Wednesday, February 7, 2018

70's Denim Skirt - vintage Style 1559

When I was 16, one of the first self-drafted patterns I ever made was for a denim skirt. I loved that skirt, wore it for years until it the zip broke (by which time it was looking very tired), then promptly made another. Since then there has pretty much always been a denim skirt in my wardrobe.


This version started with a circa 1976 pattern - Style 1559 - as a base. I liked the length, pocket detail and button front. But after months of fruitlessly searching for suitable buttons (ie, ones I liked), I ditched that idea in favour of a fly-front.
However, great plans don't always run smoothly. First fitting was a disaster! The skirt was so frumpy - too wide at the hem, the waist too high, and goodness knows why the fly-front pucked so much. Into the naughty corner it went for some timeout.
A few days later, I'd formulated a rescue plan. Gone is the fly front, moving to an exposed zip in the centre back; the high waistband was re-cut into a 4cm wide curved yoke at high-hip level; and finally the seams are slimmed at hem length by about 5cm each side.
But the god(desse)s were against me, because 20 minutes into sewing it all back together, the LED bulb in my lamp blew. At 7pm. On New Years Eve. And it would be 2 days before the stupid lighting store re-opened. sigh.


Not able to bear the thought of wasting precious time, I ploughed on during daylight hours. The topstitching isn't perfect, but hey! I still love the skirt and it's already being worn several times.
Brass zip and topstitching thread from the stash.
Denim from Moreland Fabrics
Belt from David Jones

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