Today was a bonus day off for me as the Uni I work at was closed - as it's a bank holiday on Monday that means a four day weekend, yay! My original plan was a day of sewing. It all started off well, drafting a skirt block using these instructions, until I got to calculating the back dart. I've tried the numbers again and again and keep getting 10.2cm - it just seems really large for a dart so I must be doing something wrong I think? Here's my calculations below, followed by the blank table from the skirt block instructions I'm using. If anyone has any ideas of where I'm going wrong I'd love to hear them! I also don't have a hip curve and am a bit hesitant about drawing in the side seam curves without one so I'm off to some fabric shops tomorrow to buy one.
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Hip – waist:
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÷2 = total fabric to be removed:
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Front dart size (2 – 2.5cm max):
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Side seam ‘dart’ (3–4cm)
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÷2 = fabric from each side:
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Back dart = total – front dart – side seam (5 -9cm):
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So, I gave it a break and did some picture framing and hanging instead. Our new flat is much larger than our last one so we've finally got space to hang up all our photos and art work. The one below was a wedding present from Leo Blamire, an artist, framer, and friend, whose work is for sale through McGill Duncan Gallery (an amazing gallery in Castle Douglas run by Jill and Zoe Blamire - a family affair!). I absolutely love this painting and the story behind it. Leo found the frame, with real butterflies inside it. They were all brittle and falling apart so he took them out, painted the back of the frame the gorgeous turquoise colour, then cut all the butterflies out of wood and painted them in oil paints. Much nicer than having real butterflies in a frame!
I got lots of small pictures framed up and just need to buy some small tacks tomorrow to put the rest of them up. I also found this gorgeous photo below, of my mum, aunt and Grandma. It was taken by my Grandpa who was a keen photographer and part of an amateur photography group. It's quite large 15.5 x 11.5 cm. I'm pretty sure it's Italy and would say it's about mid 60s. My mum is wearing the full skirt and has a scarf in her hair. I found the perfect black frame for it and it's now hanging up in our living room. So, although I didn't get a whole lot of sewing done I've had a very relaxing and still quite creative day off.
Ok, my brain is freezing up a bit, but when you subtract the front and side darts, I think you need to subtract twice, because you have two of each kind of dart? So 16.5-2-2-2.3-2.3 = 16.5-4-4.6, which is 7.9... so each back dart should be half of that, which is about 4cm?
ReplyDeleteHope that helps! :) Good luck!
Of course, thank you so much! I don't think I'd ever have worked it out on my own as I've never made a skirt before. Maybe I should have started with a shop bought pattern but I really wanted to have a go at drafting my own. All I need to do now is buy a hip curve tomorrow then I can get finished drafting. Thanks again Gillian!
DeleteI think drafting a great choice - then you have a better chance of it really fitting! :) You can always adjust the darts as you are sewing to make it bigger or smaller!
ReplyDeleteYes, when I started I was so afraid of altering a bought pattern but doing your own measurements makes you realise how different everyone is and how nonsensical it is that everyone will fit into conventional sizes.
DeleteYou can use a dinner plate for a curve - it will most likely need adusting anyway. Drafting the pattern will give you a much better understanding of the whole process too.
ReplyDeletethank you for the dinner plate idea. I'm sure I'll invest in a French curve at some point but not right before I go on holiday! Yes, I'm hoping it will really help with understanding the process, and getting a better fit.
DeleteDrafting your own skirt is so much better than trying to make a commercial pattern fit, imo. Good luck! I used Cal Patch's Design It Yourself book to draft a simple a-line skirt a while back and it's probably my most used pattern. I pull it out and change it up all the time.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard of that book I'll need to look it up, thanks. I love the skirts you've made with it - particularly your batik one!
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