Lawley is finally done. I have to give myself some time to digest this pattern. My initial feeling is very conflicted, but I think I am just coming down from being frustrated. I made this using a cotton seersucker. Why did I use this, you ask. I used it because I was shopping for a good fabric for pajama pants, about three years ago. I didn’t have a clue what seersucker was, but went ahead and bought 3 yards of it anyway. Since I am trying to use of up some of my fabric stash, I figured this skirt would be the best fit. This is an incredibly sheer and fraying fabric. It is lovely, but I honestly have no idea what you would make with it that wouldn’t need to be fully lined. I sewed size Large. I think I could go down a size, but, keep reading and you will find out why I am so glad that didn’t.
What went right:
I tried a new method of pockets. We know how much I love a good pocket. They felt a bit fiddly at first, but once I could wrap my head around the construction, it all made wonderful sense. The next good thing was that I used a fabric other than quilting cotton. This stuff frays like my nerves during quarantine, but it is a cool fabric to work with. I was INCREDIBLY grateful for my serger! I have really wanted to try something outside of quilting cotton or cotton flannel. Now I have. Lastly, I have a finished skirt. So that is pretty cool. It is lightweight and a good length for Summer.
What went wrong:
Just about everything else. Just kidding, it’s not that bad. As mentioned above, the fabric frayed like what. Sneeze in the general direction of the skirt and it frayed. I feel very insecure about my seams, even with the overlocking. I feel like it could fall apart at any moment.
Tension continues to be an issue for me. I was smart enough to change my needle to accommodate the lightweight fabric, which was good. But tension continues to plague me. It was actually fine when I was sewing the fabric alone, but once I had to sew layers or the elastic, the party was over and everything is very loose and wobbly.
I hated everything about sewing the waistband. The waistband is the complete opposite of any kind of waistband that I have ever worked on. This is probably a really good thing, but I am still too mad at it to pull out my inner-Pollyanna. I am still relatively new to sewing in elastic, meaning stretching it as I sew. I had to stretch and sew not two, but three seams into the casing. I do not have the muscle memory for this yet. I know I will gain it over time, but dang… The seams are very wobbly, and since I decided to be fancy and do a contrast thread, this is incredibly noticeable. Oh, and the reason that I am so glad that I sewed a Large is because the back seam of the waistband kept fraying when overlocked. By the time I got a good seam, I had hacked off at least an inch in the circumference. If I had done the Medium, I would have been screwed. (I know this because I had no leftover fabric to make another waistband. Trust me, I checked.)
It probably seems that I am knocking the pattern. I am not. The issues were purely mine. The pattern was easy to follow with very clear instructions. I know that everything the pattern told me to do made sense, I just didn’t like being pushed out of my comfort zone. I think I will try making this skirt again with a less temperamental fabric. I will try to not go full quilting cotton, but don’t want sheer fraying fabric. Once I use up the bulk of my quilting cotton, I want to start investing in some nice linen fabric. I will for sure have to wear a slip with this skirt. While it is gathered, it wasn’t gathered enough to have any real coverage. Now I seem to be coming down from being mad at her, we will see how I do when I make her again.
Loves,
M
Mrs. Collins Makes Stuff 