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THE LILY SKIRT

Review by Jenny Gaskin March 2013

I love the swish-i-ness of my irty Lily skirt, it is an absolute delight to wear

Overview I found the pattern very easy to piece together, cut out, and alter for my body shape. It helps to follow the order of the instructions, which I found out to my peril and amusement when I skipped a step. Chiffon, soft silk, silk chiffon and crepe are ideal fabrics for this skirt. You will love how it feels against you skin and the motion when you walk. Your friends will all want one.

Pattern and adjustments I printed the pattern out onto regular weight A4 sheets from my home printer. Over the course of 2 nights I taped all the pages together. Once I had taped two rows together I rolled them up so I had enough room to lay out another 2 rows. I initially used the table but found the oor was better for taping the pages together. I used my ruler to make sure the squares were the right size where I joined pages together. On the pattern there is a single line drawn to indicate a notch mark on the centre back and centre front. I cut a single notch to identify the top of the centre front and a double notch to identify the top of the centre back. Because of the thickness of my photocopying paper needles were hard to get through the paper to mark the squares and circles for tailors tacks so I just used different colour tailors chalk for them instead. I added 2.5cm (1 inch) to the hemline on each pattern piece. I made a 1.5cm (1/2 inch) full seat adjustment across the centre back pattern piece and of the way across the side back pattern pieces. I made the same adjustment on the lining piece. As I have enough of my own padding around my waist and hips I decided to join the lining facings to the front and back lining pieces respectively so there would be no additional seam and bulk on the lining layer. I taped the pattern pieces together and cut them out as one piece. Fabric

I had two pieces of suitable fabric in my stash for the Lily skirt, one a red chiffon and the second a silk chiffon. Both fabrics were 115cm wide (45 inches) and I had 3 yards of each. The fabric stores in Manila use imperial measurements so I converted the 189 inches of fabric stated in the Meterage/Yardage chart for sixe 16 and 18 to 5 yards of fabric. Oh dear I was well and truly short of fabric! However, I laid out the pattern pieces on my fabric and the pattern pieces (including the lining pieces) tted perfectly onto this amount of fabric. I would love to know how the other testers found the Meterage/Yardage requirements. I feel it would be easier to have the amount of fabric required stated in yards and inches rather than a total number of inches to avoid any confusion. Popping a decimal point into the meterage chart would be advantageous too. Lena says: thank you Jenny, the instructions were changed and now more user-friendly! :)

Notions 3 yards silk chiffon in a soft purple/blue with soft grey background from my stash PHP280 per yard for a total of PHP980.00 (AUD/USD23.00) 1 yard of soft grey organza for stabilizing the waist and zip seam allowance PHP60 per yard (AUD/USD00.40 cents) (Silk organza is the equivalent of AUD/USD10.55 per yard) 1 invisible zip in navy (the closest colour match) PHP6 for 2 zips (AUD/USD 00.14 cents) Thread - from my stash 1 button PHP35 for bag of 6 (AUD/USD00.85 cents for 6) Small piece of ribbon - PHP1.50 per yard (AUD/USD00.05 cents) I used a new sharp size 10 universal needle and my straight stitch presser foot and feed plate so the ne fabric would not get caught in the feed dogs. Total cost PHP1082.50 (AUD/USD25.00) Process I sewed a muslin of the skirt very quickly one evening in white sheeting. I knew the silk chiffon would handle differently however I didnt have anything else in my stash to use. Initially I made my usual sway back adjustment

however I still had drag lines on the side back pieces of the skirt so I consulted my favorite tting books, Fast Fit Easy Pattern Alterations for Every Figure by Sandra Betzina and The Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting by Sarah Veblen to seek another remedy. It seemed I needed to make a full seat/derriere alteration. Viola! A slash across the derrire region, a piece of fabric underneath until the t was comfortable and I had a skirt with no draglines and not only a irty front but also a irty back! Success. The silk chiffon behaved well when I cut it out (I am sure the chiffon wont be so friendly) and it frays only a little. I made French seams throughout, including the seam below the zipper. I basted the 2nd seam of the French seams so there would be no ripples. I always sew from the hemline up to the top of the skirt or dress so the shape of the fabric will not be stretched or distorted. The zip went in well using organza strips down both seam lines. When I tried on the skirt before sewing the nal side seam it fell right off to the ground! In my haste I had forgotten to stabilize the waistline (even though I had done it for the zipper) and it had stretched to at least 10cm (4 inches) bigger than me. It was late at night but there was no way I could go to bed knowing I had a large case of gaposis! Rather than unpick those beautiful French seams to accommodate my temporary lapse of concentration I just made them bigger than the cm they started off as so the skirt would no longer slip off me. The waistline seam allowances are now somewhat larger at 2.5cm (1inch) on the back of the skirt and 1.5cm (5/8inch) on the front of the skirt tapering like a dart to the original seam line just above hip level. Interestingly, these increased seam allowances are what kept the side seams perpendicular to the oor. I did try pulling in the right hand side seam although this created draglines on the side back panel and moved the side seam to the front. That wasnt a good look even at 11:00pm! Before I under stitched the lining I attached the side seams of the lining to the zip using a tutorial from the Coletterie blog. This method does not require any hand stitching. http://www.coletterie.com/tutorials-tips-tricks/tutorial-invisible-zipperwith-facing Lena has an excellent tutorial here about putting in the zip and lining together which I am going to try on my next irty Lily skirt. http://thesewingspace.com/2013/02/18/how-to-sew-an-invisible-zip/ #more-6009

Here are two other variations you may like to use. All four links have photos and easy to follow descriptions. http://buzzybeesworld.blogspot.com/2010/04/tricks-of-trade-facinginvisible-zip.html http://sewaholic.net/crescent-sew-along-21-sewing-the-zipper/ Rather than use a hook and eye at the top of the zip on this delicate fabric I copied an idea from a ready-to-wear skirt I own which uses a button and small ribbon loop. I folded the ribbon in half with the wrong sides together and stitched as close as possible to the edge. It was quite ddly getting the ribbon into the correct place as sewing late at night I had already sewn in the lining and had to unpick all those tight little stitches! On the wrong side of the lining and zipper tape I placed a piece of interfacing to stabilize the area for the button. You could also use one of your organza strips. I practiced my rather rusty hand rolled hem skills and even though I loved it I decided it was best left for my next Lily skirt when I didnt have the patterntesting deadline to meet. Instead, I made a machine rolled hem, which is very fast and easy. With the added bulk of my French seams though the size 10 ne needle did not like going over them and protested with skipped stitches when I lengthened the stitch. The hem is so tiny there is not enough room to trim the bulk so I improvised and stitched right up to the seam allowance, on both sides, or as close as I could get without the machine groaning and then nished off the small-unstitched piece by hand. This link has an excellent tutorial for a machine rolled hem. http://grainlinestudio.com/2011/08/17/tips-tricks-easy-roll-hem/ Hand-rolled hem tutorials; http://www.picknstitch.com/2010/12/06/rolled-hem-tutorial/ http://natashalh.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-sew-a-rolled-hem I would highly recommend making this skirt and I have my second one in red and white chiffon ready to cut out and the rst thing I do will be to stabilize that waist line.