I do have some sewing going on.
Not the most wonderful picture, and I messed with levels so that you could see *some* detail. There was really none with the light in there. I’m on a roll of crappy pictures, which is why it’s on the dress form and not on me.
It’s a knock-off this American Apparel skirt:
My AA skirt is black, not blue, but this one is a bit easier to make out in the photo. I made the new version out of a dark chocolate leather that’s about 1.5-2oz. weight (this translates just less than 1mm in thickness). This brown is very dark and looks black until you put it next to something black. This leather pretty easy to sew on my machine, provided I use teflon covered feet. Without teflon, it’s just hellish as the material won’t feed correctly through the machine. I have worked with leather enough that I also have a teflon covered zipper foot, something that’s very useful. If you’re thinking of combining leather + zipper, get one.
People claim you can sew up to a 3oz. leather on a home sewing machine, but I find this nearly impossible as it’s *much* too thick to top stitch seams, and curves become a real challenge. Also, you can’t cross over another seam, like you would for the crotch seam in pants or the underarm seam on a top with set sleeves.
The right needle is also important, of course. I used a Schmetz leather needle, size 90/14. I always use that brand and always have, and they work well for me. I have a range from 90-110, but the 90 is generally best for my projects. Leather needles wear out faster as they are actually punching through every stitch, so if stitches are skipping, toss it and use a new one.
I’ll get a photo of my version up soon, but it’s really dark in here today due to the rain, and the flash will look yuck, so…we wait for sunlight.
The original skirt was only three pieces (and a perfect fit), so it was very easy to copy from the AA Denim version. This is not the first commercial garment I’ve used to make a pattern. I think it’s easy, but I’ve been sewing for nearly 30 years, so maybe I’m glossing over things, I don’t know. I have picked very simple garments to copy — generally because the fit is absolutely perfect. The commercial copy of a pattern that I use all the time is from a pair of Gap capri pants. They are stretch, though I have made them out of non-stretch as well by adding seam allowance. No darts, so this is quite easy. Really, the pattern is all about how it exactly copies the curve of my hip and my ginormous thighs.
Anyway, for the skirt. I laid it out very flat with the front and back seams to the sides. Since this has no side seams, the two pieces to the skirt are exactly the same size — another thing that made this eas. I then used tailor’s chalk (you need something like charcoal or conte — something soft) on slightly transparent paper (in my case, wax paper) to mark the outlines and the waistband height and seam. I then removed the skirt and trued up all the lines and corners with a pencil and ruler. I then added 5/8″ to the top, front and back seams. I added 3/4″ for the hem (the original had a rolled hem of 3/8″ inch, I wound up with a straight hem since leather never frays).
For the waistband, I did the same, but this did not work out quite right. As a result, I wound up cutting a third waistband piece and having seams where darts or princess seams would go in the front. The top stitching makes this kind of a design element. The waistband was now too long, of course, but after I attached it, I cut it down. It’s much much easier to have too long a waistband than too short!
I used a standard polyester/plastic zipper — the original was metal. I wound up with two snaps, one on either side of the zipper. The original had one, straight above the zipper.
The final product came out quite well. The original in denim is stiff and sticks out at the sides, and the leather hangs more or less exactly the same way. It’s currently on my dress form so that the glue in the waistband can dry. Yes, there’s Fabri-Tac involved. I top stitched all the seams in this garment, except that I could not stitch-in-the-ditch to finish the waistband as it was too much thickness, so it’s sewed at the top to make the fold-over, and then glued on top of the seam allowance to keep it permanently in place. I have also glued seams flat/open with this stuff when I did not want to top stitch or when it wasn’t practical, say for inside the seam on pant legs. It’s essential to working with leather, I think.
I have another project going on as well. I have made a muslin of Simplicity 3165 from 1959(ish):
I’m using View 4 with the long sleeves from View 2, and I have made the turtleneck part a *lot* shorter in height. I brought the neckline down a teeny bit, maybe 3/8″ at the center and not at the back at all. I made the front darts bigger and moved them outward because the bust points didn’t match mine. I also re-curved the waist and made it smaller. All told, I probably took 4″ out of the waist. I’ve already disassembled the muslin, so I can’t take a picture of that.
I will be making that awesome hood, probably out of wool, but not necessarily for wearing with View 4.
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