Skirt Meltdown! Argh!!!

Tuesday, September 16, 2008 Jonette 1 Comments

The skirt! The skirt has failed me! I put the finishing touches on it and wore it to work. It held up pretty ok for the first few hours, but soon started wilting and warping as time went by. By the end of the day, even the waistband went slack, and I had a messy, floral, towel-like thing draped on my hips. Yuck.

Next chance I get, I will take it, chop it up, and make something better out of it. Like a stuffed animal. Stuffed animals are soft and cuddly, and they never fail you. Grarr.


Lessons:

1) Avoid floral patterns. At all costs. Unless you are making it into a one-piece item (like a dress), do not even try touching floral. Hmm...In hindsight, perhaps I should have remembered the pointers in this vid.

2) If you're going to make an underbust-type skirt, and you're on the voluptuous side, use darker material. It's going to flatter your figure, and if you wear a lighter colored blouse for it, it's certainly going to give more oomph to your top.

3) If your underbust is meant to work like a corset, treat it like a corset. Strengthen, structure, and stabilize. If it's going to need boning to keep its shape in the long run, then by all means, use boning, or learn how to use it. Think of feasible, complementary ways to keep the shape as close as possible to something solid. (clasp closures? Ribbon corset ties? )

4) Bias cuts will flatter any female shape, but be very careful with the material and style you choose to use it on.

5) Make your darts love your curves. Darts are there to shape the clothing to folow your body's naturally lovely shape. This means if you're going to put darts on anything, be precise, be cautious, and be diligent. If they're too short, they create unsightly bubbles in your garment, and if they're too long, they'll constrict and simply won't do.

6) when all else fails, recycle, recycle, recycle. If it's still in good shape, rip that invisible zipper and stitch it onto another project. Failed skirt? Make a stuffed toy or a kooky pillow out of it and keep it in your den. Better yet, tie a nice birthday bow on it and give it to the little girl in your family on her birthday. It'll be much appreciated, and the family will gush over just how you got so creative. (and you didn't even have to spend a buck! revel in your good-natured cheapskatedness, and treat yourself to some candy while you're at it. Heehee. ^_^)