A Good Night's Work! (A-line skirt)

I recently acquired a bunch of new fabric to play with.  While sorting it, I discovered some patterns already cut out but un-sewn.  One was a simple A-line skirt (McCall's 9398, from 1968).  The original seamstress had cut out the front and back panels (no facings, zippers, lining fabric, or waistband) in two different fabrics: dark gray and light gray.  At first I thought the fiber was an acrylic masquerading as wool, but since it bears a hot iron so well, I now think it's actually wool. 

I make the light gray skirt in one evening, using my serger and sewing machine, and some easy hand-sewing.  I don't have the McCall's directions, so I just put things together my own way.  I'm tagging this "stash busting" even though it's not my stash...! 

The pattern pieces say they're meant for a 25.5 inch waist.  My waist is more like 27" or 28", so I decide to sew with only 1/4" seam allowances and then adjust the darts to fit me.  This works fine. 

STEP BY STEP

1. Sew right side seam with serger, with narrow 1/4" seam allowance. 
2. Sew left side with sewing machine, inserting zipper at top.  Serge the seam allowances below the zipper. 
3. Press the seams. 
4. Press the folds over the zipper with white vinegar and the steam iron to really set them in their folded position. 
5. Serge the bottom of the skirt to prevent fraying.  Turn up the hem and press. 
6. Hand-stitch the hem in place.  The wool is nice and thick, so it's easy to take large, closely spaced stitches that go only part-way through the exterior wool.  From the outside, the stitches are invisible, but they're pretty sturdy. 
7. Try on skirt inside-out.  Pin the darts in the front and back. 
8. Take skirt off and re-pin the darts more symmetrically. 
9. Sew the darts, beginning the dart at the waistline, not the top of the fabric!  The reason for that is that I need to fold the top down later (step 13), and when I do that, it'll need to spread open.  So the darts start at the waistline, but above it they are un-sewn, just folds. 
10. Press the darts as sewn, then to the sides. 
11. Take a nylon half-slip (from the same stash as the wool) and pin it in place inside the skirt, making sure it's shorter than the wool skirt, and that its extra width at the top is carefully tucked into the darts to keep a smooth line.  I cut away the half-slip's worn out elastic waistband to make it fit the skirt lengthwise. 
12. Snip the half-slip open at the zipper, turn the edges under, and pick-stitch it in place. 
13. Since I have no waistband fabric, I fold the top of the skirt down to make a fold-over facing, spreading the folds at the top of the darts so they mirror the darts.  Tack the folds in that open position with a few machine stitches. 
14. Serge the edge of the fold-over facing, going over the stitches from the previous step.  This prevents fraying and holds the fold-over facing in its spread apart shape. 
15. Take a bit of twill tape (from my stash) and pin it into the waist area, folding the facing down over it, then pinning the tape to the fold-over facing but not the rest of the skirt. (There are pictures below showing this process.)
16. Use my machine to sew the twill tape in place.  This stabilizes the waist, preventing it from stretching out with wear.  The stitches are all in the folded-over area, so not seen on the outside of the skirt. 
17. Fold the facing back down, concealing the ribbon and the top of the nylon slip.  Hand-sew the facing down, going through 2.5 layers: the facing, the nylon, and half of the exterior wool (but not enough to show stitches on the outside. 
18. Run off some serger "chain" (I have a friend who calls them "serger worms"!) and use it to tack the slip to the skirt at the bottom of the two side seams.  This is a French Tack, which keeps the lining from riding up. 
    

PROGRESS PICS

I put them all in a slideshow, so click Play and read captions if you want. 

FINISHED PICS

As you can see, the front darts end a little abruptly, making a pouchy belly.  But it's so minor I won't bother to correct it... perhaps someday I'll have more of a belly and it'll be perfect!  And for the next skirt (the dark gray one), I'll make the front darts a little longer. 

The back darts are perfect, the side seam straight, and the hem parallel to the ground.  The side zipper gapes a little despite my best efforts (next time a back zip will be better!). 

What I love best is what you can't see: the nylon half-slip lining, with it's pretty lace.  It does its job (the skirt doesn't stick to my nylons) and looks darling! As for styling the skirt, you can see I'm wearing green/gold/gray again.  I like this color combo.