Inspiration: Betsy

The Betsy & Ava blog tour and fabric inspiration post  most probably gave you an explosion of inspirational brain juices on sewing up your own rockin Betsy skirt. So i'm going to keep on, keeping on with the inspiration side of things with some cool and different ways to wear a pencil skirt like Betsy skirt pattern. 


Starting off with come vintage inspiration of some leading ladies who knew how to rock a pencil skirt.

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Suit up a Betsy suit in a divine wool fabric.

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I think this is my favorite length for a pencil skirt. Check out those heels!

Check out the Pinterest board for more vintage inspiration 

The vintage look not really your thing? You can still totally rock a pencil skirt with more of a contemporary, casual vibe.

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I'm in love with this look, converse and a leather pencil skirt.. be still my beating heart!

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Splash O color?

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Got Curves? If you followed along with the Blog tour you had seen some gorgeous gals rocking their curves in the Betsy skirt. Have a read of some of their blog posts, such as Melissa from Scavenger Hunt about her hesitation sewing up let only wearing a pencil skirt. The Betsy skirt is designed for us ladies with killer curves. For added inspiration  just take a look at the curvy beauties below.



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Still not enough va va voom for ya?  Then what about a little bit  leather (faux) action  pencil skirt to finish off the sexy thang you got going on.



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So tell me, how are you going to wear your Betsy Pencil skirt?

Abby
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Tutorial: How to Sew the Betsy Pleated Kick Pleat

Hello Bluegingerdolls.  For the new pattern releases, Ava and Betsy, we're doing something a little different than we have in the past. We feel that the majority of the sewing needed for both patterns is on the easy side. So instead of hosting a full fledged sewalong, we'll be posting tutorials on how to complete the tricky bits.

Today I'll be showing you how to sew the pleated kick pleat on View C of Betsy. We're going to take it step by step and clear up any confusion you might have about the process. Those of you already familiar with sewing regular kick pleats will find that the steps are very similar. So let's get started on sewing some sexy kick pleats!

Prior to these steps I have finished the edges of my skirt, sewn all the darts and sewn/pressed the skirt side seams. If you want to follow along on the written directions, grab page 3 and locate "View C - Centre Back Seam & Accordion Pleat."

Step 1 - Transfer the marking for the top of the vent onto your skirt pieces. Pin the skirt pieces together along the CB.

Step 2 - Sew a seam from the bottom of the zipper placement, down to the vent marking.

Step 3 - Using a ruler, draw a chalk line from the vent marking, down to hem of the skirt. Place a few pins across the line to keep both skirt pieces lined up.

Step 4 - Set your machine to a basting stitch and baste the length of the chalk line.

Step 5 - Press open both the CB seam and the vent pieces.

Step 6 - Take one side of the vent and fold it like an accordion, stacking the folds on top of each other.

 Repeat with the other side of the vent.

Press the pleats to set the edge creases well. When you unfold the vent it should look something like this.

Step 7 - Unfold both sides of the vent and match up the CB seam of the vent area.  Stitch this seam together with a regular stitch length.

Step 8 - Refold the pleats on their creases and press open the vent CB seam.

Step 9 - Turn the skirt over to the right side and feel for the top edges of the pleats. Draw a chalk line about 1/4" down from the pleat edge on either side of the CB seam.

Place a few pins in that location to keep the top of the pleats stacked.

Step 10 - On the right side of the skirt, stitch the top of the pleats down along the chalk line.

Check the backside of the skirt to make sure all the edges of the pleats were caught in your topstitching.

Step 11 - Remove the basting added in Step 4, which is keeping the kick vent closed.

Once the basting has been cleaned up, then step back and admire your pleats.  The the kick pleat has been completed and you can move to the next step of hemming your skirt.

Happy Sewing!

Heather

Tutorial: How to Install an Invisible Zipper

In today's post I'll be detailing how to install an invisible zipper. The new pattern release The Betsy pencil skirt has two variations ( View A & View C)  that call for an invisible zipper to be installed but this is also a great  skill to have in your sewing arsenal.  Don't worry about the bad rap that invisible zippers seem to have.  Sewing one in goes smoothly as long as you do a little preparation beforehand.

The tools you'll need are, an invisible zipper that matches your fabric, zipper foot and/or invisible zipper foot, fusible interfacing, pins and matching thread.  If you do not own an invisible zipper foot don't worry. I'll be showing you how to get similar results with your regular zipper foot.

Before starting, make sure the seam edges being attached to the zipper have been finished.  If you are installing the zipper on a garment with a waist band, grade any seams that the zipper crosses and then press seam allowances up into the waistband.

You can install zippers with the CB sewn or with it left unsewn. Chose which ever technique is easier for you.

Step 1 - Fuse strips of interfacing to the wrong side of the garment where the zipper will be inserted. The fusible web will keep the fabric from stretching out of shape while you are sewing. Hand cutting 1/2" strips will does the job well.  You can also buy a roll of pre-cut interfacing for tasks such as this.

Step 2 - We will be basting the zipper into position first. Place the closed zipper face down on the right side of the fabric. Check that the zipper is positioned at the correct seam allowance. Then pin into place. Tip - Butting the zipper tape up to the overlocked edge usually gives a perfect 5/8" seam allowance.

Step 3 - Install a regular zipper foot on your machine and set your machine to a basting stitch. Baste down the pinned side of the zipper tape.

Step 4 - Turn the garment inside out to prepare for sewing the other side of the zipper. Again, place the zipper face down on the right side of the fabric. Measure the correct seam allowance and pin into place. If a seam needs to be matched, then run a line of basting only over the seam area.

  Check to make sure the two sides of the seam match.

If they don't unpick and repeat until they do. Once the seam join is to your liking, baste the entire side of the zipper tape.

Step 5 - Turn the garment right side out to check the zipper placement.  Seam joins should be aligned. If the CB seam is sewn, there should be no puckering at the base of the zipper.

Don't worry about all the zipper tape that can be seen at this step. The final seams will be close to the zipper making it "invisible."

Step 6 - Now that the zipper has been basted into position we will go back and sew it down.  Set your stitch length back to the 2.5 or the length you normally use. If you have an invisible zipper foot now is the time to install it on your machine. If using a regular zipper foot, than move your needle position over to the side the zipper tape will be on. (Needle position is the top bar. The normal position is 3, I've moved to to the left too.)

Open the zipper and position one side of the zipper tape under your presser foot. If you have an invisible zipper foot, put the coil of the zipper into the foot's grove.  Sew down the length of the zipper until you reach the zipper head. Back stitch well.

If you're using a regular zipper foot, use your finger to roll the tape open so that the needle will fall near the fold.  Sew down the length of the zipper, rolling the zipper coil open as you go. Stop when you near the zipper head and back stitch well.

Step 7 - Repeat the process on the other side of the zipper tape.

Step 8 - Zip up the zipper. If you were using an invisible zipper foot, than change back to a regular zipper foot. This is the time to sew the CB seam if it has not already been sewn.  Pin the CB seam together, sandwiching the zipper tape between the two seam allowances. Pull the ends of the zipper tape out of the way so that they don't get caught in the seam.

Stitch the CB seam up to the base of the zipper as far as the zipper foot allows you. If there is still a slight gap don't worry about it. You can always do a little hand sewing in that gap, rather than ripping your stitches and hair out.

Step 9 - Go back to the ends of the zipper tape and stitch them down to the seam allowances. Keep the zipper foot as close as possible to the coil since this area did not get stitched because the zipper head was there.

Step 10 - Turn the garment right side out and give it a good press. You should see no zipper tape sticking out of the seam.

There will be a slight gap at the base of the zipper if you pull the seam apart.

This is because the zipper head keeping the needle from getting close to the coil. The gap can be fixed with a few hand stitches if it irks you. If not just press the fabric well and the creases from the seam should disguise the area.

Step 11- Remove the basting stitches from the zipper tape to finish. Now you can attach any facings that may be needed.

Bonus Tip - Invisible zipper pulls can be painted with nail polish if you have trouble finding one that matches your fabric.

Happy sewing!

Heather