Dressmaking

Silk bias skirts have been on my radar recently and I have plenty to say about the two I made: Fibre Mood Madeline (affiliate link) – with zip and facings – and the Pattern Line Mercer skirt with an elastic waist. So we have a new blog post! 

If you’re into scrolling fashion websites, silk bias skirts are one of those things that seem to be more in than out of fashion in general. The luxury version is made of silk, and if I can sew a silk bias skirt it is still cheaper than spending the $$$ to buy a ready-to-wear one! Actually, I rarely wear any fabric with drape as I feel it doesn’t suit my angular shape … but as with many fashion items, if you can style it effectively, you can make it work. 

Disclaimer: I work as a freelancer and Fibre Mood is one of my clients, so I did not buy the pattern myself. My Fibre Mood links are affiliate (all others are not).

Fibre Mood Madeline vs The Pattern Line Mercer 

Pattern pieces

Very conveniently, all the bias skirt patterns I’ve ever seen have just one pattern piece, the same one for the back and front. If I place the Madeline on top of the Mercer, you can see that it is remarkably similar – the elastic one (Mercer) is just wider on the side seams and has a flatter hemline. I guess you can conclude: there aren’t too many ways to draw the same skirt, and the elastic one needs to be wide enough to go over your hips. 

Fabric choice 

Anything with really good drape works – I’ve made versions of bias skirts in Tencel^TM and bamboo/polyester blends before as well. But the lustre and shine of silk in a satin weave really makes it the luxury choice for this kind of skirt. You can see this with the gold one… the black is a twill with more of a matte finish and a bit of a subtle stripe. However, seeing as the black silk was in my stash I wasn’t about to go and buy something shiny for the sake of it given the expense!

Quick note about fabric thickness … my gold silk was 205gsm and an excellent weight for this skirt. The black was a coupon from a physical shop so I don’t know, but it is definitely thinner and flimsier. Doesn’t mean you can’t make a bias skirt with a thin fabric, just means you probably (1) double it up and have a lining layer (expensive), or (2) wear a slip underneath. My choice is (2) – the easy option!

Finishings

French seams on the side, and a baby hem. I did a demo of how to do such a hem here.

Fit & stretching out

Stretching out only really matters in my mind for the Fibre Mood Madeline (zip version). I placed staytape on the waistline edges but still managed to stretch it out. Going down one size helped. For the elastic version (The Pattern Line Mercer), if your fabric stretches out, you can also stretch the elastic a bit when you attach it to the skirt, so it’s not really an issue.

Zip & facings construction

Fibre Mood Madeline has a zip and facings. I wouldn’t recommend installing an invisible zip on silk as your very first attempt at invisible zips. Not because zips are difficult, but simply because a drapey fabric is a bit shifty and delicate compared to e.g. cotton poplin and it’s really not nice to unpick.

Fibre Mood recommends stitching strips of bias cut “lining” pieces to the zip area in order to stabilise. I can’t comment on effectiveness because I skipped this one, instead I used fused stay tape on the edges. For stability purposes, it seemed to work well enough. 

But my fabric is a “stretch silk” with 2% elastane which seemed to make the shiftiness of the silk worse so I must admit I didn’t do a stellar job with accurate sewing. Forgive the flaws please! (by the way, I used self fabric bias tape to finish the bottom of the facing instead of overlocking).

Elastic waist construction

This gives you a super clean and tidy finish from the outside, and construction is really quick too if you’re using elastic. Eira from The Pattern Line has a full sewalong video where she gives lots of great tips on working with silk and constructing the skirt, down to the settings to use on the zigzag stitching sections. Be sure to watch the whole video; it’s really not that long and worth your time for the excellent sewing, I promise! I did not look at the instruction file at all beyond choosing a size since the sewalong covered it all. 

Zip vs elastic? 

Jury still out on this, so I think it’s down to what matters to you. Let me elaborate …

Zip/facings: easy to get it on due to zip, facings never flip out, and if the facings are well interfaced they also have the added benefit of the “holding you in”, similar feeling like when you wear eg high waist trousers. So there are less lumps and bumps showing around the middle in an unforgiving drapey fabric! But, there’s always a bit of a bump at the end of the zip at the side seam. Construction requires more care and obviously takes longer. Also on the zip side I used an overlock instead of french seams (I bound just the zip section and couldn’t be bothered with the rest) which isn’t as nice a finish.

Elastic: beautiful French seam finishes on both side seams, looks perfect from the outside. But still some difficulties for me.

1. Incorrect elastic length – had to shorten it by 4cm since it turned out more stretchy than I estimated, and unpicking a 3mm x 1mm zigzag on silk was obviously awful. 
2. I can’t seem to find the “right” elastic for this skirt. In the Netherlands they sell “boxer short” elastic (30mm wide) which is better than some other ones I tried before which creased/rolled. But the boxer short elastic does feel too hard relative and plasticky relative to the softness of the silk and so it does not sit perfectly against the skirt. 
3. Even if the elastic is tacked down at the sides, it still flips up when I put on the skirt and that feels annoying. Also, a narrower waistband (ie elastic) = more lumps and bumps showing. 

Conclusion – silk bias skirts are a winner whatever you choose!

So that was my 2 cents on the matter … I honestly didn’t think a bias skirt would be worth blogging about, but given the diff options and skirt adventure I had, I thought it might help if you’re thinking about making one. I’ll end here with some photos, I think I’m becoming obsessed with these skirts!

Till next time
Kate

Last month I was in Barcelona and Nunoya kindly gifted me a piece of fabric … and I made Fibre Mood Rhonda! A match made in heaven methinks. Although clearly I was thinking more about the beauty of this lightweight linen than the weather in the Netherlands in November when I was in Barcelona. Can you tell?!

Disclaimer: I work as a freelancer and Fibre Mood is one of my clients, therefore I did not buy the pattern myself. Links to Fibre Mood are affiliates. I am not obliged to make or post this. Of course, my opinions are my own and I write because I want to share what I think is helpful information. But as you can imagine there is always going to be subconscious bias.

But first: I want to tell you about Nunoya because I had such a nice visit there meeting Sean and Nanako (the husband and wife team that own the store). 

Nunoya – a must visit fabric store in Barcelona 

As you might gather from the name, Nunoya is a store that specialises in Japanese fabrics. If you’re in Europe, I’m willing to bet that you won’t find a bigger selection of delectable Japanese fabrics in person anywhere else! It stocks Kokka, Nani Iro, Echino … as well as being a retail bricks and mortar store it is a wholesaler of Japanese fabrics to shops across UK and Europe. There are also some really nice bag kits too if you’re into bag-making.

I love a good story and Sean and Nanako were happy to oblige. Many years ago when they settled in Barcelona after travelling the world (Nanoko is Japanese, Sean is British) they had started a store selling Japanese goods and amongst them – clothing. At some point people began to ask where the fabric came from. Of course you can fill in yourself what happened next. These days they also stock Atelier Brunette, See you at six and some other European brands as well.

Nunoya has recently moved premises and now shares a gorgeous space with Júlian López (a large Spanish general dressmaking fabric retailer) as well as Carousel Craft (a sewing school). So if you’re keen to go fabric shopping in Barcelona I’d say start here and you might not even make it anywhere else. If you’re nowhere near Nunoya, they also ship worldwide including the US … just saying… 

Here’s a reel with my top and some snippets from the store.

Fibre Mood Rhonda 

OK so what I actually got and made – this is Fibre Mood Rhonda from the Special no 1 issue I had my doubts about a top I couldn’t tuck (due to the bib), but I tried on the sample and all the doubts fizzled away! The great thing about sewing – do what you want, try some new styles and you’ll often be pleasantly surprised. 

Features: slight bell-shaped sleeve that flares towards the hem, bib on the front and back, side panels, button back closure, the front piece is slightly shorter than the back. No darts anywhere. I made a size S which is my normal Fibre Mood size. No modifications.

It was not difficult to sew but requires some patience with the stitching around the edges for the bib. Adding the side panels needs extra sewing time. The bib has a mitred corner at the hem for a clean finish.

Also – if you want to make it shorter or longer, I’d suggest making a toile first. Otherwise if you take the “try as I go” approach you can still adjust the hem a bit, but then you can’t use the mitred corner finish. Just a minor detail if you’re into making your insides as pretty as possible.

Nani Iro lightweight linen from Nunoya + mother-of-pearl buttons

I think linen works really well for the top. It is robust enough to get crisp edges and corners on the bib, and the edges of the bib don’t droop down. I imagine a cotton lawn would be good here for the same reasons. Whereas double gauze would have a softer less angular look. Viscose would probably work if you interface the edges of the bib well enough that the folds don’t crumple.

Mine is a very lightweight linen by Nani Iro. I think I took the last of the bolt when I was at Nunoya, but this is the cotton lawn version for a similar effect. If you’ve been following me for some time you know I love a bit of texture (makes solid colours more interesting). So this white polkadot on white fits the bill very well.

The buttons are from my stash but I remember buying them when I was with Emma in Cologne a summer or two ago. Being able to meet sewing friends are the best! I love when I have memories attached to my fabric/notions/garments, makes them feel so much more special.

Here is a picture of the fabric and the buttons. Trying to show the detail of the white dots but my phone didn’t 100% oblige so you might have to take my word for it. PS. the choice of darker pink thread for the buttons was deliberate. I wanted to try for some extra pop even if only I can really see it!

Styling Fibre Mood Rhonda

I thought initially it would be challenging to make an outfit with this top despite being white since the style is not my usual. My favourite sample picture from the magazine is shown with pencil skirt,but I can’t remember the last time I wore one of those. So I just put on my wide-leg jeans and added a necklace from my favourite Amsterdam brand Juulry (I’ve met the owner now and she’s lovely so I’m extra chuffed). Turns out that was all I needed to do. I also tried it with a thrifted denim miniskirt (see below). . Apparently I really like this shade of blue in denim! My sister knitted the grey hat last winter and it’s a family favourite amongst my kids as well who like to steal it.

Till next time

Kate x

Fibre Mood Giselle (affiliate link)… made for pre-quilted fabric which can be challenging to come by, and sometimes also challenging to sew. I thought I’d share a bit about this one because of both those factors – but first hello! It’s been quite a long time since I blogged; a full-time job, freelance jobs, and parenting knocked the wind out of my blogging sails.

Disclaimer: I work as a freelancer and Fibre Mood is one of my clients, therefore I did not buy the pattern myself. Links to Fibre Mood are affiliates. The fabric was given to me by Polytex, the fabric supplier for the Fibre Mood collection of fabrics, and the matching thread was provided by Mettler. I am not obliged to blog about this make. Of course, my opinions are my own and I write because I want to share what I think is helpful information. But as you can imagine there is always going to be subconscious bias.

Pattern details

Fibre Mood Giselle is from issue 16 which was autumn 2021. Quilting was a trend; and who doesn’t like the idea of a cosy quilted coat? Particularly for me, the fashion girls I saw on Pinterest made it look hip and cool.  

Features: centre front zip, standing collar, side splits, side seam pockets, bias tape finishes on areas not overlocked. For the cord at the waist, I’d recommend cord at least 0.5cm thick (my first try was too thin and looked like embroidery floss relative to the bulk of the coat) and also getting some cord stoppers. 

As someone who cycles for transport, love the side splits. In the rain and cold, the fronts covered my thighs without riding up so the tops of my jeans stayed fairly dry! Happy with that. If that’s not a thing for you, check out some hacks that Sylvia did to the same pattern- cord stoppers, patch pockets, no side slit.

Pre-quilted fabric

I used 100% nylon pre-quilted fabric in the copper colourway, 170gsm – it is one of the fabrics made for the Fibre Mood issue 21 collection. Stockists are across Europe (you can’t buy it from the Fibre Mood webshop), the list is here. The fabric is unexpectedly lightweight (vs what you might think when you see it) and the outer fabric feels a bit like what you get in very thin nylon summer rain jackets. Or Uniqlo ultralightweight down jacket if you’ve seen those before? The wadding is a little bit lofty compared to e.g. an actual handmade quilt, but not thick like a fluffy duvet of course. I love the idea of pre-quilted fabric to save time if you want the quilted effect.

The fabric listing says it is waterproof for jackets and ponchos etc, and was certainly effective for 6min cycling in the rain (there was an unexpected shower when I left the house to go to town!). See picture…

I think the colour is more accurately called “cinnamon rose” according to the internet (I had to google a colour scheme for some help before settling on the burgundy!). It also comes in a green colourway.

Sewing Fibre Mood Giselle

This was not a quick and easy sew, mostly because of the special handling required by the fabric. I think I made mistakes every step of the way even though the construction is quite straightforward! Here are my top tips and also things to check so you don’t do what I did:

• Wear a mask when cutting – this tip from @sewuthinkucan If you’re sensitive to fluff and dust, it is worthwhile!
• Baste the hem immediately after cutting – do this within the seam allowance, eg around 5mm from the raw edge. This stops the quilting from coming apart. It is important to do the hem as the front and back pieces are subject to a lot of handling before getting to the point where you close the raw edges.
• Walking foot – helps with the shifting. But honestly, my cutting wasn’t particularly straight anyway given the “puff” factor of the fabric. And also since the fabric is quilted, bits of inaccurate stitching won’t really show. Still, better to get a better result than not.
• Baste/glue things in place before you sew – the collar before you stitch in the ditch. The placket with the snaps. The zip placket…. thread or glue, doesn’t matter. Helps with the shifting.

• Narrow foot for stitching down the bias tape at the hem – I have a narrow straight stitch-only foot, but you can also use a zip foot if you don’t have one. The walking foot didn’t cope with the differences in thickness under it in some parts, see picture. This was where I was trying to secure the binding to the hem (last step after understitching).
• Placket with snaps – the top of the placket is curved so check the positioning of both sides of the snaps before you actually install them. They have to be close to the (folded) outer edge. I set mine too far back and that meant I couldn’t install the bottom half of the snap without running into the zip. Solution: have to sew the zip placket again and get some more snaps to fix it. 

Styling and accents on Fibre Mood Giselle

To be honest I wasn’t really sure what to do with the colours. As you’d expect it was virtually impossible to find a similar shade of copper/cinnamon rose so it had to be a contrast. I googled colour schemes and came up with a lot of wedding stuff. Burgundy was definitely a theme across the schemes! Then I remembered I had burgundy Tencel^TM leftovers from this skirt, so that came in very handy.

I’m wearing it here with my Petite Knit Festival Sweater and my favourite small person decided to photobomb as well. (He’s wearing all me-made as you’d expect, the joggers are a hand-me-down from his brother and I’m happy that still works out sometimes.) Add in some RTW wide-leg jeans and Doc Martens and I think it’s a pretty good outfit if I say so myself! I’ve enjoyed taking the coat out when I’ve been doing errands and didn’t fancy carrying a heavy raincoat. All up: very pleased with the result.

Till next time

Kate x