Aloha

Last Monday I gave you a glimpse of my latest project: a new skirt (yes, another one) made from Butterick4519. The fabric is from my stash, and I know I got it at JoAnn's last year. It has a nice texture, but is a bit of a mystery as far as fiber content. I'm really trying to break out of my rut and make some different skirts, but it's hard to leave the tried-and-true behind and venture into the unknown!

If anyone has a favorite skirt pattern to recommend, please do!

This is View D minus the silly bows at the pleats. It went together very easily, aside from the waistband. I ran into this same problem with another Butterick pattern: They expect quite a bit of easing when you fit the waistband on, and I'm just not that comfortable with it. No matter what I did, I ended up about a half inch short, so I cheated and shaved a half inch from the side seam so the waistband would fit. This means the whole skirt is assymmetrical by that half inch, but who would know?

The obligatory facing shot for the finishing fans! Speaking of finishing, someone asked about my "fancy hemming." For the record, I don't always hand sew a blind hem. I will take the time if it works best with the fabric and the style of the garment, but I use the double-fold-and-machine-sew method as well. Here's a tutorial I found at Craftzine for hand sewing a blind hem, which looks pretty close to what I do, minus the hem tape. I just like the hem tape for finishing the raw edge, because it's a little touch you don't find on ready to wear very often.

Don't forget--You can enter my giveaway until July 1st! All you need to do is answer a sewing question. I'll share my answer and announce a winner on Thursday.