Making a dress - Simple black underskirt

Inspiration

Well now I have a white one, I might as well have a black one.

You can not go wrong with black and white as your base colours.

Design

This one is going to be a tiered skirt because I don't have one yet in my collection.

However this one will have side pockets which will be hidden by the top tier of ruffles.  Sneaky I know!!!

Construction

Oh god please remind me why I thought using this fabric was a good idea?  It is sooo slippery and frays at the slightest touch.  Thank god I have an overlocker.

So many ruffles!!!!

This is only the third tier and I think I was going mad.

Finished

However the result is this!

So many ruffles.

And best of all POCKETS.

Conclusion

Don't use lining like material again.  NEVER.  Right lets see how long I will keep this promise.

And due to the fabric choice there were a few mistakes like my side pocket seam not quite aligned nicely.  Well I was sewing 4 slippery layers is not easy even at slow speed.

However it is not impossible as you can see here on the other side, much nicer.

Oh yeah top layer was not long enough.  Boo hoo, it seems I was not careful enough.

And as a result the top tier sticks out more then the rest.  But it seems less noticeable when I put on an a-line petticoat.

Making a dress - Simple white underskirt

Inspiration

Like a petticoat is a staple in the lolita wardrobe so is a underskirt it seems for me.

I have sewn a few dresses now which sometime I feel would benefit from an underskirt either to provide a little volume or just to provide modesty.

Design

This one is going to be a simple rectangle skirt as I really want to show off the border design.

Shame I can't get more of this fabric.

Construction

Okay, fabric all ready to be cut up.

Oh my scallop edge.  They may look pretty but so much work has to be done to get them to sit nicely.

As I have limited fabric, I opted to only put one pocket.  Can not risk wasting 3 cms, the skirt is already borderline not poffy enough.

Putting in the waistband which will be a half elastic waistband.

Finished

Edit:  Okay I can't put it on Miffy 2 because of a stupid error so I'm afraid I can only give you photos of it lying flat.

Here you can see how I dealt with the lining and hem.

Conclusion

Well this was the first time I make scalloped edge and I think it would be easier if the fabric was thinner.

Oh one fundamental error was made on this skirt.  I did not make the band big enough to fit over my bum.  Yep I was kicking myself when I found out however I discovered that I can still wear it if I put it over my head.  So there we have it, I did not waste half a day making a skirt and wasting this precious fabric.

Also it doesn't quite go with the qi-lolita dress that I originally made it for. Which is a shame but it will go nicely with my blue apron dress.

Commission update!

Work has been a bit busy of late so my weekends are getting very precious.

However I managed to complete one commission for one customer who wanted a lined lolita hakama skirt.

And now I am on my second commission.

This time an unlined one but in a cotton/linen fabric.  She wanted a skirt that was suitable for hot weather hence the fabric choice.

Just before I started ironing the pleats.

And after ironing, this is only the front panel and the most complicated one.

Look at the crisp pleat!

Tomorrow I will cut the remaining panels and being sewing!

Making a Dress - Lolita hakama skirt

Inspiration

One thing I don't wear often enough is a hakama with my kimono.  Kitsuke is easier and you don't have to worry about short kimono and flashing your juban.  Also it is brilliant for wet weather as I found out 3 years ago when I decided to walk back home in pouring rain.

However the hakama is not what it seems.  There is a lot of fabric in that garment because of the pleats and the length makes it awkward in certain situations.

Therefore my mind though why not make a lolita version?  I have been toying with the idea of venturing into wa-lolita but most of the skirts that you can buy will not stretch to my size once I tucked the kimono.

Fabric

As with all my lolita pieces they much be work friendly so it has to be made from something washable and dark coloured.

Luckily I went a bit overboard with the the purchase of black bi-stretch fabric so that is what I will use.

Design

First thing first one must study the hakama.

Lets look at the pleats as to me that defines its.

Here are the front pleats.

And here are the back pleats.

The most obvious difference between the two is the number of pleats, the front has 6 (one of the pleat is hidden under the centre one) and the back has 4.

The only way to show how the pleats work is with a diagram.

As you can see it is a bit complicated but how am I going to incorporate those pleats?  Well what is life if it was not for the challenges.

My starting point was this pattern minus the ruffles and the high waist part.

Then I inserted the pleats using a lot of masking tape.  Luckily I was decorating at the beginning of the year so a roll was at hand but I much buy some more.

Construction

First thing first I needed to re-thread my new toy!  My overlocker.

Now that is done, time to cut it out.

A straight line stitch on the inner pleat to hold it in place.

Side pleat pinned and ready to be stitched into place

And the ironed creased.  A lot of steam and a wet cloth was used to create this.

Oooo a closeup of the back pleat.  I had to stitch the back pleat together to check them in place.  Otherwise they would flap about and I could have made a mistake.

Time to join the back 3 panels.

And this is where my overlocker came in handy.  It finished off the edges so nicely,  I love my new overlocker, look how pretty the edges are.

Okay that is the back half of the skirt all done on to the front with more pleats.

Unfortunately no photos of the intermediate steps for the front panel as I was concentrating hard to make sure I ironed and stitched the right pleats.  

Here you can see what it looks like at the back and the stitch that is holding the pleats in place.

Don't worry, the yellow thread is to hold the pleats in place while I am making the skirt.  Seriously they really got in the way.

Okay the back and front are done,time to join them at the side.

The side seams didn't quite line up as nicely as I hoped.

The other side is a little better but still improvements for next time.

However not bad for a first time and I know where on the pattern to make it work.

Now the straps.  May have made a bit of a mistake in that the front straps are ridiculously long.  as in 4.5 metres in total.  Yeah next time make them shorter but at least they will go wrong my waist easily!

Yep you guessed it I forgot to take photos.  I only attached them just before dinner and I wanted them on so that afterwards I could take photos of what the skirt looks like on Miffy 2.

It is going according to plan, just the lace at the bottom and we are done.

Finished

And here it is!  I have to say it has turned out very well indeed.

An a-line lolita shirt with hakama pleats.  

I did find one advantage of long straps and its that I can tie a double bow which is super cute.

The lace at the bottom gives the skirt a nice edge I think.  Without it I think it would have looked too plain for lolita.

The pleats are holding well!

They are staying closed when they are not moved.

It is not very poffy the petticoat but I'm quite like it as suits me better for my day to day wear.

And here are the pleats opened.  Crisp and clean creases.

Here you can just about see the hidden middle pleat.

Now I have a work event on the 6th so I might wear it them.