Tutorial Tuesday: I made a skirt

This is not a tutorial per se in the classic sense, more of a tutorial review. As part of my year of empowerment and self discovery- also known as my unexpected year off- I decided that I want to learn how to sew. I wish I could say that the desires stem for want to make things for others (like Tabitha in the Bible) but I really just like clothes (Like the adorable vintage looking clothes on Mod Cloth.com) but have a limited budget to spend on them. The solution? Learn how to make them myself so I can expand my wardrobe and save money.

I decided that my first project would be to make a skirt. Skirts looked like simple items to make for a beginner like me and I can always use a new one. So, I took to the Pinterest to find a tutorial and I came across this one from This Big Oak Tree. It was a simple, high waisted skirt with a bow- perfect for what I wanted.

So, on this past rainy Friday, I attempted to make my first skirt. I say “attempted” because, though I have a finished project, it is far from perfect and actually unwearable. Whoops. My stray sewing skills (I do like alliterations) were not reflective on her blog tutorial, but the fact that I can't draw or cut a straight line (though I blame the first on my yard stick- I’m 99% sure it’s not straight).

I decided to tweak her original skirt by making it sit on my hips instead of my waist. I also decided not to make a bow, but that had more to do with running out of fabric.

My first problem was probably my fabric choice. Cute as it is/was, it was probably too thick for the type of skirt I was trying to make by following the tutorial exactly. When worn, it bunches up on my hips in a very unflattering way and makes them look bigger. Not really what my self-esteem needs. I tried to work the skirt up onto my waist instead, but it was too big and still bulky.

My second problem came in the zipper. I do not have a zipper foot- pause for the outrage- my old machine did, but it has since gone to the great sewing shop in the sky. I've put on zippers with a regular ole normal, comes with every sewing machine foot before, so I tried to do it again this time. Well, that probably wasn’t the smartest this seeing that the fabric was already thick and then folded over with a zipper behind it. I actually broke a needle and got it caught in the fabrib, as well as totally un-aligning the back of the skirt. And the zipper still isn’t even complete attached, there are holes where the needled didn’t get through it and the fabric. I will be purchasing a zipper foot on my next trip to a craft/fabric store.

So, what to do know that I have a wonky skirt? A) I’m going to try again with thinner fabric and actually make it a waist skirt- with bow- this time and B) If I succeed at attempt two, I’m going to try to rework my existing disaster. My thinking it that if I rework it to a waist skirt and remove some fabric to make it less bulky as well as fix the disastrous zipper, I might, might, be able to make it into a respectable skirt. I really hope I can because it would be SUPER cute.

The moral to this story is that her tutorial was GREAT- she was very easy to follow (minus one of the first steps where her wording was confusing) and included picture for every step to help you on your way. For any beginner-like me- who’s looking to make a skirt like this, it is DEFINIETLY the tutorial for you. Unfortunately, my skirt didn't turn out as a wanted it but that is not because of the tutorial- I’m just a lousy seamstress.

Until my next adventure-

XX Catherine