the knock off - gored flounce skirt

a few months ago, a dear friend of mine asked me to knock off a skirt she purchased in paris. from her description of it, it sounded like a new species of animal from the amazon... i was really curious, so i agreed...

here she is dancing (beautifully) in it at the 5:12 mark:



so it's a gored skirt, made of a stretch denim, but it has this flouncy hem:



she wasn't sure if the length of the skirt was flattering or not... personally, i loooove the movement of the skirt, but i think it should be shorter. so, my job was to knock off a shorter version of the skirt to see if she would prefer one or the other and if she did like it, she may make more...

so, i know there are other and probably more accurate ways of knocking off garments, but here's mine:

* first off, you need muslin and a tailor's wax (i lost mine, so i used a crayon aka poor mans tailoring wax. lol!) pin the muslin over the piece of the garment that you want to copy. with a little pressure, swipe the wax over the seam so that you see it transferred onto the muslin. click on pic to enlarge:



* after you transfer the piece, you can fold the garment up and put it away... place a piece of pattern paper (i use packing paper. you can use newspaper, butcher paper, etc...) on top of a self healing cutting mat & place the muslin on top of the pattern paper. using a pattern wheel (i have a blunt one, but it would be best to use a professional one, trace the seam transferred marks you made with the tailor's wax.



* after tracing with a pattern wheel, you can put the muslin and the cutting mat away. you will need a french curve and a see thru ruler at this point. pencil in the marks the pattern wheel made and add your desired seam allowance. i used a 1/2".



* right about here, i took a step back and geeked out.... and did a patternmaker dance. and yes, it is in fact imperative and for your good health that you dance at this point. i'll wait.... :)

* when i was done dancing, i cut out eight gores from some cotton/poly shirting i had. and sewed them up. i also drafted a facing for the inside top part of the skirt and bias tape strips for the hem. however, you could finish both top and bottom with (store bought or handmade) bias tape strips. i put in on gladys just to see... i was so curious...



* i also installed a 7" invisible zipper on the left side. here's the finished *test* skirt. i'm very happy with it. i hope she likes it...

as you can see, the skirt fits me too!!! double bonus points!!!! i'm totally making me some skirtage... stripes & border fabrics here i come!!! :)



UPDATE 4/16/12:

here's a pic of virginie dancing at lindyfest 2012 in her new gored flounce skirt:


more pics at david homes photography... here and here.

Update 5/7:  Lindyfest finally posted a video of the instructor jam!  Steven & Virginie dance at the 6:02 mark:

if you have any questions about this knock off, please let me know via comments or email.... :) hope you had a productive wednesday! thanks for coming by & reading! :)