Sewing the Denim Moss Skirt   I'm starting this post with an incredibly honest opening statement - sewing this denim skirt nearly killed me! It shook my love of sewing to the core, it made me feel incredibly frustrated and I started to doubt my sewing ability - big time. This wasn't because there was anything wrong with the pattern, it was excellent - the instructions were very clear and easy to understand and the pattern cutting was good (apart from the waistband, which I think was too short and I will talk about later). It was because my beginner's luck, which lasted the whole of my first year of sewing, had finally run out. Have you ever had one of those projects where everything and I mean everything went wrong? Even the most simple of tasks that you normally whizz through without a second thought somehow go badly and end up in a lengthy and depressing unpicking session? Yeah, it was my first one of those - with bells on! The good news is I lived to tell the tale, I like the skirt, I learned loads and I'm back on the wagon. Here's how I got there... Let's start at the beginning. All projects start with enthusiasm, hope, excitement and optimism and this skirt was no different. I was shopping in York back in the summer when I spotted a very simple, smart denim skirt in Warehouse and I knew I had to make something similar as part of my pledge to stop living in jeans in the winter months. I went home and browsed our website and decided the Grainline Moss skirt pattern would be ideal. It has nice simple lines, understated pockets, a slight A line and could be a very close replica to the Warehouse skirt I spotted made up in our mid blue denim with navy blue top stitching. I thought I could throw a few flat felled seams in for good measure and it would be a good opportunity to learn how to sew a fly front zip and work with denim. This project was going to be a dream. Moss Skirt Front View I cut a size 10 based on my waist measurement and thought I could always take it in at the hips if necessary. I also lengthened it by 2" because I knew it was a very mini mini and I didn't want to expose too much thigh not to mention the pants that would be on display every time I bent down to pick up a child/something they'd thrown on the floor at regular intervals throughout the day. I followed the cutting instructions carefully and made sure I cut the waistband unfolded as suggested. I sewed the back yolks using a jeans needle and they went swimmingly, I felt like a sewing ninja when I sewed the flat felled seams. Until I noticed I hadn't quite caught all of the fabric. Nevermind, a quick unpick and resew and this little problemo was solved. Or so I thought. I chose some of our lovely John Kaldor ditsy fabric to line the pockets and they came together well then I sewed a flat felled seam at the centre front to tie in with the ones I had sewn on the back yolk. So far so good. Then it was time to tackle the zip. This actually went pretty well thanks to guidance from Angela and I wrote a blog post about it, which has been pretty popular too. However, once the zip was in the seam didn't line up with the centre front flat felled seam I had sewn and there was a big gap where you really don't want a gap! I sort of considered whether the flat felled seam would be an issue when I decided to sew it, but clearly didn't consider it carefully enough. In hindsight I should have made sure everything would line up properly by pinning and testing it out if necessary. Instead I had to unpick the centre front seam, sew a normal seam in the correct position then top stitch a fake (shock, horror, gasp!) flat felled seam to create the look I wanted. I felt dirty I'm not going to lie! Top stitching the zip was a challenge for me and I wanted it to be perfect. I ended up unpicking it several times then getting it absolutely spot on, to the point it wouldn't have looked out of place on the shelves in a Levis store before realising I had caught the pocket lining in my stitching! Aaaaarrrrgggghhhhh! More unpicking. I never did manage to sew it as well again. On a positive note I learned what bar tacks are for (holding the fly facing and shield in place) and I have a new found respect and enthusiasm for those little dudes! Bar Tacks By the time I got to the waistband I was still laughing thinking surely nothing else can go wrong. 'Hahaha...' thought the sewing Gods '...you ain't seen nothing yet!' The first waistband I made was too short despite following the pattern instructions perfectly so I made a second extra long waistband, like big enough to wrap round me twice, thinking I'm not making this a third time. I attached it and at this point realised the skirt was way too big around my sway back. I took it into work hoping Angela could suggest a solution that didn't involve making a third waistband, but she couldn't. I had to take the centre back seam in 1/2" at the waist tapering down to the yolk and had to cut a new waistband that was 1/2" shorter at the centre so it would match up. I couldn't simply shorten it at the ends because the curve wouldn't match the skirt waist properly. I should also mention I ran out of denim during part of this saga when it was cold and dark and night time and had to wait until the following day to get more from work. The good news is I'm really pleased with the fit at the back. Moss Skirt Back View Eventually I produced a waistband the right size and managed to attach it to the skirt and thought I might not lose my marbles after all. It is worth pointing out here that I would definitely recommend making your waistband a few inches longer at either end for this pattern then cutting it down to size based on my experience and the experiences shared on a good number of other sewing blogs. Then I had to try and sew the corners of the waistband. Oh my! Has anyone else nearly driven themselves mad with this task?! I've done it before on a cotton skirt, in fact the first garment I ever made, and it was easy peasy I don't even remember it being an issue. Oh no, not this denim skirt though. I tried diagonal stitches, I tried clipping and trimming seams, I tried folding not poking. I tried and tried and tried and in the end I fudged it. The waistband is uneven as a result of all my messing around and I'm not happy with it at all. There I said it. By this point I couldn't face sewing a buttonhole on denim and sewed a hook and bar on as a waistband fastening. Just when I thought my ordeal was over I realised one of the flat felled seams on the back yoke still hadn't caught all of the fabric. Seriously. So there it is, my tale of woe, warts and all. I do like the skirt and it is totally wearable. I think the pattern is very good and I love our denim so why did I choose to share all of this drama and turmoil with you? Why didn't I just take some blog photos, wax lyrical about how wonderful it all was and leave it at that? Because that's not real life and that's not real sewing. Because everyone, no matter how experienced, has a project like this from time to time and it is important for beginners like me to know that so they can bounce back and carry on and reach their true sewing potential. On that note here's a quick list of the things I did to help me bounce back... Moss Skirt Side View
  • I spoke to other people who I knew would be honest with me about their bad experiences. Every week I went into work moaning about this project to Angela (my MIL and co founder of Sew Essential) and Joan (our administrator). Every week they sympathised and told me that despite their over 100 years combined sewing experience they still have projects like this sometimes. This made me feel so much better and made me realise it wasn't just me and I wasn't as rubbish as I was telling myself.
  • I reflected on all the things I've made that went really well - the project before this was my first dress created completely on my overlocker. It went without a hitch, looks great and I love it. This forced me to be rational and accept that I can sew and I'm actually quite good at it for a newbie.
  • I looked back at my first few projects and how much help I needed from Angela to even understand the instructions and jargon whereas now I will throw myself head on into each project alone even if it doesn't work out the way I planned.
  • I thought about all the things I'd learned through the mistakes I'd made and how much better I would be able to do it next time, which actually made the mistakes seem really valuable rather than an annoyance.
  • I focused on the things that went well in the project - I am really pleased with the fit across my bum thanks to the sway back adjustment I made and the fly front zip went well.
  • I picked three quick, easy, satisfying sew projects to tackle next (I've made two already and they went really well) to build my confidence back up and remind me why I love sewing again.
A very wise man once said 'A man who never makes mistakes will never make anything' and I couldn't agree more! Have fun sewing! Lucy For more tips and tricks on how to make sewing easy you can follow our blog via Bloglovin and receive updates via email each time a new post is added. Follow us on Facebook Twitter and Instagram for news, tutorials, special offers, sales and more.