Miss Celie

Pattern Review: Bias Skirt, BWOF 4-2002-127

I’m borrowing a camera. I don’t want to harp, but I’m sorry about the low quality of the photos. I’ve taken to photographing facing my screen door for sunlight. But, it’s pretty overcast. We have 98 percent humidity and thunderstorms. Blech. I thought between humidity and the low 90s it was a good day to test out part of my China capsule (I bet you’re thinking September can’t come soon enough so I can stop talking about China, lol). At any rate, I’m thinking of raiding the coverstitch fund for a used Nikon D40 — a DSLR camera I’ve wanted for the last three years.

There is so very little to say about this bias skirt. It’s a very basic design with just one pattern piece. **Will have to update this. I’m showing the wrong pattern line drawing.** I think bias skirts can be a neat first project. There’s minimal fitting and the bias lends itself to design interest. I like this tangerine linen. It washed up incredibly soft and falls beautifully. Plus, it adds a great punch of color. I’ve really liked orange lately, but don’t like it close to my face because it sometimes, er, well — matches my hair color, LOL.

For skirts like this, I prefer the speed and ease of a narrow waistand. I use Dritzs’ Perfect Waist Maker. I bought about 10 yards of it in Portland last summer. I should have bought all of it. It’s a fusible interfacing with perforations at the fold line. I could have done a very slight swayback adjustment. But, I didn’t bother.

 

I let the dress hang for a few days so the bias portions would grow. There was easily almost a two inch difference in some part of the hem length. I shortened the pattern by three inches. at the hip.  I made a narrow hem on my machine.
 

I can’t think of anything else to say about this skirt. Except, the first time I made a bias skirt, I had to have a friend hem it for me. I just couldn’t handle it five years ago.

The top is my BWOF 1-2008-122 poet blouse

32 comments

  1. Cute skirt. I’ve made one bias skirt in my life but it was a wadder. The fabric was too stiff to hang properly and just made my large backside look like a XXL. Your skirt drapes beautifully.

  2. I just had to chime in and say BUY THE D40!! I shoot with one and I loooooove it. Nikon’s discontinuing it and you’ll be able to get a great price on a used one at a camera store. You will not be sorry, I promise. 🙂

    • I *know*. I have been wanting one forever and something always takes priority. But, it seems like now it the right time. I should check out my camera store. This ebay / craigslist thing drives me batty.

  3. Cute! I’m LOVING linen right now. Your linen pants inspired me, so I’ve made TWO pair in the last week (I couldn’t help myself!). It’s such a great fabric when things get steamy. Now I may have to consider a linen skirt… LOL

    Also, I’m in Portland. If you need more of that Perfect Waist Maker stuff, let me know and I’ll track it down for ya. I’m assuming you found it at FabDepot, which is right down the street from my office. Easy-peasy! Just email me!

    • I think it was them. They are in a barn type building? Yes, they had everything outside and I just bought all I could put my hands on. In retrospect, it made me think they were going out of business since it wasn’t labeled as Dritz. I really might take you up on that. It’s truly great stuff for waistbands.

  5. I LOVE your outfit! Great combination of colors and your top is adorable.

    • As much as I love seeing your China wardrobe shaping up, one thing to think about is that clothing is really cheap in China. My daughter has been three times. Yes if you buy a Quipo in a tourist area, you wil pay what you would pay here for such a garment, but if you are willing to go to the shops where the locals go ( not the malls stocked with Western designer’s garments) you can pick up terrific garments for very little. If I were you, I would pack enough for a couple of days and then just buy as I travelled. You can also have grments custom made for you at relatively little cost.

      • Yes! I definitely plan on having a couple of suits made while there. But, at my RTW size I think I’d have a hard time finding clothes there that fit me off the bat. So, I’m keeping it to three tops, three bottoms and one jacket / topper for 10 days.

  7. Now that you’ve got this one worked out, I expect to see more of them in your regular work wardrobe once you’ve returned from China. You know me…always encouraging you onwards!

    • Oh, you will! Such a fan of the bias skirt. Easy and I’ve been getting compliments. I think it’s the color that people really notice. The most wonderful orange sherbert!

  9. What a lovely colour! It looks really nice on you. It also matches my glasses, so I probably wouldn’t wear that colour close to my face.

  10. Great color choice — very summery! I’ll have to try that fusible waistband – thanks for the tip!

  11. MzC. When I lived down on the Gulf of Mexico and the humidity was equally horrible I made a bias skirt…allowing the suggested 48 hour ‘hang time’ and then hemmed it. Guess what? come winter or what passes for winter in Pensacola, my hem suddenly became super wonky. It was like I should have a high humidity hem…and a low humidity hem. Very distressing. Your skirt is such a marvelous color. Reminds me of wonderful Orange sherbet

  12. I think I am still too scared of hemming a bias skirt! Your China wardrobe is shaping up well.

  13. If at all possible, I love the color MORE now than in the preview! Bias has a lot of perks but there is a price…I still love it, LOL!

  14. It sounds like you have the wardrobe planning down pat. Great idea to have a couple of suits made while in china. I’ve made some dresses cut on the bias, but never a skirt. It makes the drape so wonderful! Love that color on you. I never wear orange because it clashes with my hair.

  15. Lovely tangerine! Do I see matching glasses too? I agree that bias skirts are good beginners’ projects because of easier fitting and that lovely drape.

  16. I’m loving this skirt on you. Now I have a question. Once you saw that it was growing on the bias, how did you eventually hem it to be straight? Did you have someone else mark it for you? I remember my mother having one of those chalk markers on a yardstick that stood up. Did you use something like that? I usually eyeball my skirt hems, but on bias skirts it gets tricky.

    • I have had help in the past! But, for this one I put it on my dressform to hang and just hemmed from there. I do have one of those skirt markers but it’s just so-so.

  18. Hi Miss Celie!
    First of all, i’m sorry for my poor english. I’m Brazilian.
    I just want you to know that i discovered your blog today and just LOVED! I’ve started sewing this year and your posts are so helpful! I´m looking all the history of the blog, since the very beginning.
    One question: you work on the fashion industry somehow or it´s just for fun?
    Thanks! 🙂

  20. Very cute!!
    I got a Pentax K-X in red that I love — it was my Christmas/birthday present. Everybody comments on the color — it is a really bright red and truly stands out as a DSLR. (One friend commented that only a person as obnoxious as I could find an equally obnoxious camera!) Anyway, I have not explored all of the options on it as life has been more hectic than usual, but I really love it. I used Mr. Rebates to qualify for cashback when getting it from J&R, bringing the price down even lower. In December, they had the lowest price. You might look into buying a camera while you are in China – are there any rules against doing that and what is the exchange rate? New ones are usually released there before here and they often have options we don’t have. I wish I could have gotten mine there because they offered it in ORANGE – my favorite color!! That may have been even more obnoxious than red!!
    I was immediately drawn to your skirt because of the color!!

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