Vogue 7802 Sandra Betzina skirt

Finally I got time for a photo shoot. Here is my wonderful Moulin Rouge fabric turned into a can can skirt. I acquired this fantastic Moulin Rouge fabric some years back. Every so often I would get it out to try to envision what it should become. You know how it goes..... look through lots of patterns, pick a few, not enough fabric for those, try again, nothing inspires, put the fabric away for a few more years. The more you love a fabric the longer this process goes on it seems. Finally I decided it would be a skirt using this Sandra Betzina pattern with black trim. Since I so loved my fabric I did a rare thing for me. I made a muslin. You know... to check the fit. Hated that skirt. Put the project aside again. Changed my plan to making a jacket or shirt. Bought 3 more skirt patterns. In the end, as you can see, I went back to the SB pattern. I realized that the muslin was ugly because of a)fabric used b) no contrast trim c) no whimsy. Fit was fine. Just needed to add the whimsy.

So I threw this fabric out on the cutting board and with trepidation cut my precious. Now I'm so happy with my skirt!

I think this is a vintage cotton, probably designed to be for curtains in the 40s or 50s? Anyone know?

I left off the bias trim at the hem and waist. I added an underskirt with tulle. I made that by serging tulle to an old slip. I did multiple tucks to the lower skirt.

I remember seeing Sandra wear this skirt some years ago and it looked fantastic because of her quilted fabric with leather trim. Her patterns always look much better in person in her chosen fabrications than they do on the pattern envelopes. This was even photographed in her fabrics but maybe it just has to have her wearing it to look fantastic.

Catching Up

Wow it has been a crazy summer. 3 reunion trips, 2 trips to Jackson Hole to see the kids, multiple trips to Bay Area involving DS#2 home purchase and move in, home only a few days since June. Home now for 2 weeks and finally getting caught up but soon will be off again on an international trip for a month. So now I have been sewing and loving it, finishing up some projects and dreaming up others.

Today I made a skirt from a fantastic vintage fabric that has been in my stash for almost 10 years. I loved the fabric so much I had a hard time deciding what to make with it. I think it was a drapery fabric from the fifties maybe, depicting Moulin Rouge subjects. Photos soon.

See my reviews listed at the right to see what I have been up to in the few weeks I have been at home. How will I ever use up my stash if I am never at home???