Spring's First Blush - Part XIII

Skirt Lining

The skirt so far is together and has had an invisible zipper installed into the left side seam.  So far, so good.  Yesterday, I thought all I had to do was the hem and waistline finish.  I forgot the lining!  Duh.  Not like I didn't have the fabric, but actually making it would be a good idea!

For the lining, I ordered some ivory rayon bemberg lining, which I thought I could buy locally but could not.  That's another story.  The lining was easy to make - the original pattern for the lining is different from the skirt pattern.  It does not have all the panel seams, just darts and side seams.  The front and back are each cut on a fold, and a dart shapes the waist area of the lining.  To get the pattern pieces, the side pieces are overlapped with the center pieces on the seam lines and taped together:

This creates one piece for cutting and it is easy to see how a dart can be formed. 

After cutting, construction was easy - sew the darts and side seams.

Now I can get the waist and hem done!

Q/A:  I got this one before my vacation, but I think it is a really good question and needs to be answered.  From Sandy, Just wondering... about how much difference do you find that the quilting changes the pattern. Does it generally happen width or lengthwise or rather randomly?

I find that the denser the quilting, the more the piece shrinks.  With this skirt, it shrank more in length than width.

Do you find it works out somewhat similar to all the pieces or are there more differences on small pieces than large ones, etc?


The shrinkage factor seems to be the same rate for all the pieces - if it is large, there is a proportionately larger amount of shrinkage. 

To prepare for the shrink factor, I generally cut the piece 2" larger than the actual pattern piece all around.  This isn't always possible, if one is short on fabric, but it is a good idea.  This also is good if the fabric tends to shred.  I mark the outline of the of the pattern piece on the fabric and then quilt, quilting a good 1" (2cm) beyond the lines.  After pressing and quilting, I place the pattern piece back on the quilted piece to check for shrinkage, quilting placement (this is where quilting beyond the lines is helpful), etc.  I then remark, stay stitch and trim the piece.  Time consuming, but to get an accurate it does work.

Parting Shot:  Garden.  Here is this year's garden that my son and I are working on.  This year we've got cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, pumpkins and sunflowers.  Nothing is really big yet, but the weather is better than last year, so I'm hoping for a better crop.