From Narrow Hem to Faced Hem Band, Other Hints for an A-Lined Skirt, and Valori Wells Pattern

I really enjoy using Valorie Wells Sewing Cards.  I have the Little Wallet and the little bit bigger wallet, two stuffed animal patterns and the Everyday Skirt.  Today I want to address the Everyday skirt.  Another day I will talk about the Little Wallet.  I think that one is a fantastic, simple pattern for gifts.

But anyway...on to the Everyday Skirt.

Pattern can be purchased here.

This pattern is the size of a small greeting card and holds all the necessary information to make a really cute skirt.  I could certainly figure out how to make this skirt on my own without the pattern but, WHY?!  She has everything all figured out for me.  I don't have to do any math.  The black and white pictures are sufficient to help understand her directions.  All in all it is a nice simple pattern with great results.

My daughter thought these two fabrics together were Matilda Jane-esque.

I wanted to give a couple of helpful suggestions with pictures for this pattern.

She has you cut out your main skirt fabric as a two large rectangles.  Then you measure over 4" from each side.

Next, cut a diagonal line from the mark to the bottom corner.

Do this on both sides so the finished product looks like this:

I then folded the fabric in half to make sure the sides were mirror images.

Obviously, this technique could apply to any A-lined skirt.

Next hint:  The waist band is attached a little differently.  She has you place the Right side of the Waistband against the Wrong side of the Skirt.  The picture below shows this.  After stitching flip the waistband to the right side and stitch down.  Not the way I would normally do this but it has a nice finished look.

The rest of the pattern is pretty easy to follow so on to the hem band.

In the pattern you are to add the band and sew a narrow hem to finish.  But, I don't love the look of a bottom band with a narrow hem.  

This band is perfectly acceptable.  I just don't love the line of stitching at the bottom for the narrow hem.  To me, it looks like too many lines of stitching.  I know that from far away it isn't even noticeable but I notice it and so I like to eliminate it.  

You will have to do a little math for this.  I know, this takes away a bit of the simplicity I loved about this pattern but for me the finished result is worth it.

In the pattern you are to cut the band 2 3/4" wide.  There is a 1/4" seam allowance attaching to the skirt and 1/2" for the narrow hem.  This leaves a 2" finished band.  

I want a similar 2" finished band.  Since I want it finished on both sides I need to add another 2" for the inside and 1/4" seam allowance for both sides.  My new bands needs to be cut 4 1/2" wide.

Cut two bands and iron them in half, wrong sides together.

I personally prefer to iron flat pieces so I seamed the two pieces together after and ironed the portions by the seam again.  Feel free to seam the two pieces together and then iron in half if you prefer.

Your finished product should be a large circle with the right side on both sides.

Pin on side of the hem band to the right side of the skirt, raw edges together.  Stitch.

Press the seam allowance toward the skirt.

Edgestitch close to the seam.  You can faintly see the black line of stitching just above the band.

Now you have a finished skirt with only one seam at the bottom, finished inside and out.  Beautiful!

A couple shots on my little model.

Have a great day!

Until next time...

Wood and Fabric Window Valance

     Over the last 4+ years I have missed writing this blog. It hasn't been something that I have had time for but this was still missed.  Time has been marching quickly.

In the last 4 years:

• Our children have all grown into teenagers.
• I taught sewing lessons to students of all ages.
• We became a foster family and went back to bottles, diapers and naptimes.
• We moved to a new house that needs a lot of fixing up.
• We took a 6 week, 9,000 mile road trip in a small RV from Florida, up the East Coast, across the Midwest and home to Alaska.
• I discovered new hobbies. 

     I discovered I like woodworking but I really enjoy coming up with the ideas and having my husband execute them.  I love making signs and crafts with my Silhouette machine. Mod Podge, chalk paint, and Pinterest have become my new best friends.  My love for cooking, baking and trying new recipes has been resurrected.  Phew!  So much to do so little time!

     As I am sure many of you can agree, I LOVE Pinterest and get so many ideas from there.  When I have an idea of something I want to do or make, Pinterest is my first stop. Sometimes I find exactly what I am looking for and sometimes not. When I wanted to make some valances for my very boring large windows, as usual, I went to Pinterest.  I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.  I wanted rustic.  So I really liked the thought of wood. I also wanted some softness and color from fabric.  Most of the options I found had long curtains like these.

   Here is a great tutorial for making this wood valance from tinpig.com.

And obviously Shanty 2 Chic would have a great tutorial

But what I really wanted was short ones.  I wanted maximum view and light from the many picture windows that surround my living room and kitchen. So I used the above ideas as inspiration for my variation.

The result was just what I was hoping for!  I love a successful project!

Eventually I want to put black metal on the edges for a bit of an industrial/rustic look.  But I have my husband on to other projects. 

Oh, and when I was looking today for my inspiration pins I did find something similar to mine.  Although, they stapled the fabric to the valance.  How nice and easy!  I made a pocket in the valance and attached a rod to the back of the wood.  

This nice and easy tutorial is from Hunt and Host.

Have a wonderful day!

Until next time...