Back To Burda.. Making A Short Flared Skirt With Pattern 6698

Have you ever revealed something and the minute the words leave your lips you're regretting it? Well this was how I felt when I mentioned to a relative that I had started sewing.

I should have been suspicious at her immediate enthusiasm and subsequent inquiries for me to show all I had made so far - to cut a long winded dance around short - I received my first sewing commission or favour request depending on your point of view.

The request was to make a short, flared skirt (below) and having grown so much since my first encounter with this brand I was only a little perturbed to discover that the style she liked was a Burda pattern.

Here's what I envisaged/hoped;
Sewing skirt seams together to create a full effect, creating a casing for elastic, threading through, sewing up the hems and job done. Now if you've read my previous post on " My Top 5 Sewing Mistakes", you'll know I'm no longer that naive, so I did triple the complexity and time estimates just in case- and just as well I did!

The first stumbling block came in understanding what Burda meant by "cutting from a double layer of fabric".

There was no diagram so I spent time trying to work out what this would look like and why you needed to do it. 10 minutes later and it was clear (if only they included videos with patterns).

For any one else stuck at this point, you can see below that you need to have a fold on both the left and right sides, with the selvedge ends joining in the centre.

There were quite a few markings to transfer (more than I'd hoped) and each needed to be hand basted, but once done, sewing the seams together was straight forward. I cannot help but wonder why thereafter I had to pin the elastic evenly around the skirt whilst stretching it out and often jettisoning pins all over the room.

I understand the desire for even distribution of elastic, but having finished the skirt (I know I'm jumping ahead a little) I can't help but wonder would the finished article be that different if I had created a casing and simply threaded through elastic?

I think this is my creative spirit coming through as I genuinely want to see if things can be done quicker or just differently- all positive signs that I'm enjoying this journey....anyway back to the skirt..

I was pleased that this skirt introduced me to bias binding, something I had heard about but was yet to create or use.

I got to use my latest addition, to an ever expanding range of kit (worthy of a separate blog post for sure) none other than the #patternmaster which helped me to find the bias line on the fabric (45 degrees) and cut a strip which was to be used as the upper skirt edge a Burda describes it.
As the bias strip needed to be 4cm wide, it could not fit into my bias tape makers (more kit) so I had to iron flaps down on both sides, taking care to keep them even.

Applying the bias strip was surprisingly straight forward and thereafter the elastic was pinned in line with the markings, sewn, then hemmed. I also used my new pinking shears to trim all the seam allowances, negating the need for zig zag stitch and saving time, hurray!

The recipient was very pleased, so much so that I fear more demands, sorry I meant requests, are on the horizon and you can see the finished article below;

If I were doing this project again I would....

1) Use small safety pins to mark points instead of basting by hand
2) Create a casing and thread through the elastic to compare finished looks.

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