Friday, August 30, 2013

Denim Skirt Reprised

Daughter #2 wanted a denim skirt.  She wanted the same pattern as the denim skirt I made myself last Summer.  AND she wanted to make it herself for a Young Women personal progress project.  Excellent! We raided denim from my stash and she went to town.





One little trick when sewing with denim.  Sometimes the multiple layers are just too thick. So instead of using the denim to line the yoke, she picked out a fun floral piece of cotton.  It reduced the bulk and gives it a fun little surprise inside.




Details:
  • Simplicity 2152--view E lengthened slightly
  • You can also check out the previous post on this pattern for some hints and tips.
  • Denim from the stash---at about $2/yd.
  • Coats & Clark Dual Duty XP Heavy Duty thread--or just call it denim topstitching thread.  It comes in a variety of colors.  This time around we used the color SPICE (#7450)  There is also a lighter color gold (#7430).  
  • We could've used a 6,0 size double needle to topstitch (or a 4,0 size). Instead she just stitched a straight line twice using a denim/jean needle.  The thing about double needles is that when you use one on the backside it appears as a zigzag.  For a good portion of the topstitching (i.e. pockets and yoke band) we didn't want that on the other side.
  • Blind hem stitch for the bottom hem.  She could've done a topstitch on the hem also, but opted not to.

NOTE about topstitching
Even though we did it this way, I don't recommend you have beginners use contrasting thread on their first topstitching projects.  It does take a little practice and any deviation is amplified with contrasting thread.  Try a project with matching thread first, or do lots of sample practicing before trying it this way.  I ended up doing about half of the topstitching for her as her A type tendencies were annoyed with some of her own topstitching.

2 comments:

  1. Very cute skirt. I like the style and the topstitching. Glad your girls are learning how to sew because it's such a useful skill, isn't it? M

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  2. She did a great job. The skirt is really cute.

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