Easy, Breezy Wrap Skirt and The Meaning of It All
I used to have a very clear sense of personal style, and it involved a cadre of $20 vintage sundresses. But as my early twenties turned into my late twenties, sometimes these bare dresses seemed a tad too costumey and young. My style needed to grow up, if only by an inch or two.
I have been slow to convert to separates, in part because I do not have that magical skill of grabbing this, grabbing that, and putting something together that is chic and surprising and utterly right. I like the grab-and-go appeal of dresses. But after a long visionary planning session with a friend, I now see the virtue of a-line wrap skirts and crisp cotton blouses and low-v t-shirts. Especially because I am in love with the wrap skirt in Diana Rupp’s Sew Everything Workshop.
This one turned out a little less perfectly than my first try, made last year in a light summery linen. Perhaps I was less confident without my mom at my side to troubleshoot. I did learn some important sewing lessons, though, ones I will swear by on all future projects.
- Tackle a project bit by bit, an hour here, and hour there (that 5-hour window of free time never seems to materialize anyway).
- When you start to get frustrated, do not soldier on. Take a break and come back to it with fresh eyes.
- A sloppily cut pattern will result in sloppily pinned fabric, which will in turn, end up as a sloppily sewn seam. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but slapdash work along the way will turn into a slapdash looking skirt.
Wonkiness aside, I’m proud of this skirt. I am consistently amazed by the miracle of sewing. What sort of genius invented that machine, which makes no sense to me in its separate parts, yet somehow works? I do not, apparently, excel at spatial reasoning, my brain working overtime to envision the flatness of the fabric being transformed into a new form with shape and movement. It is so cool. And then there is that sense of involvement that just never gets old to me: having a hand in creation, actively crafting instead of mindlessly purchasing. I love that feeling of hunkering down into a process, sinking my teeth into the making of a skirt, and in some small way, the making of a life.
A big leap there, I know, and I hope I didn’t lose you. But it’s the same thing we’re always talking about here in roundabout ways but which maybe hasn’t been explicitly mentioned lately. These “lifestyle blogs” aren’t just trying to make you feel like your life should be art directed and perfect, that you should be taking the time to squeeze a gallon of lime juice for your next fiesta and if you’re not you’ve got your priorities all screwed up. At least this one isn’t. This blog is about bringing attention the thing things we care about, creating a life that means something because we’re actively creating its delights.
When we’re making dinner and making things, we’re engaged in a process––slipping in via small, unassuming access points to bring a meaningful attention to our lives. We can certainly bring that same attention to waiting in line at Taco Bell for our nachos bell grande, but somehow––maybe it’s the hairnets and the muzak––it’s easier to tune out there. But when we have the cheese grater and the knife right in our own hands, when we hold the scissors and sharp pins, there’s no choice but to pay attention, to bring awareness to our days and how we’re living them. Which, at their ordinary best, can involve chowing down on homemade Mexican food in really cute, imperfectly-sewn skirts.
Kristina: Love, love, love, love this. I am sooo right there with you on loving being a part of the process. Like when you’re three and your mom hands you a spoon to put away, and you feel sooo important because you can do something helpful. I definitely get the whole “look at me! I just sewed a skirt!” thing.
1 year ago
kat: Totally with you on the spatial reasoning. A lot of what I am putting together is totally on faith as I can’t see how it’s going to fit together until usually I’ve done what I thought the directions said to do, but then figure out what I should have done. Argh! Congrats and hope to see many more projects.1 year ago
Katie @ cakes, tea and dreams: I love this and I totally agree with you – the process of creating, and really being involved in our own lives, is what keeps me knitting and cooking and making other things. Plus, it’s so satisfying to make something pretty or delicious.
1 year ago
Alicia Kachmar: “@BrooklynBased: Brooklyn Skillshare’s lookin for teachers. Would love to see a class like “how to make a skirt for people afraid to sew” http://ow.ly/22iWq”
Pitch a class!1 year ago
KBG in DC: Oh man, the “easy 3 hour skirt”! I can see the Butterick’s pattern in my head now. It’s NEVER three hours – and NEVER easy. Kudos to you for refusing to let the old arts die, and for never taking the “easy” way out.1 year ago
Sara Rose: I swannee, Miss Sarah, I should print this out for my mother in law. You’d think she’d be happy I want to teach myself how to sew for my birthday this year instead of grumbling at the idea. Agreed, I don’t judge that someone else may prefer to buy their enchiladas frozen, but I just PREFER to make my own. It’s how we make our own lives.1 year ago
Kristina, Is this how people feel when they give birth? “Look at me, I made a baby!” T
kat, So true. I practically had a nervous breakdown when I was trying to pit the waistband to the skirt. For some reason, it took three wrong tries before I figured out what the directions meant.
Katie, It *is* satisfying! So true!
Alicia, How about, “Learning to sew from someone who has nervous breakdowns reading patterns and has limited spatial reasoning skill”?
KBG, One of the most helpful things I ever learned on twitter was when I was bitching about how even the “easy” sewing projects are hard, and someone said: they’re all hard. It just made me feel so much better!
Sara Rose, And let’s be real; sometimes I buy the frozen enchiladas and LOVE them.1 year ago
evontameca: Let me tell you, I have many sewing patterns, but because of my fear of sewing, I haven’t put them to use. I took sewing in high school for a semester, then enrolled in a class several years ago. It was great, but I always have more confidence when there’s an experieced instructor nearby. You’ve inspired me to dig out my wrap skirt pattern and just give it a go. The only way to face fear is to walk through it, right? I look forward to being on the other side of it. XOXO.1 year ago
Jude from Cape Cod: Good for you. I am probably your Mom’s age, and I’m a very experienced sewer, but here you are after just a year of sewing with the same three rules it took me years to learn! And one which I have to put back into play. I’ve had something for my niece cut out for weeks and can’t seem to find the motivation to go to the sewing room for an afternoon. I must, must, must start using those 15-minute pockets of time. They truly add up.
I’m going to post on this at some point, but I’d like to add a fourth rule suggestion.
At the start of each project, grab your brush (I use a fluffy cosmetic brush) and clean out under your feed dogs and machine race. Get all the gunky old lint out of there.
Then INSERT A NEW NEEDLE!!! When I used to teach at the fabric store near me, I can’t tell you how many women would tell me (almost proudly) that they’d never changed the needle. Why not? Needles are so cheap, and a new one will make a world of difference in your sewing. If your stitching isn’t coming out well or you’re experiencing problems, chances are that you need a new needle.
With a big, friendly WAVE from Cape Cod,
Jude at
dolcecapecod dot blogspot.com1 year ago
Alicia Kachmar: I think that sounds like a great class.
Because honestly, I think a lot of people are with you on that, myself included! Not being able to read patterns totally makes me cry. And call mom for “translations.”1 year ago
Sara Rose: I got a nasty bout of food poisoning from a frozen burrito once and that quickly ended any previous adoration I had of frozen Mexi-foods. But am I going to go squeeze 800 key lines for a key lime tart? No. Not even.1 year ago
El: Our generation was cheated out of Home Ec classes.
I gotta find that fabric store…
p.s. wonderful post1 year ago
tami: These “lifestyle blogs” aren’t just trying to make you feel like your life should be art directed and perfect, …At least this one isn’t. This blog is about bringing attention the thing things we care about, creating a life that means something because we’re actively creating its delights…
this is why i keep reading your blog. it makes me think and smile and it reminds me that life is for living.1 year ago
Nicole: A tip for better sewing: iron, iron, iron! You might think it’s a pain to set up the ironing board every time you sew, but it is worth it in the end. I have skirts I made five years ago that still look great because I pressed everything during construction.
Hope this helps!1 year ago
Ellen: Sarah: El made the comment about her generation being cheated out of Home Ec class. Fortunately, my generation did not, but it was my older sister that taught me how to sew, learning it in her Home Ec class. I created lots of things back when I was in High School that I wish I had kept. Obviously, I could not wear them today, as they would not fit, but I would at least have the fabric to make a quilt. Sewed up a lot of fabulous prints and different kinds of fabrics back then that I can’t find today.1 year ago
Fran: Sarah: I think you might have just inspired me to go down to the basement and get out the wrap skirt pattern and fabric I bought 3 years ago and give it a try.1 year ago
Ellen: Sarah: I just now remembered that my Dad sewed up wrap skirts for me and my sister when we were in middle school. They were made of burgundy colored denim and that was when I truly discovered my father was a Renaissance Man! LOL!!1 year ago
BB: Ugh, I need to follow these rules! I have a very bad habit of continuing to work on a failing sewing project even as it goes up in flames instead of setting it down and fixing it later when I’m less frustrated.1 year ago