to the stripes, also ensuring the chevrons would point down. I cut out two pieces at a time (fabric was right side together) and was also very careful to match the stripes up while the fabric was folded, and when cutting the second time. After cutting, I seamed the center seams and side seams, added a 6 inch piece of elastic in the back, finished the top, and added a blind hem in the bottom. I'm considering taking the hem up just a tad more, but overall I'm really pleased with the result. :) 

It only took about an hour, and wouldn't have taken that long had I not spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how to fold the fabric. (Use a stripped piece of notebook paper and do a "practice" run if you're nervous.) I was able to wear it to church the next day, and it must have looked good because even though Eric didn't really like the fabric in the store, he complimented me on it several times. :) I hope you feel inspired and find my tips are helpful. Have a great week!

~Farm Girl Teacher

P.S. Thanks to my wonderful photographer/mother for braving the gnats for me! :D

Formal Wear: Fabric Guide

I'm so excited about this formal wear series, inspired by my experience sewing my sister's prom dress! Check it out, here, if you haven't seen it yet. Please let me know if you have any special requests. :) 

Type of Fabric
Formal wear is almost always made from pain-in-the-neck material...but if you know what you're doing, it's really not as bad as you'd think. Miranda's dress had a muslin lining, a satin waist, a lamé underskirt, and a chiffon overskirt. I will give advice for each of these...if you'd like me to do an additional post on a specific type of fabric you're interested in, let me know! :)

Muslin Lining
When choosing lining fabric, make sure you choose something simple, strong, light colored, and comfortable. It's going to be closest to the skin, so you want the person wearing it to be comfortable. That being said, the lining may be taking a bit of weight on so it's important not to choose something weak like silk. 

 
Satin Waist
We actually weren't sure what the waist would look like when we began. The first bodice I made had a lamé waist with the chiffon covering, however after stepping back and looking at it, we all agreed it'd really look better if it was broken by a different texture/color. In this case, that was the satin. Satin tends to be a bit unstructured though, so I reinforced it with featherweight interfacing. Keep in mind when choosing satin or silk that perspiration is going to show through the fabric so it's important to line it to prevent wet marks.

Gold Lamé
Lamé fabric is made from metallic fibers. Unfortunately, this means the metal in the fabric quickly dulls the scissors and needles you're using, make sure you're changing needles regularly or sharpening your scissors. It also frays quickly so it's important to wait to cut it until you're definitely ready, avoid handling it too much, and stitch as soon as possible to finish the edges so you don't have to worry anymore. 

Chiffon
The overlay was made using a chiffon. Chiffon reminds me of a softer kind of tulle. With chiffon it is important to take a few extra precautions to keep your machine from eating the delicate fabric. The most important thing you can do is to simply change needles often. (I recommend using a size 70 needle) I also found that using a presser foot designed to be used on delicate or sheer fabrics to be beneficial in preventing the eating of my fabric. Like the lamé, chiffon frays easily, see the instruction above to learn to combat this. 


Amount of Fabric
Avoid skimping too much on the amount of fabric you should buy. That being said, we did not follow our pattern instructions on this. I think the pattern was designed for a cheaper fabric, like tulle. It said I needed almost 25 yards of fabric just for the overskirt! We wound up going with 5 yds of lame (in hindsight, I'd buy 6) 10 yds of chiffon, 1 yd of satin, 3 yds of feathers (too much, but it gave me tons of wiggle room, and 6 yds of beading.

Most Importantly... 
Get to know YOUR fabric. Do you need a special foot? Does it behave a certain way after it's been sewn? Are there special care instructions? etc. You have the world wide web at your fingertips...use it! :) Also, take some time to practice various stitches and stitch sizes on scrap fabrics. 

Hope you enjoyed!

~Farm Girl Teacher

Surprise!

Did you guess it from the sneak peek? It's, drum roll please, a formal dress!  Now, for my teacher-friends out there, this post is about to sound like I took a page out of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. It was certainly a roller coaster! :)

Back in October, my sister approached me about sewing her prom dress for her this year. (Her senior year) I eagerly agreed and began picturing the gorgeous dress I was going to make...

...about two weeks after she asked I had a miniature panic attack when I realized that I COULD NOT screw this up....oh boy.

Little did I know, this would be one of many panic attacks as the next few months ensued.

Sure, everything started out okay. She decided on what she wanted, I did my research, we picked a pattern, etc.

But then came the fabric shopping...and suddenly everything became even more real...my second panic attack came when I realized I'd have to use chiffon, lamé, satin, beading, and FEATHERS all on the same dress, and, oh yeah, it's probably the most important article of clothing in high school ever...

I made a toile (more on that later) and, well, everything seemed fine...until it came time to make the one shoulder part of the dress. My timing was very poor as I asked my sister to try it on the same day she was having her wisdom teeth taken out and emotions were already running a bit high. Next thing I knew, I was smack dab in the middle of a very strange hysterical breakdown about how she didn't want armholes!

What? Whaaat? Can someone please explain to me how I make a dress without ARMHOLES??? I can't just sew your arms into the dress, they have to poke out somewhere!!!

Needless to say, she did eventually come to terms with the fact that we would HAVE to add armholes, but of course that decision wasn't reached until after the bodice had been completed, and yes, I ripped it out and redid it...changing the midriff fabric as well.

After that, everything was smooth sailing until I realized that I was going to have to insert an invisible zipper into the side of the dress on a lining, chiffon, and lamé...craaap!

After additional research, this did happen, and...I didn't have to rip it out! yaaay! :)

And again, we were flying high until....my serger broke. Oh. My. Goodness. All I can say is thank God for great friends and their generosity, my friend's serger got quite a bit of use that night! :)

And then came those dreaded feathers...how did I let her talk me into this. Those darn feathers just sat on our dinning room table taunting me, torturing me, for MONTHS. Who sews with feathers????

Apparently, I do. This actually turned out to be considerably easier than I anticipated and I quickly add the feathers and beading.

Needless to say, we came out on the other side and I think the dress looks pretty darn good if I do say so myself! :)

Tutorials, will, of course, follow. I'm still debating on whether or not I'm going to do a tutorial on how I did her hair, let me know if this is something you'd be interested in! :)

Hope you enjoyed!

(And if you didn't, keep it to yourself! lol)

~Farm Girl Teacher