|~ Long Sailor Skirt

Ever have a piece of fabric taunt you, begging to be made, but unsure of what/how to make it into? This length of denim was that. I ordered it from Fashion Fabrics Club on clearance, since it was a good price, but I wasn't sure what I was going to do with it. A little Pinterest searching, and I realized the Jet Navy Denim piece was destined for sailing. You can take a look at my denim board here.

 We took these pictures after I had sat in church all morning (the fabric's still new, so it's hard to iron in the first place) and after I had worn the skirt to feed the chickens in the wet yard, so you'll have to excuse the wrinkles and mud. :P

 This skirt features a high waistband, button detail, and pleated, but flattering, skirt front.

 It's really comfortable, and is perfect for church. The denim is nice enough and dark enough to be not too casual, and the buttons on the front and the style really class it up. I also foresee it as a BBQ skirt with a striped shirt come summertime.

I grabbed some shots of the process with my iPhone, if you're interested.

To cut the skirt pieces, I used the pattern from my eBook (transferred to the lining of a chicken feed bag for ease of use). For the front, I placed the pattern on the fold, but off-set it by 4" or so to give me fabric for the pleats. 

The back I cut on the selvage edge at the normal width. (BTW, if you don't have one of those heavy magnetic pincushions, you need to get one. I use it as a pattern weight and the world's most convenient pin catcher. My sewing time is drastically reduced by it's saving qualities. This was not sponsored.)

To draft the waistband, I measured my waist (aka where the top of the skirt's waistband would be), divided in two (since we'll have a front and back) and determined the height of my waistband (6" from my waist to my hip), and drew a rectangle with these measurements. I cut it out.

Then I slashed it in half a dozen points from one long edge to about 3/4" from the other. I laid this on another two pieces of paper taped together and splayed it out (with the help of some tape) so that the bottom long edge matched half my hip measurement. 

Cut out 4, with seam allowance added. 

For the front detail, I just folded the ends of the waistband piece towards the center. I held the piece up to me to determine the width. 

I interfaced the piece as well. I just slapped it over the folded under seam allowance so that I wouldn't have to worry about pinning that while I sewed. 

To make sure they lined up, I used the detail piece to measure how/where to fold in my front pleats, making sure to end up with it fitting my hips. 

I laid the front detail over the front waistband piece and just sewed it into the seam as I attached the facing. 

I put in a side zipper, hand-stitched the six front buttons on, and hemmed it to work with heels. :) 

If you'd like more detail on exactly how to do this type of waistband (well, this is a modified version, but the principles and techniques are the same), there are 9 pages of instructions and pictures in my Denim eBook. 

This sailor style skirt was a super fun and easy project. Once you're comfortable working with denim, a whole range of practical possibilities opens up!