Make Skirt from Dress Pattern

I blogged previously about planning to sew a skirt like this one from last summer's Sundance catalog:

At the time, I had just sewn this dress from McCall's 5617:

So it was an easy connection to see that the lower half of this dress pattern, made longer, could produce a skirt like the Sundance skirt. So I simply cut the fabric to the length I wanted using the dress pattern, and scooped side seams in for the waist while leaving enough width for the waist to clear my hips while pulling the skirt up. I used an elastic waistband. I usually am not a fan of elastic waistbands because I have a 10" difference in my waist and hip measurements, which produces lots of bulk with elastic waists, but for some reason this skirt is not bulky there. I lack the insight to know why!

Here's the result:





While I have the Sundance "All American" T-shirt and copy-catted the necklaces, I could show you a near-replica of the catalog photo above. But here the skirt is styled with a Texas cowgirl T purchased from an airport gift shop somewhere in Texas. Maybe San Antonio? I forget -- I used to have to travel all over Texas for business. And a Brighton belt purchased at the Savannah, GA hotel connected to the convention center (yeah more business travel, assuaged with shopping). But the boots are CIRCA Joan & David from Zappos acquired in the comfort of home.

The hem is simply a raw edge cut below one of the striped sections:





Because the fabric is sheer, as you can see here, I lined the skirt up to the ruffle seam with a matching dusty blue lining fabric:





While wearing the skirt yesterday, I noticed that the sheer ruffle makes interesting sidewalk shadows on sunny days.

I absolutely love this textural slubby fabric. It's from Gorgeous Things and has been in my stash for awhile. Here's another shot:





It's cold right now to wear a sleeveless T, but throw on a leather jacket and you're ready to go:





Pattern Review

- posted from my iPhone

Why Sleep When You Can Be Sewing?

With a major objective of this Taj Mahal Travel SWAP being FAST&EASY -- I sewed a travel wardrobe in under a week including an all-nighter the night before our flight -- a sure-fire bet is to pull out a pattern sewn before: McCall's 5313. Indeed I had sewn this previously during a frenzied all-nighter of vacation sewing. I figure, you can always sleep on the plane. Why sleep when you can be sewing? Here's my previous review at PR.com about McCall's 5313.

Below are garments created for the India travel SWAP -- the brown/beige pattern fabric is rayon and the black with melon flowers is lightweight polyester. The black fabric pleated nicely at the bodice seam, shown below. With both, I erred on the side of sewing a bit big, due to not having time for proper fitting. And with both, the bodice needed to be taken in. An opportunity for a button "design embellishment" on the center front on the brown/beige jumper, and with the black one, I took in the side seams.

The brown jumper is nearly ankle length and the black one is knee length.






Inside construction -- Only bodices are lined so the jumpers are super airy and light. Used french seams nearly everywhere because both fabrics frayed a lot and this made clean quick finish. I put more time into finishing the black jumper. Because the fabric has flecks of gold, I finished some inside seams with gold binding. Weird, but I know it's there and feel better about the garment. Both have center back zippers. I had to hand-sew the grosgrain ribbon straps, because I did those last so I would know how long to make them. The directions tell you to sew them into the seams, which I'd recommend rather than hand-sewing, to eliminate pulling.


A sewing assistant and I were very tired after this sewing marathon.


Love this little face! She worked really hard, pushing everything off the edge of the sewing table, and "guarding" fabric and pattern tissue. It hurt my productivity, but she sure had fun.

Taj Mahal Travel SWAP - McCall's 5617 Dress

Another dress for the Taj Mahal Travel SWAP:


Pattern Description
This was summer 2009's trendy dress, perhaps because it's super fast for manufacturing to construct? Because if it's super fast for me, it's gotta be eye-blink fast for anybody else. I sew at snail's pace. View B could be super fast for hobby sewists too. For woven or knits. Two lengths, one including a ruffled hem.

Pattern Sizing
Most sizes; my envelope is 12-18.

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelop once you were done sewing with it?
Yes. I sewed view A and also cut it longer, because I am not a teenager and no longer know how to sit, exit a vehicle, and bend over in a dress so short. Then again maybe teenagers don't either.

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Very easy. No hiccups.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I like how you could whip up a trendy dress very fast in opaque fabric using view B. My dress took awhile to construct because the batiste fabric is very light so I sewed a voile lining, and the ruffle for view B takes quite awhile to sew.

I like the slight A-line shape. I had also considered McCall's 5424 which could be converted to A-line but I was concerned that pattern would fit tighter in the hips, based on the photos and drawings. I was short on time for sewing and I needed it to fit right the first time. New Look 6700 was also a contender, but I liked the option of the ruffle hem in McCall's 5617.

Dislike -- Once I finished the dress and tried it on, I was wearing The Great Big Beige Tent. The extra fabric seemed to be in the middle, and it was not possible to take in the side seams at the bottom after the ruffle hem had been added, so I added darts in the front and back to nip it in. I topstitched the darts to make them into a design element. This pulled the dress closer to the body and maintained the loose fit it is designed to have. I also had to take in the side seams under the arms, and taper the seam out toward the ruffle hem, which I had already completed.

Fabric Used
Stretch Jacquard Stripe Shirting - Ivory/Ecru from Gorgeous Fabrics. The fabric is cool for the 105 degree plus (!) weather where I would be wearing this dress. The stripes are actually shiny gold, so I used the reverse side for the right side, where the stripes look ecru. Becuase I'm not a shiny gold kind of person for casual wear. It is lined with Bemberg voile lightweight lining in white from Gorgeous Fabrics. I am LOVING cotton voile and batistes. In double layers they feel so substantial but still very cool to wear, and very good against the skin. I worried that this fabric looks a bit like a dhoti fabric in India where I would wear the dress, especially with the gold stripes, so that was a deciding factor to use McCall's 5617 with the ruffle at the hem, which makes this obviously a woman's dress.

This dress goes well with some Grecian gold flat sandals I already owned.

This pattern would look great in a flowy border pattern silk, and that might hang closer to the body.

Pattern Alterations or any design changes you made:
I added a lining that stops above the ruffle hem. I considered laying out the ruffle on the diagonal but decided to keep a vertical flow of lines. Here's an inside view of how I finished the lining, and close-up inside view of the hem.

My labels. Wabi Sabi is perfect description for my sewing, overall.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, I already sewed it again. View B out of a striped cotton seersucker from G Street remnant table. This version also for India's super hot weather. I sewed it above knee length and on vacation wore it over Capri pants, but intend to wear it over cropped leggings at home. Added topstitched darts to the back of this version.