Birch Street Sprial Skirt Pattern

J

Thanks for the definition Jean. Stagnation hasn't arrived and I'm fighting like mad to keep it that way. Now how about the rest of the poem. Juno

In alt.sewing? How about taking a look in rec.old-farts.poetry???

Just wondering, do you object to age, poetry or old people who sew who also like poetry?

Who knows I might embroider the entire poem into a dress just to drive you nuts. Juno

On a spiral skirt, too, in my case... :D

That would give a nice slant to it! Juno

Thanks for that link. What a hoot! I still have some of those patterns. Remember the 70's pantsuit? Thank goodness that hasn't turned up again with the bell-bottomed jeans and peasant tops.

Kirsten Sollie

Bell bottoms have been very popular recently. I'm not sure about this very day but in the last couple years certainly. Retro fashion is very "in". The pattern companies even have special "Retro" categories.

Kate suggested: ...

KS's has very regular curves and extra, ah, crescents. Mine is different. Was imagining the KS without the ruffly bits, and I guess the lines of my Simp create a fullet skirt.

Will have to get the camera going later today...

sit tight, Donna!

--Karen D.

Thanks for the advice on length, Karen. I'll certainly keep that in mind. I think I will buy this pattern and give it a try.

Donna G. Michigan's Upper Peninsula

Karen Maslowski wrote: make

Thank you for looking, Karen. I'll probably get the Birch Street one, though, and try it out. Glad you're finding some fun memories in your search!

D> When I get

Thank you for the encouragement, Juno. I'll probably buy this pattern and try it. I'll let everyone here know how it turns out, but as busy as I've been lately, it might not be in this decade!

D>

Donna, I found another similar pattern in my stash!

has an elastic waistband, no zipper. Other views have the patternpieces shaped like neckties, and then there's the standard basicbroomstick tiered skirt. This pattern'sonly 10 years old. HTH

--Karen D.

I sometimes think apple shapes are the very WORST to find a flattering skirt for! Pencil is usually best, or that lovely inverted tulip shape that flares out from the knee... However, if she's insisting on a broomstick, I'd still go for the elastic... Just make the top tier not too ample, and the elastic waist nice and broad. There are two good ways to do this:

1: 2" wide elastic: make the casing wide enough for the elastic, and then, once the skirt is otherwise complete and the gathers evenly distributed, stitch through the elastic in vertical lines in 4 or 6 places, evenly spaced. This will stop it folding and twisting inside the casing and prevent the chewed string look! 2: Make four or five narrow channels in the waistband and thread each one carefully with narrow 'knicker' elastic: this is a bit more professional looking, but takes longer. It makes a very comfortable waistband. It looks a lot better than the elastic that you sew on with several lines! THAT looks OK if you have a factory style multi-needle machine built for doing this, but is a pain to do one row at a time.

If the top tier is gathered just a bit it won't cling to the hips and is easier to fit than a yoke. Also, I find that a yoke can emphasize the hips being smaller than the tummy. Just be careful that it fits snug enough not to drop at the front and give an uneven hem, but not so snug that it's uncomfortable.

Karen, I have the Simplicity 6261, made from light, soft cotton. I used white, pink, blue and yellow. For years, I couldn't wear it, but I will be able to this summer. I "lost" the pattern to a neighbor who moved and "forgot" to return it. Thanks for your post,since I want to replace it if I can for my DGDs. Emily

"Donna Gennick" wrote in

The first version on this web site looks bad IMO, b/c the fabric appears stiff. It looks like shantung. The skirt made of a drapey rayon should hang better. I have a pattern like this from probably Simp or Mc, though I have never made it. I would have to go digging for it. It probably is not available anymore. However, it is not that old. I think I bnought it w/in the last few yrs.

Kitty

Pat in Virginia wrote: ...

I once made a yoked skirt. Never again.

Broomstick (tiers) is the way to go. Just make the top tier shorter than your critical measurement, so that its lower edge falls some distance above the lower edge of the bulge. I like tiers in graduated widths, say, 3" at the waist, then 5-8", then 10-16" depending on number of tiers, length of skirt, and how many times I fell like sewing around those layers of gathers!

Part-to-full circle skirts help, too. (Back to the poodle thread!)

HTH

--Karen D.

Karen, out of curiosity, why never again? Some of my all-time favorite skirts were yoked.

Karen Maslowski > >