The Controversial Madeleine

Controversial because I ended up hemming it longer than you all wanted me to, but I just really like it that way!  It looks like a '50s/'70s mash-up!  And I can always make it shorter, but once I've cut it, I can't make it longer!

It's just a little below knee length, and I think that's OK.  Today I paired it with a floral jacket I bought from Anthropologie a few years ago.  The red flowers in the jacket aren't quite the same red as the skirt, but I like them together anyway - I tend to like red and brown together.

After I ran it through a warm wash cycle a couple times, the fabric did shrink a little and soften up, so I'm really liking the skirt now.  But next time I do it, I'll make sure to use a lighter-weight fabric.

It's been so long since I finished this that I don't remember any of the construction particulars - sorry!  The only thing I remember is that my waistband came out too short.  I later learned that I should have eased the skirt into the waistband more than I did, so I'll keep that in mind next time.

I think you can totally tell
I was a school teacher
for many years!

Is anyone else planning to make this pattern?  Melizza made a super-cute one in kelly green.  I've been looking all over for kelly green fabric to make some pants (or another Ginger) and boy, is that a hard fabric to find!  So far I'm striking out!

Pouty Face :-(

So, I did finish my Madeleine Skirt (except for the hem) on Sunday.  And it ain't pretty.  Well, actually, it's quite pretty, just not on my body.  And although it embarrasses me to say so, I'm going to admit that I've been in a pouty funk ever since.

Not so bad if I keep my hands in the pockets.

My first thought was to toss it immediately into the Goodwill pile.  But I love this color; I spent some time on Saturday (pre-doom) mentally going through my closet and noting all the many blouses and sweaters I have that will go with it.  And after I had some time to simmer down, I started to think about ways I could fix it.

The main problem is that the fabric doesn't have as much drape as it should.  The pattern calls for medium weight fabric, and the sample is made in denim (although I'm not sure what weight of denim).  My fabric was listed as medium weight on Fabric.com, and I did pre-wash it.  But the enormous pockets are getting in the way of the skirt panels draping the way they want to.  And that's creating some unsightly buckling and making me look a lot heavier than I actually am.

Maybe it's not as visible in these photos - the light has left us again.  When I see the photos, it doesn't look as terrible as I initially thought it was.  But I will say that there's a big difference between how it hangs with a slip and without.  (Better with.)  And I feel like I shouldn't have to wear a slip with a heavy skirt!  (Unless I'm wearing tights, which is a different matter altogether.)

It's also a smidge too big.  Maybe I should have made the size 4.  I went with the size 6, with a waist measurement 1/2 inch larger than mine.  The size 4 is based on a waist measurement 1 inch smaller than mine.  My finished skirt sits just slightly below my natural waist, but it is meant to sit higher.  I could take out at least an inch:

So how to fix it?  Taking off the pockets would probably fix the whole situation, but I don't think that's really an option:  remember all that groovy triple-stitching? Those pockets are on there good.

My second thought was to wash and dry it at warmer temperatures than I usually do, to see if I can shrink and soften it a little.  It's in the dryer now, so I'll know in a while if that works!

If it doesn't, it looks like I'll have to remove the waistband (also triple-stitched all the way around - gah!) and zipper and then take it in at the back seam.

I did have a little trouble with the instructions for the zipper and the waistband; somehow they just didn't make sense to me, so I did them the way I'm used to.  And my waistband also ended up being a couple inches too short - it was supposed to have a much longer underlap for the button.  But there's a good chance that one was due to user error.

Today I'm going to start a new project, which will be a muslin for a blouse on which I'll also try out the serger.  More on that another time!

Meanwhile, any other ideas out there for a fix?

My skirt so far:

Yesterday I got the fabric cut out, but decided not to start sewing.  I knew that I was almost tired, and that I'd be more likely to make mistakes.  So I spent some time knitting instead.  I'm close to being finished with the back of my new cardigan!

Today I got started on the sewing, in between loads of laundry.  I've gotten about 2/3 done, I'd say.  All that's left is the zipper, waistband, buttonhole and hem.

The pockets on this one are a fair amount of work, and they took me even longer because I decided to use my machine's triple stitch for all the topstitching.  It takes three times as long - but I think I benefited by having to go slower.

I really like the jeans styling on this pattern.  Here's a shot of the side seam; the seam allowance is pressed toward the back and topstitched down.

I used a medium blue chambray for the pocket lining.  The heavier stitching is the topstitching in triple stitch, and the finer one is understitching the seam allowance to the pocket lining.  I have a hard time with understitching.  I'm not sure why it's so hard for me, but this is the best understitching I've ever done, so I'm happy about that.

For those who wonder:  polish is China Glaze Lemon Fizz,
with some Sally Hansen Glass Slipper on top.

One of the things I like about PDF patterns is that I can load the instructions on my iPad rather than print them out.  So another reason I knew it was time to stop for today is that the iPad ran out of juice!

I love the enormous pockets, and I keep thinking about all the things I can keep in there!

Anybody else going to make up this pattern?

Victory is mine!

I finally finished my taxes yesterday, so I'm giving myself a sewing day today!  Yay!

I'm starting the Victory Patterns Madeleine skirt.  I'll be doing this without the suspenders, but with the pockets.  Pockets!  Big ones!  Hurray!

I printed out my pattern on Tuesday, and this morning I trimmed all the pages while watching an old episode of Dragnet on Netflix:  it had three vintage commercials too!  Two for cigarettes (!) and one for Grape Nuts.  Yummy.  (The Grape Nuts, not the cigarettes.)

While that was going on, I washed and dried the red cotton twill I'll be using.  And now I'm putting the pages together:

I'm hoping to get my fabric cut out today, and then I'll have to go to the fabric store for a zipper.  I'm very excited.  I've been wanting a red full skirt for quite some time.  I think this one will have just the right amount of fullness for me - I find circle skirts make me look poufy in my tummy.  Because I am!

And I did stamp my nails yesterday.  They didn't look as great as they did in my mind:

Zoya Cassi
stamped with China Glaze Millennium
and Konad plate m66

And I got significant shrinkage because I used Seche Vite topcoat.  I've found that Zoya polishes can take a coat of Seche Vite on the second day without shrinking, but if I use it on the first day, it's just asking for trouble.