Remember back in college when you would hear a band come on the radio, and in true wannabe-hipster fashion you would toss your hair and say haughtily, “Yeah…I was totally into them before they ever became mainstream…” Like there was some sort of badge of honor in appreciating a band before social proof? Well, I swear you guys…I totally started this skirt before The Queens Gambit was ever a thing!
Truth be told, I drank in Queen’s Gambit like a thirsty fool lost in the desert the moment it was released. Never one for chess before, I was immediately lost in the story, the costumes, the drama of it all. I think a lot of the success is down to the lead actress Anya Taylor-Joy. There is something birdlike and mesmerizing about her. Her hand movements alone are like watching a game of chess, made with almost scientific precision, but still managing to look fluid, like a dance.
And it just so happened that while I watched, this skirt was already perched on my dress form in my sewing room, as if she knew all along…
The Inspiration
One of my favorite non-floral designs of the infamous Juli Lynne Charlot was of an abstract chess board. Set against an inky black backdrop, there were chessboard squares dotted around the skirt and colorful chess characters making their move across the hem. I’d been keeping an eye out for one in my size and my price range (as we know…vintage is a game of patience), but to no avail. And with days and months of a pandemic stretching before me and a shiny new Cricut suddenly on my sewing table, it was an inevitable checkmate.
The Design
This would be my first skirt in awhile that would ultimately be really straightforward – other than the chess pieces themselves, the design was essentially created out of squares. Thanks to images thoughtfully sent by lovely ladies Amy and Victoria who had the original vintage JLC, I quickly sketched out the plan and got to work picking materials.
The base would be a simple black felt, with chess pieces made out of red, teal, yellow and grey-blue. Then, I would just need to add accents out of sequins for a bit of bling. Naturally, I made a beeline for my gals at BBD supplies, and ordered 4 yards of the black, a half yard of fresh linen (for the squares) and a 12 x 18 sheet each of mellow yellow, bright red, blue bayou, and blue snow.
To recreate this skirt, you will need:
The Construction
First step in any circle skirt is cutting out the base. I folded my black felt in half and measured to my waist circumference (4.5″ radius = 28″ finished waist) and my ideal hem length (28″ + 4.5″ = 32.5″ outer radius). Using those measurements, I cut out one half circle and two quarter circles out of the black felt and stitched them up at the side seams and up the back seam, leaving a 9″ gap for the zipper.
If you aren’t as familiar with the geometry behind making a circle skirt, check out this post for a more detailed walk through.
With the base quickly sorted, I next needed a pile of white squares! Thankfully, I wouldn’t have to worry about precision, because I could rely on my Cricut Maker to do the hard work.
I quickly drew a 1.25″ x 1.25″ square in Design Space, and let my magic machine cut 60 squares out of the linen felt. Cricut made short work of the task and I had the squares I needed in under 5 minutes.
Next up: chess pieces! Thanks to photos of the original, it was pretty easy to recreate the shapes in Photoshop and import them into Design Space. Then, working from the original, I cut a rook, a horse, and a queen out of the bright red, a horse and a pawn out of blue bayou, a rook, pawn, and knight out of yellow, and a rook out of the blue snow.
I was so used to having about 8 zillion pieces to cut for my project, I couldn’t believe I was ready for the fun part of appliqué placement after only 30 minutes! But, there we were. I started with placing the white squares, following the original and working my way around the perimeter of the circle.
The main thing here was keeping everything lined up and spaced evenly. The best advice here is to place it down, but step back and look at it. Your eye will immediately catch errors from a distance that can be hard to see when you’re too close…
Once the squares were in place, it was easy to position all of the chess pieces. Working from the photos of the original, I quickly put each one down in their final position on the chess board.
Funnily enough, the part of this project that actually took some time was pinning everything down in preparation for applique! I made a few minor tweaks to the position of the pieces, and then worked my way around, pinning each square and each chess piece in place.
Then came the stitching. The squares went pretty quickly – working one section at a time, I secured each one with three tight backstitches along each side. As I went, I stepped back to make sure the pieces were still evenly spaced. Then, it was just a matter of snipping and stitching…
Next up: attaching the chess pieces. This went pretty quickly as well – I just matched the thread to each piece and worked my way around each one, securing it in place. The best thing you can do here is keep the fabric taught as you stitch, which helps to prevent bunches.
Then I faced the painful part: the sequins. This would be a fairly arduous process, but makes all the difference in terms of adding some necessary sparkle.
I had some iridescent sequins in my stash that had been there for a good long while…and they had almost taken on a patina, which fit perfectly with the vintage vibe…
From the original, each square had two clusters of three on the right corners and a single sequins in the upper left. Working on sequin at a time, I brought my needle up through the center and added a sequin. Then, I would thread on a bead to secure the sequin in place. I brought my needle down through the center of the sequin, to the side of my original thread.
Then, just lather rinse repeat!
Each of the chess pieces needed sequins as well, generally spotted along the right edge. Working one piece at a time and matching sequins to the color of the piece, I quickly started to see the skirt glitter….
From photos of the original, I saw that it had a white trim around the hem. This is what I love about JLC’s pieces – the added details.
I cut multiple strips 1/2″ strips of the linen felt to make enough for my full skirt circumference, which I stitched together to create one long strip.
I pressed the seam allowance along the length of the strip, and sewed it around the hem, with about 1/4″ of the white peeking out from the black. It really grounds the skirt, giving that perfect bit of pop against the stark black.
Then it was a matter of cutting and sewing in the waistband and stitching in the zip! I went with a 9″ black lapped here, (if you struggle with zips, I highly recommend watching Gertie’s AMAZING zipper tutorial). I quickly got the zipper in place and moved on to the waistband.
In keeping true to the original chess skirt, I wanted an extra wide waistband with the rows of stitching I have come to know as JLC’s trademark. I quickly cut one long 4″ by 32″ rectangle out of the black felt and a second out of some spare black cotton. I backed the felt with interfacing and stitched the waistband and waistband lining together, pressing the seam flat.
Then, starting from the top of the waistband, I sewed parallel rows of stitching at 0.5″ inches apart. I’ve shared this trick before, but a good hack for keeping things straight is to tape a flat edged guide at the correct measurement (like a piece of cardboard or, in my case, my pack of sewing needles). Before I got to the last row of stitching, I stopped – so that I could attach the waistband to my skirt.
With right sides together, I sewed the waistband to the skirt and the lining, and then pressed it upwards. I then topstitched the final row of stitching, securing the lining to the waistband and completing the last of the 1/2″ parallel rows.
I spent the next evening doing the finishes – securing the hem with a slip stitch, adding waist clasps, and carefully pressing in my custom labels from Heart of Wonder, which always makes a piece feel truly mine.
This was definitely a quick make in the scheme of things, and I was able to complete it in two short afternoons. It’s nice sometimes to be able to create something you’ve been coveting, and realize that, for once, it took less time than you planned!
The Debut
When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time at my grandmother’s (Mimere’s) house. We called it our “bonding time.” She had a lot of amazing things in her home that enamored me, but one of my favorites was a case full of games. Checkers, chess, even a miniature roulette wheel. Half the time, my sister and I didn’t even play the actual games. We just loved to open it up and carefully stack the colored chips and spin the wheel.
When she passed away, my sister got the game case from her house for me. It is one of my most treasured pieces of my Mimere and even opening it brings up a feeling of calm. I brought that case out from its place next to the bed, with the chess pieces still in their cubby. A few were looking worse for wear, a chip here, crown snapped off there. But I was relieved to find my childhood still safe and preserved. Waiting for a spin anytime I needed it….
Chess is the struggle against the error.
Johannes Zukertort
I‘ve been thinking a lot about what to wear on Inauguration Day. Red, white, and blue? My version of a white pantsuit? When it came down to it, I realized this skirt was just the thing.
Truthfully, I feel my whole body has been tense for the last four years, on high alert. Waiting for the next horror to be unleashed with a tweet. For someone’s rights to be stripped away on the whim of a narcissist. But more recently, I’ve started to have hope for a day when we may actually move forward with a plan. With true leadership. And regardless of whether Biden was your first or fifth or 100th choice, I for one am VERY much looking forward to disliking my government the normal amount.
More than anything, I am ready to feel like the grownups are in charge. And that our “leader” from the past few years has run out of options and may finally have to answer for his crimes. Impeachment. Lawsuits. Imprisonment. Even his own troupe of sycophants scattering away, hoping to save some sort of face. Out of moves and excuses. Where perhaps, after sliding all around the board, seemingly untouchable, there will be nowhere left to turn but to the harsh reality of accountability.
Checkmate.
xoxo
Construction Details:
Circle Skirt: Self-drafted
Skirt fabric & Lining: 4 yards black wool blend felt
Appliqué: Felt from BBD Supplies
Sequins & Beads
Additional notions (zipper, thread): JoAnn’s
Outfit Details:
Top: Vivien of Holloway
Skirt: Made by me!
Necklace: gift, Created & Collected (similar)
Handbag: gift (similar)
Shoe clips: vintage (similar)
Shoes: Betsey Johnson (similar)
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Any items marked with a “c/o” (courtesy of) a retailer mean I was provided with an item for free in exchange for a review and/or feature on my blog. I always provide my honest opinion of any item I’m reviewing, regardless of whether it was sent to me as a courtesy item or if I purchased it myself. In addition, this post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click and/or make a purchase through certain links or ads on this site, I may make a commission from that click and/or purchase at no cost to you, which helps with the day-to-day running costs of my blog.