We all have our sewing “wish list” pile (or at least I do). You know the one: where you have stacks of fabric and a box of patterns that you will one day make into something fabulous. It never happens all at once, but over years of collecting and planning, you turn around one day and realize your pile of plans and sewing ideas is now threatening to drown you. So, I was beyond ecstatic to work with Online Fabric Store to finally make a dent in that pile…
A project I have had my eye on for years is a blue skirt with beautiful tulip and daffodil appliqué around the hem. I’ve had the pattern for ages, just wanting for the moment when I had the time to make it a reality. For these types of things, I usually wait for the dust to settle on a past project, and then a burst of inspiration strikes and I head into the next. After the Winter Wonderland project, I admit my creative juices were looking for a quick(er) win.
I was so excited when I was contacted by OnlineFabricStore.net about collaborating on a sewing project. I’d bought from their site before when I was needing the perfect lilac felt for my trellis skirt. I was impressed with their speedy delivery and how accurate the color was (I’m such a stickler with these projects and was so relieved when the color on my monitor was indeed the color that appeared on my doorstep).
We decided to tackle a project together that would combine my two favorite things – full skirts and appliqué. It was time to finally unearth Simplicity Pattern 4532 from the pile and bring her to life…
If you’ve never heard of Online Fabric Store before, they’re an online, family run fabric retailer with an incredibly large selection of apparel, upholstery, drapery, and industrial fabrics. While investigating their wares, I also happened upon a bit of information about them – they’re based out of New England, in the town right next to where I grew up! The project suddenly took on even more meaning, knowing it had a bit of my home grown roots behind it.
Working with Online Fabric Store was amazing – their customer service was top notch, and I was able to find exactly what I needed really quickly. I love the way their site is organized – if you go there with a plan, you can easily find what you need. But, they also let you shop by color, fabric type, project, use…so that if you’re just looking for inspiration you can browse and get struck by the sewing bug. They also have a really helpful blog, the OFS Maker’s Mill, where they offer tons of how to’s, video guides, and tips and tricks for projects.
The Plan
Once I had my idea set, I was off to the races and itching to get started. The Simplicity Pattern 4532 is a half circle skirt, with transfers for tulips and daffodils to go around the bottom hem of the skirt, garnished with two rows of ric rack trim. If you’re looking to tackle this project, there are several of these patterns floating around out there. The most important thing when you’re shopping for one is to be sure the transfers for the flowers and leaves are unused. You can freehand them, but it’s much easier to have a stencil to go by.
Almost immediately, I knew I would make a few changes (we’ve met, right?). First and foremost, I wanted to upgrade to a full circle skirt – this would be pretty simple to modify. I would just need to self-draft the full circle – which are super simple to make. Secondly, the skirt only comes with three sets of transfers (which I believe are only supposed to go onto the front of the skirt). As someone who appreciates an exit, I knew I wanted to add additional clusters of the flowers, so it would go around the entire hem.
I decided to stay pretty true to the colors of the original – and went with Kona Cotton in Candy Blue for the base, with the felt appliqué in a range of colors. I was able to find everything I needed pretty quickly on the Online Fabric Store website, which was delivered at lightning speed in under a week from order.
When everything arrived from New England, I took stock of my materials and was really happy to see the colors were pretty true to the colors on their site – I can be pretty stressful when ordering online to be sure you’ve got the color balance right, but the Kona Cotton was a vibrant sky blue and all of the felt was bright and fresh.
I was also pleased with the quality of the felt – even though this was 100% polyester, it had a nice thickness and didn’t pull apart on contact. This is really important when looking for a felt to use in appliqué – you don’t want the product dissolving with even the slightest pressure.
Although you may want to create this cutie in a different color, to recreate the one I made, you will need:
The Construction
If you are working with cotton, first and foremost, you want to prewash all of your materials. This is a critical step, particularly because 100% cotton can (and will) shrink. When you are appliquéing onto cotton, you want to get all of that shrinkage out of the way before you sew anything onto it. Pre-washing also ensures any small marks from storage or shipping are gone and if there’s any color bleed, it’s handled up front.
While my Kona Cotton was washing, I organized everything else. This means pressing the felt to get out any creases and checking to make sure you have matching thread for all of the appliqué. For vibrant felt, I also recommend pre-soaking the pieces in some warm water and synthrapol to lock in the colors avoid color bleed down the road.
Once everything is washed, the next step is to cut the base – I used the Kona Cotton and cut one half circle and two quarter circles, so I could have a back zip, but keep the seams at the sides.
I cut it to a 28″ waist (4.5″ radius) and 29″ length (34.5″ radius), which I would hem to a final length of 28″. If you haven’t done a circle skirt before, see this post for a detailed walk through. I also cut the same pieces out of my lining fabric, which I would attach once all of the appliqué was complete to cover up the stitches.
This pattern also called for pockets (!), which makes every garment better. I realized I’ve never shared a How-To on sewing in pockets, because my last few projects had so much appliqué it would have disrupted the design. But, with all of the details for this piece around the hem of the skirt, it was finally Pocket Time!
I cut out four pocket pieces, using the pattern provided. After cutting in the notches and marking the holes, I then sewed up the side seams of my skirt to just below the pocket line. Then, taking one of the pocket pieces, I sewed it to one side of the skirt, with right sides together, at 5/8″ seam allowance. I repeated this for the other three pieces.
Once sewn, press the seam allowance towards the pocket on each side. Then, with right sides of the two pocket pieces together, sew around the outer edge of the pocket at 5/8″, leaving an opening at the side seam. When you turn it right side around – Voila! – behold a perfect pocket. The skirt already looks more cheerful….
With my base done, the next step would involve cutting out all of the appliqué pieces – and my Simplicity 4532 came with all of the appliqué transfers. I decided that, rather than use them all as transfers, I would just use one to cut out template pieces out of felt, from which I would then cut out my replicates. Firstly, there weren’t enough transfers for a full circle skirt. And secondly, this would mean I could make the skirt multiple times if I so desired (sew desired??)
I started with the leaves, first cutting out the template from the pattern. To keep myself organized, I also numbered the patterns #1-4 to ensure I didn’t confuse myself with leaves everywhere. Using my Olfa cutting mat and rotary cutter, I cut out 8 sets of the four leaves from the bright green felt. This part went relatively quickly (if you don’t have a rotary cutter, I suggest you drop everything right this minute and buy one. They’re the BEST, especially when it comes to cutting out curved pieces).
Ince I had all of my leaves cut out and complete, I laid them onto the original template to be sure things didn’t go horribly awry along the way. Luckily, so far, so good…
On my circle skirt, I then measured up 5″ from the hem, all the way around the base of the skirt. I made a mark with my water soluble pen so I could easily remove it later. This was going to be the line along which I would put each of my flower clusters.
Once the marks were made, I laid all of the pieces one by one onto the base. The easiest way to do this was to use a tracing wheel and transfer paper. I lined up the template with the mark 5″ up from the hem. Then, I carefully tucked my tracing paper underneath, and ran my wheel along the bottom portion of each leaf. I used these marks as a guide for where to place the leaves.
working one section at a time, I laid out of the leaves – Our eye is remarkably good at spotting errors. The best way to check if something is off is to step back and look. I made several tweaks until I was reasonably satisfied that things were symmetrical.
Next up came the thinner stems for the flowers. Although the pattern didn’t call for it, I decided to use a contrasting apple green felt for these. Also using my rotary cutter, I quickly cut 1/4″ strips and measured them against my template. Lather, rinse, repeat until I had 8 sets of the 3 stems. I found it easiest to work at the edge of my felt and cut one long strip, which I would then trim to size.
Then, I followed the same process as before and worked around the skirt to lay the stems in between each of the leaves. This required a bit of minor tweaking and repining until everything looked balanced to the eye.
With the greenery complete, I moved on to planting some flowers! I’m no horticulturist (not even a little), but felt flowers I can definitely get behind. This skirt has two sets of daffodils and a tulip in each flower cluster. I decided to do the daffodils in two tone, using yellow felt for the petals and gold felt for the “cups.” I thought the two colors contrasted nicely to give a bit of dimension without being too garish.
I carefully cut out the shape from the transfer pattern and used it as a template to get my felt shapes. I set to work cutting out the pieces – because of the tinier details on these, it was easier to use my scissors than the rotary cutter.
After the petals were laid out, next up came the “cup” of the daffodil, out of the golden felt. Again, I worked from the template piece and carefully worked one piece at a time until I had all 16.
I followed the same procedure with the tulips – however, following the original skirt pattern, four tulips would be out of red felt and four would be a mix of the candy pink and baby pink. Once you get a rhythm cutting out all of the pieces, it becomes pretty mindless work. I merrily snipped away while Mr. Dressed made dinner, finishing this part in under an hour.
Pieces cut and ready, I laid everything out on the skirt to check the balance for the last time and pinned it all in place. Although always terrifying, the next step is to just commit and get to sewing!
To secure everything to the skirt, decided to machine stitch on the greenery, because I always like the detail the stitches provide, looking like veins in the leaves. Thanks to the lovely Kona Cotton base and my faithful Bernina, the sewing went like buttah and I was able to get all of the stems and leaves sewed and secured within an hour and a half.
This part of the sewing process is always my favorite – because it actually started to look like a garment rather than a pile of fabric pieces. I pinned her on my dress form and she merrily winked at me every morning while getting ready for work.
With all of the leaves complete, the time had come to get moving on the flowers. I laid each one around to be sure I was happy with placement (you can never check too many times people!) Simply due to their fiddly nature, I decided to mostly hand stitch these on. However, Bernina came in handy to secure the tulip petals on first (see below), so I didn’t have to worry about too many elements when I got to hand sewing.
Now on with the appliqué! If you follow me on IG, you know I’ve been working on a vintage restoration project, where I am painstakingly removing appliqué pieces from a damaged Juli Lynne Charlot original and re-applying them to a new base. Needless to say, I have a PhD in hand-work at this point and wasn’t daunted in the slightest by this next step (particularly as it can be done in front of the tv while Mr. Dressed hands me a cocktail).
The easiest way to get into a rhythm is to work on the same element all the way around. So, I started with the daffodils and, using tiny tight backstitches, made my way around the entire perimeter.
Then, I tackled the tulips. First, I decided to machine stitch the 3 petals together to secure them in place. This went relatively quickly (which was lucky, cause I knew the next steps would take just a bit longer)
Once the tulips were secured together, I could attach them to the skirt. Working one bud at a time, I added on each of the tulips, alternating between red and pink flowers. Working carefully around the edge of each flower, one by one I started to see my garden bloom before my eyes.
Although there were still details to add around the hem, I wanted to close up the back seam, add a waist band, and put in my zipper before I did anything else. There was another flower cluster I would need to add to the back seam, and I had to add two rows of rick rack to finish everything off.
Starting with the waistband, I cut out two 3″ strips from the Candy Blue Kona Cotton. General rule is to cut them 3″ longer than your waist (to account for seam allowance and a bit of a waist tab. So I cut mine to 31″ and attached interfacing to the front side for stabilization.
I sewed them together at the top and pressed the seam towards the back part of the waistband. Working very close to the seam, I then stitched down the seam allowance at the back, folding the waistband at the seam and pressing it flat. I then secured it to the waist of the skirt at 3/8.” I finished the inside waistband by pressing it under 3/8″ and securing it with a slip stitch all the way around.
Once the waistband was in, I closed up the back seam and eyed my 9″ zipper warily. It’s always my least favorite part of every project. I’m hoping that repetition will simply numb me to the process (or they’ll start cooperating with me instead of taking 10 tries to get it in). Luckily, this one took a mere two tries before we actually had a successful skirt closure.
I then attached the final appliqué to the back seam, and gave it a simple rolled hem – press and stitch. I stepped back to admire my handiwork. This skirt was looking all kinds of dreamy, with bright pops of color against an azure sky.
The last details was to add a double row of rick rack trim, covering the bottom edge of the flowers. For this, I used Wrights 1/2″ White Medium Rick Rack Tape. Because I had such a full skirt, I needed 6 packets of these to go around the hem twice. I carefully pressed them flat (they can get a bit bent in the package).
Then, using my trusty water soluble pen, I made a mark 5″ from the hem all the way around the bottom of the skirt. I pinned the rick rack in place and stepped back to make sure there was no glaring error in my measurements.
Then, I just used a straight stitch and worked slowly on top of the rick rack. At places where I needed to start a new piece of rick rack, I would trim the edge and match it as carefully as possible, and dab the ends with a bit of Fray Check.
Once the first row of rick rack was complete, I repeated the process 2″ up from the first row of trim. As before, I marked 2″ above my original line and then stitched it on with a straight machine stitch.
The final touch was adding the closures to the waist. I always hold my breath at this stage, when I zip her up and confirm that math does in fact work and that it will fit. It doesn’t matter how many of these I make, I am forever surprised when it comes together in the end.
I have to admit, this pattern has sat in my sewing pile forever – it was just waiting for the right moment. Had Online Fabric Store not reached out to me, it may have been there for another 10 years. I think I was a bit intimidated by it – not the work itself (which was actually pretty straightforward), but by the precision of it all. The flower repeats, the symmetrical rick rack. A lot of my more complicated pieces have multiple elements, but they are a bit more chaotic and don’t need symmetry.
If you’re embarking on this particular skirt – the best advice I can give is to realize that imperfections are what make these kinds of skirts one of a kind. I measured and tweaked to the best of my ability, and I’m sure if a mathematician were to scrutinize it, I would be a few mm off here and there. And that’s okay – it’s about the process, not the perfection.
The Debut
Naturally, I had to head to one of my favorite locations in Wilmington – the Arboretum – to debut this most beautiful skirt. Even though the weather says otherwise, I hope to be sending an invitation with this piece to Spring that she’s welcome to pay us a visit any time. No RSVP necessary – show up, and we’ll welcome you in with open arms….
Daffodils, blossom
and tulips jostle
to the front of the stage
in April.
Monty Don
Overall, the sewing process took me about 12 hours from start to finish – which is reasonably quick considering my other creations of late! Not counting the hours or the original pattern, I was also able to create it for about $104.25 with materials from Online Fabric Store, which is pretty amazing for a bespoke skirt.
After this experience, I highly recommend working with OFS – I really love supporting family owned businesses and was absolutely thrilled with every step of the creation process. From the customer service, to the shipping time, to the product, I honestly couldn’t have been happier. It was also incredibly special to me to learn that they are a stone’s throw from my home town. Creating this skirt with a company that feels like a part of a time when mini-me was being planted and grown felt really serendipitous.
To help you on your next sewing adventure, Online Fabric Store is offering a coupon code exclusive to my readers! Use code DRESSED15OFS now through 3/22 and receive 15% off all OFS orders $75+ ($50 savings max). Keep me posted – I can’t wait to see what you guys create!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I must be off to find the perfect garden to twirl in…
xoxo
Construction Details:
Circle Skirt Pattern: Vintage 1953 Simplicity Pattern 4532
Skirt fabric: Robert Kaufman Candy Blue Kona Cotton c/o OnlineFabricStore
Skirt Lining: Cotton voile in off white c/o OnlineFabricStore
Appliqué: Felt in bright green, apple green, red, baby pink, candy pink, gold and yellow c/o OnlineFabricStore
Additional notions (zipper, rick rack): c/o Online Fabric Store
Outfit Details:
Top: Imagine Top in ivory from Heart of Haute
Skirt: Made by me!
Belt: Love Like Style
Handbag: Blue Bird Vintage (similar here & here)
Shoes: Irregular Choice (similar here & here & one pair left here)
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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.