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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A Simple Bracelet Trio

I’m a bracelet hound. I wear too many at once. But I love them all. Sometimes I want something really sweet and simple, so I came up with this sweet trio.

I used a cream colored string for all of them. For the first one I got one of these S shaped hooks. Hook it on one end then tie a knot to connect the string. You want it fairly fitted to your wrist.

Done. How easy is that?

For the second one, I got some silver glass beads and put them on the string and tied a knot at each end.

Then make two slip knots on the back side so you can adjust it to get it on and off.

For the third one I used my Chan Luu inspired tutorial to in the same beads and string.

There you have it!

Loungewear Revolution- Jersey Romper

 On of my favorite things to sleep in is this little jersey romper that I have.  Here’s a way to make your own!

Get two T’s.

Cut the first one off. This will be your top piece.

We’ll use the other one for the shirts part. Fold it in half and cut out a piece as shown. Sort of like oversized underwear.

Here’s what you will have.

Sew the crotch together. I don’t know how else to say that.

Fold the top over to create a pocket and put elastic through there, too. Also, I forgot to take a picture, but add some straps.

I added some lace around the shorts.

Here is the completed romper. Clearly, no modeling in this get up

An Easy Way to Add a Pick Up In a Skirt

For my skirt part of my Circus outfit I wanted pick ups in the front.

 I sort of did a short, cheaters method that I discovered and wanted to share it with you. I had sewn all these strips togehter. I got apiece of yarn and wove it through the serger stitch and tied it on both ends to gather it.

It’s a really easy way to do it. If you don’t have s serger, just do a zig zag stitch. 

Have a great week!

Project Run and Play- Week One

I’m so excited to be a part of Project Run and Play, 2011. If you  haven’t already gone over there, go over and see all the other amazing participants. We have Jen and Autie from  iCandy Homemade, Jessica from Me Sew Crazy, Jessica from Happy Together, Nicole from Coles Corner and Creations, Liz and Elizabeth from Simple Simon and Co. and Leisel from Brown Paper Packages.

Whew! What a great group of creative women!

The first theme was a back to school outfit. Now, my kids wear uniforms so I had to use  my imagination on this one. I kept two things in mind for this back to school outfit. 1. My kids are always mismatched- stripes on polkadots with all sorts of off colors and prints. It’s what I love about them. So  I wanted this outfit to reflect that sort of childish combination. 2. I don’t know about you, but whne my kids start school, it’s still warm, actually probably our warmest months. So I didn’t want to make an outfit too fall weathered, I wanted it to be more transitional pieces. That being said, here’s how we do back to school.

The top has a pleated bodice and goes to a V in the back with several small pleats to create some movement towards the bottom. For the bodice top I made small pleats or you can use a pleater board.  I baste them together then just proceed with your top as you want. I attached the bottom half of the top then the back and added straps.  I’d have Bel wear this over a long sleeve shirt in the winter.

For the shorts, I did a brown linen in a sort of paige boy style with oversized pockets and tabs at the  leg band. The pink buttons feminize it. We happen to love shorts and tights in the winter, maybe paired with some boots, so I knew the brown would transition great into the Fall and Winter months. For the shorts, I cut it from my only other pattern then the Sienna Dress, this Oliver + S  one. I do all my own variations, but  I love the basic shape of this short.  Then to top it off, a frivolous headband.

(headband tutorial coming soon, and I’ve been informed the oliver + s pattern is out of print. I will do a post on how to make these shorts soon)

Don’t forget to accessorize with the perfect dotting of summer freckles.

I love it with the leopard flats. One more print thrown in the mix.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed my back to school look! I’m so thrilled to be a part of project run and play. Head on over to cast your vote for your favorite look. The other women did such great jobs!