Made By Lex

Sheer Skirt Tutorial with Hart’s Fabric Giveaway!

There is nothing I love more this season than sheer fabrics. I think they are so elegant, airy and effortless. (You can see my Sheer Love board on Pinterest for inspiration.) I’ve made quite a few now and wanted to share how to do one with you. I went to harts fabric and this fabric caught my eye immediately. I can’t even pretend here- this is drapery fabric!! But I went over to Harts amazing upholstery side of their store, saw this, and knew it was just what I wanted to make this sheer skirt. Think outside the box!!

So here’s how you make this simple and chic look.

Before you start make sure you have the right kind of needle. It’s SO important when working with these kind of fabrics. Also, may I give another shot out to Fabric Savvy? This is such a great resource for information on how to use different fabrics.

  First, you need to determine how wide you want the skirt. I think this depends on the fabric. When it’s really light and sheer you can handle more gathering because it won’t look bunchy at your waist. But this fabric had a lot of structure and I didn’t want it to add 10 pounds to my waist. So for me, my waist is 26 inches and I used 45 inches of fabric. Also, this fabric is so sheer and will obviously need lining. I like to use separate slips for my skirts. Sometimes I want to wear a short slip and other times I want the full skirt. So I’ll show you how to make a separate slip.

Connect the piece, or pieces, by French seams. (shown how to here.)It’s the best way to connect sheer fabric.

Gather the top of the skirt. I do this by ruffling on my seeing machine. Keep it slightly larger than your waist, so you can pull it over your hips.

To make the waist band, get a piece of fabric the width of your gathered waist .  You will need to attach the lining to this because the elastic sill show through.

Connect the waistband together.

Fold and press the waistband in half, pinning it in place.

Pin it to the gathered top of the skirt. I recommend sewing it gathered side up. You can keep a better eye on your gathers that way so they aren’t getting bunched or shifted in the stitched. I used a zig zag stitch. I’ve found that using a serger makes it way too bulky.

Leave a small opening for some elasitc. Weave it through then close the seam.

To finish the bottom of the skirt you can do it many ways. You can just hem it as is. But for this look I wanted to do a large border. I got a piece the same width and folded it over in half.

After I attached it to the skirt I did a decorative top stitch.

Now the skirt is complete, is time to make the slip. This is almost a no brainer. But let me give  few words of advice. The color of the slip can drastically change the look of a sheer skirt. So play around with different underlayers. I used a nude colored silk and decided to use the back side, the dull side, instead of the shiny front.  I started the same way as I did with the skirt. Connect the piece or pieces together. I made this the same size as the skirt.

You don’t need to gather the waistband, just fold the top over making a small place for elastic.

Insert the elastic and close the seam when finished. Here’s how it will look.

I just finished the bottom with a simple rolled hem.

Now the skirt is complete!

I love the drama of this print paired with a simple tank.It’s such a simple neutral with great detail.
I was also really happy to have added the large hem. I think it makes it extra special. 

You can also wear a shorter slip to show some leg. I love this look and wear it on a lot of my sheer skirts.

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Fall Line of Scarves for Sale

I’m so thrilled to show you my new scarves for Fall and Winter! I’ve worked hard on creating the perfect colors and just the right fabric.  If you follow me on facebook, you’ll notice them.

These scarves are all hand dyed with varying color tones. They are 85 inches long, made from cotton batiste with lots of body and texture. As you’ll see, you can wear them long or as an infinity scarf. The leather bound makes it easy to style different ways.

The first is this blush scarf with gold leather.  It’s a perfect neutral color.

Next, is slate with silver leather.

For some more color, coral with silver leather.

And finally, a gradient dyed navy with brown leather.

To buy one, you can go to my “Shop” page and send me an email with your order.

This is the first debut and they’re not even out in stores yet. So for my readers, this week, they will be on sale for 25% off.

Hope you like them!

Sheer Love

My recent obsession- anything sheer.

I love the lightness and femininity of this look. I especially love it paired with a contrasting heavy knit. Here are some of my favorite looks.

This could very possible become my new fall wardrobe staple.

Inspired tutorials coming this fall.