How to construct the Ribbon Skirt--Plus some tips for sewing on the bias!

Hi all,  today I want to show you how to construct the Ribbon Skirt.  The fabric that I'm working with is a slippery silk.  Couple that with the slinky bias grain line and there are a few things to watch out for as you sew!

The first thing I like to do is try sewing a scrap.  That way I can adjust my stitch length and play with the way I'm going to press the seams before I start working on the actual garment.  In this case, I ended up with a 3.0 mm straight stitch and I'm going to press the seam allowances open.

Notice that the edges are not finished... One of the nice things about working with pattern pieces cut out on the bias is that the raw edges do not fray very much.  Actually this is more true with fabric that is very closely (or tightly) woven.  Look at this close-up of the raw edge.  I "roughed it up" pretty good, and it's barely frayed!

So,  yay, no serger!

If you've been following these posts, you'll remember that I pinned the center front and back edges together.    The first step is to sew the center front and center back seams.   This pattern has 1/2" seam allowances.

It looks like I'm going a pretty good job of sewing an accurate 1/2" seam in the picture above.... However, when the seam was finished, I examined the under side of the seam.  I noticed that the fabric that was out of view slipped a little and the seam allowance was not even.  This can cause the seam to buckle (especially with the fabric I'm using.)

I pinned the seam above and below the uneven edges.  I took out the stitching between the pins and adjusted the raw edges so that they were aligned with each other.  Then I re-sewed the seam where I had taken out the stitches.

After you sew the center front and back seams, do not press them (until you check the fit).  To keep track of the back and the front pieces, I traded in my little "F" and "B" tags with a skinny strip of fabric in the back.  I'll use that strip of fabric to fashion a small tag as I construct the waistline later.

The last step is to sew the side seams.  Baste them together so you can check the fit and make easy adjustments.   Then you can take the left side apart to put in the zipper if you're working with fabric that needs it.  (Some woven fabrics will not need a zip and some will.)    After the side seams are basted together, here's what the skirt looks like on my dressform.  Notice the hippy shape.  This fabric is very stable... and my dressform doesn't have any shape for the curves of the side seams to cling to.

Plus, remember that nothing has been pressed yet!

Because we're all friends, I'll show you my belly....  and how the skirt fits a more realistic shape.... (I did take creative license with photoshop to make the black fabric show up and make my beautiful knees blend in!)

In the next post I'm going to show you how to make adjustments to the fit of this skirt... by putting it on inside out and pinning out the excess.  Plus we'll put in an invisible zipper in the side seam (very fun). : )