We finished constructing the bodice last week, let\’s move on to the skirt!
I\’ve mentioned before that my fabric is semi sheer, so you may be wondering why I\’m not lining my skirt. A few reasons: First, I almost always wear a slip; I have a nude half-slip that I love and wear under basically all skirts, and I find wearing a slip to just be more convenient than putting linings in everything. Second, I want this sheer skirt to be a free-floating overlay, which is hard to do with a lining. Third, the pattern isn\’t written with a lined skirt, so I feel like it\’s just easier to show you this way, as written, and then deal with the issue of a sheer skirt myself. The only change I\’m making–and I\’m so sorry, y\’all, I know, I know–is I\’m leaving out the pockets! Sacrilege! I\’m sorry, but formal dresses don\’t need pockets, and putting them in a sheer chiffon skirt is a bad idea. Carry a dang clutch like Princess Kate does and allow your skirt hang properly. So there.
A few notes before we begin–if you made adjustments to the bodice that will affect your skirt (like taking a bit off the side seams!) you have a couple of options. The first is to take the same amount off of the side seams, tapering to nothing at about a foot down the skirt. The second, and what I usually do, is to fudge it. Since I\’m only taking an inch out of my waistband total (remember, I took 1/4\” off of each side seam front and back for a total of 1\”), I will just add a smidge to each of the side pleats to work in the extra fabric. What you want to do is up to you, just know that if you do the fudge way your pleats may not be perfectly determined by the pleat marks you have dutifully traced.
Before you start making the pleats, now is the time to finish your side seams however you want–serger, zig zag, etc. Then we\’ll start the pleats. I like to do this from the front side of the fabric (since I have pins through all my markings, it\’s easier this way). Each pleat is comprised of a set of three pairs of two dots, three dots along the waist seam allowance and their pairs about 6\” down your skirt. What we are doing when we make each pleat is bringing in the outer pairs of dots and putting them right on top of the center pair of dots, like this:
On the right hand side, I\’ve brought the right pair of dots in to meet the center dots, and on the left hand side I\’ve done the same for the seamline dot and left the bottom left dot free.
Do the same for the right part of the dot; pinch the upper right dot:
and bring it in towards the center dot.
Ensure the fold touch right at the 5/8\” seam allowance and the top of the skirt is smooth (all those waves you cut should be forming a smooth line across the top of the dart now).
And pin:
Your pleat is com-pleat! 😉 Now for the next one! Repeat the same process:
Once all your pleats are pinned, go ahead and baste them down. The pattern suggests you sew them closed vertically, but what I prefer is to baste across the top of the skirt, it\’s just simpler I think. Using the longest stitch length on my machine, I basted across the whole front panel, side seam to side seam, at a 3/4\” seam allowance and at a 1/2\” seam allowance. This will fall on either side of your 5/8\” seam allowance when you attach the skirt and bodice later!
Here\’s a close-up so you can see the stitches!
And from the outside:
On the left side of this photo you can see that the side seams of the bodice, waistband, and skirt are all aligned. Since you did such a great job basting your pleats, they should be perfectly joined at the waistband seam. You can see here that the second row of basting is still visible on the skirt; go ahead and pick that out allowing your pleats to fall open. That\’s it!
Next week we tackle the thing you\’ve all been waiting for: the zipper!
xoxo,
I would sew the one side seam and put in the zipper, then sew the other side seam. Easier to put the zipper in that way!