Casey's Circle Skirt Sew-Along

I learned to sew as a pre-teen...under the guidance of my extremely patient Mother...and by the time I hit high school, I was a fairly proficient seamstress.  Home Economics classes (required, back then...in the 1970's) were a revelation to me.  I was astounded to learn that not every girl knew how to sew.  In fact, most of them didn't. 

In the years that followed, most of my peers steered clear of the so-called "womanly arts."  And I must admit, so did I...to some extent.  Sadly, I think that sewing and needlework were devalued for awhile...and anything created with your own hands was given that oh-so-subtle-put-down:  "home-made." 

Happily, this is changing.  The popularity of such television shows as "Project Runway"...and the booming site for handmades, Etsy...give witness to this.  And the WONDERFUL bloggers out there...most of them very YOUNG women...lead me to believe that the future of home sewing is in very capable hands.  They call themselves "sewists"...a term that I just love! 

Which leads me to the point of this post.  One such blogger is the adorable Casey Brown, of Casey's Elegant Musings.  When I stumbled upon Casey's blog earlier this year, she was in the middle of her Swing Dress Sew-Along.  I was fascinated...and I told myself that if she ever decided to conduct another, I would join in.  

Well, Casey has generously offered to head up a Circle Skirt Sew-Along...and I am happily following.  This is not my first circle skirt...I made one just last June...but, it's one of my favorite silhouettes...and I can always use another.  Truthfully, I'm MOST excited about sharing ideas and drawing inspiration from a diverse group of talented sewists.  I'm sure I'll learn something!

I've chosen to make a Winter skirt...with some brown herringbone tweed from my stash.  I'm thinking of something mid-calf-ish...long enough to wear with my favorite black boots.  At 5'10" I should be tall enough to carry this off...we shall see.  I'm planning to embellish the hemline with a vine-ing black cotton velveteen applique (also from my stash)...accented with some subtle beading.  And since I LOVE a pretty lining...brown and violet paisley silk crepe de chine...for the part no one sees!  

I found this fabric at my neighbor's yard sale last year...$6.00 for 4 yards of wool!  And since this...and the velveteen...are from my stash, I didn't feel TOO guilty about splurging on the silk lining! 

 
  



In a break from the Sew-Along, I'll be using this Simplicity pattern, an old favorite of mine.  Although it IS a circle skirt...it has a contoured waist that sits a bit lower on my hips...more comfortable and complimentary to my short-waisted-ness than a traditional waistband.









I'm probably going to do a bias hem facing.  I used this technique on my Summer skirt and was very pleased with the result.  And I'm entertaining the idea of adding horsehair braid to the hem.  Not too sure about this.  Hopefully, the weight of the wool will calm the braid down enough to give me a nicely shaped hemline...without coming off as too vintage-y.  Not that there's anything wrong with vintage.  It's just that we "women of a certain age" have to be careful.

Well, I'm off to begin cutting.  The Mailman has the entirety of next week off from work...so my sewing time will be limited, I'm afraid.  I have a feeling I'll be sewing like a madwoman the following week...trying to finish on time.  To be honest...I'm looking forward to it!