Awhile back in February (feels like a hundred years ago in COVID-years), the lovely Amy of Miss Hero Holliday and I embarked on a joint sewing adventure. We decided to each create our own take on Simplicity 4784 for Valentine’s Day, zipping photos and ideas across the pond as we went. I have to admit, even though I am usually a solo-sewist, it was one of the most fun sewing projects I had tackled in ages.
After our successful first go, she and I started to brainstorm what our next project would be. Amy had acquired a copy of McCall’s #1541 – a circle skirt boasting a large 3D rose to one side, with a thick trim along the hem. Given that we are both more than a little cuckoo for appliqué and roses, we immediately fell in love. As is the case with vintage patterns, though, a second copy could not be found. But we vintage loving ladies are nothing if not resourceful….
The Design
With the design in my head, I knew I wanted a unique color combination. I had a few different options I toyed with, but in the end I settled on a red base with the rose in shades of cornflower blue. So, the hunt began for the perfect red!
I found the perfect vibrant shade in Chinese Red Kona cotton, and opted for a Red for the lining. I ordered 4 yards of each and awaited their arrival!
The only place to go for wool blend felt is BBD Supplies. I love the range of colors and high quality of the felt, which has been sewn to many a skirt in the Dressed Aesthetic household this past year.
For the rose, I wanted to build it out of a few different shades of blue. I went with bluer than blue, ice grey, periwinkle, robin’s egg and a bright pop of yellow for an accent color. I also got some Evergreen for the leaves and stems.
While waiting for the fabric to arrive, I turned my attention to getting my shapes prepped. A fabulous trick that I have learned over the last year is that, with my Cricut, anything is possible. Because I could easily draft my own circle skirt, the lovely Amy snapped photos of the pattern pieces and made a few critical measurements that would allow me to scale them to size. After importing the photos into Powerpoint, I traced the shapes and created an .svg from each.
And away we go……
To recreate this skirt, you will need:
The Construction
Every good skirt starts with a single snip. Although the McCall’s #1541 had a pattern for the circle skirt, I’ve drafted so many of them this past year there was no need to trace it. Instead, I drafted one myself to my waist circumference (4.5″ radius = 28″ finished waist) and my ideal hem length (29.5″ + 4.5″ = 34″ outer radius, including a 0.5″ waist and 1″ hem allowance).
Using those measurements, I cut out one half circle and two quarter circles out of the Chinese Red Kona Cotton 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.
Now, I had a base upon which to start to build my rose garden….
First up, now that I had my base, was to create the trim that would go around the hem. After marking up 8″ around the full circumference, I played with a few different options (including velvet ribbon), but struggled with getting the curvature. In the end, I opted to cut the curved panels out of black felt using my Cricut, following the pattern pieces Amy had photographed for me.
Once they were cut, I laid the strips together end to end, and placed it around the perimeter of my circle. After a few tweaks, I was happy with the placement, and pinned the black felt in place.
Because I didn’t want the hem trim to budge, I decided to machine stitch it down before going any further. Using a black thread, I stitched the pieces together and to end. Then, I sewed the top of the trim down along the full circumference, followed by the lower edge.
With the trim secure, I focused on all of that glorious applique, starting the the greenery. I opted to cut these pieces out of the evergreen felt, which is a truly gorgeous deep green. After importing the .svgs I had created from the pattern pieces into Design space, Cricut made quick work of cutting them all out for me.
I then spent some time cutting out the parts that would make up my rose, as well as a series of petals I would have falling around the skirt. Even though the pattern called for the rose to be cut out of the same color, I got a little snazzy and opted to cut it out of various shades of cornflower blue using the bluer than blue, ice grey, periwinkle, and robin’s egg felt for the rose and petals.
For a final bit of pop, I cut the center of the rose in yellow and a few petals to scatter around the hem. Then, once they were cut, I followed the pattern to get the orientation correct, and laid all of the pieces on top of each other to create the rose effect.
Eyeballing the pattern, I started by placing the main stem on the skirt, off to the right of the center. I placed the rose at one end, creating the base of the main design that I could build from.
Once I had the anchor of the large rose, I built the rest of the scene and started by adding all of the leaves around the rose. Then, I took the smaller green leaves, and added them around the large flower.
I had also cut out smaller flower petals out of the range of blue felt, which I planned to scatter around as if they were falling from the rose. Once I was happy with their placement, I pinned everything in place.
Even though the pattern didn’t ask for this, I decided to add a little something extra to the back left panel of the skirt. I always like to have some sort of scene opposite to anything on the front to provide a bit of balance. So, I opted to add a few rosebuds that would one day grow into the large rose.
I sketched out the shape of the buds and stems and then cut out the pieces in a mix of the blue and yellow felt on my Cricut.
I added them in a criss cross pattern to the back, covering up the base of the rosebud. Then, I scattered additional rose petals around by the rosebuds and randomly around the full circumference, tying the rest of the skirt into the front design.
Now that the design was set, it was time for the addition of a few extra details. First, I decided to make some of the rose petals more 3D.
To get the 3D shape of the petal, I would pinch the end of each, just above where I had left the tab. Then, using matching thread, I created several, quick looping stitches towards the end of the petal, creating a 3D shape.
Then, lather, rinse, repeat about 8,000 more times and until you have the number of 3D petals you want.
I also decided, for a bit of extra pizzazz, to create a miniature version of the 3D rose and add it to the waistband. I took the original cut pattern of the large rose, and scaled it down to 2.5″ width, letting Cricut cut it out.
Then, using my favorite fabric glue, I secured all of the pieces together, creating the cutest ever miniature rose. I set it aside until I got to the waistband.
Next, I moved on to appliquéing all of the elements to the skirt. I gathered together some matching thread, and worked my way from piece to piece, appliquéing each with tiny, tight backstitches.
For these, I wanted to add a bit of batting to give them some of their own dimension. While I was appliquéing all around the perimeter of the green felt, I didn’t sew it down completely.
I took a small amount of batting and filled the space between the skirt and the green felt. For this, you want to resist the tendency to overfill – a small amount of batting will really go a long way. Once the batting was in place, I closed the opening and the illusion was complete!
Then, I moved on to the petals and the rose itself. I attached each using a matching blue thread and the same tight backstitch. I worked from the topmost layer down. I made sure to leave a gap in my stitches for each.
For the rose, even though the pattern called for pieces of the petals to be unstitched sort of to create a flutter effect), I found it to be a little less effective with the felt on cotton. So, to still capture the 3D effect, I decided to use batting here as well, adding a small amount to each layer of the rose.
Lastly, I sewed the rosebuds onto the back, also adding a tiny bit of batting behind, until I had a puffy, 3D rose garden bursting forth around the skirt.
Then, to finish the rosebuds, I glued the base of the bud in place using my fabric glue. My trick for getting these really secure is to glue them down and then rest a coaster on top, letting it dry for several hours.
With nothing left to do but the finishes, I set to work to tackle the waistband, zipper, and hem. I went with a 9″ red lapped here (as usual, I highly recommend watching Gertie’s AMAZING zipper tutorial to get up to speed on how to put one of these in). I sewed the lining to the skirt first, and then quickly got the zipper in place.
Moving onto the waistband, I decided to go with an extra wide 4″ waistband with the rows of parallel stitching a la Juli Lynne Chatlot. I quickly cut 2 long 4″ by 32″ rectangles out of the Kona Cotton. I backed one piece 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 (a pack of sewing needles works a treat). 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 – starting with the hem. I pressed the hem of the skirt under 1/2″ and then pressed the lining to the inside about 5/8″, securing the two together with a slip stitch and hiding all of my stitches from prying eyes.
Then, for the piece de la resistance, I added two waist clasps and carefully pressed in my custom (GLITTER) labels from Heart of Wonder. When I put her on my dress form, she just looked so bright and cheerful that I let her brighten the place up for several days before I took her for a spin….
As my final finishing touch, I added my miniature rose off to the side on my waistband. I loved that it mirrored the larger rose, adding that perfect extra pop to the final design.
And with some fanfare, she was done! I can’t even tell you how long this one took – less becuase of its intricacies and more because sometimes the madness of the day to day had to come first for several months. But, given most of my makes are in soft pinks and blues, I was sort of loving bursting out with a fiery red that added some spice into my wardrobe….
The Debut
Co-sewing again with Amy was, as usual, oh so fun. Except she managed to do it in a reasonable time frame… and mine took FOREVER (seriously, she finished and debuted her stunning skirt back in April in an amazing purple and crimson colorway).
Honestly, we kicked it off this project at the exact moment my semester became completely insane. I don’t think there was a day in a two month span where I wasn’t working day and night just to stay on top of what I needed to feel prepared for the next day.
So, a bit belated, but it’s finally done and was so worth the wait!
Roses do not bloom hurriedly; for beauty, like any masterpiece, takes time to blossom.
Matshona Dhliwayo
I am definitely no stranger to the idea that good things come to those who wait. Most of science operates on a multi-year cycle. One year you collect the data; the next year you analyze the data you collected the year before; the next you write up the paper on the data you analyzed… with grants and students and committee meetings thrown in for good measure. Nothing I’ve been really proud of has ever been achieved without some good old fashioned patience.
Speaking of patience, I am definitely trying to muster some up, as we’ve learned our temporary modality shift to online teaching is extended through October. Even though the students are frustrated by it and I miss in-person teaching, I will admit I’m really grateful that our University is offering this kind of flexibility. I have several colleagues who aren’t allowed to teach online, irrespective of their circumstance or personal comfort. So, with a bit of patience and some hope that numbers will continue to decline, we move forward.
I suppose all I can do is stay tight inside the bud for now, staying safe, and hoping to bloom forth in the Spring.
xoxo
Construction Details:
Skirt Pattern: McCall’s #1541
Skirt fabric : 4 yards of Chinese Red Kona Cotton for the base
Appliqué: Felt from BBD Supplies
Batting: JoAnn’s
Additional notions (zipper, thread): JoAnn’s
Outfit Details:
Top: Made from my toile for the Liz Dress
Skirt: Made by me!
Necklace: Swarovski
Vintage bag: SassyPantsGrrl via OLL (similar here & here)
Shoes: thrifted (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.