FINISHED! My Bel Rowley Tartan Charlotte Skirt

Have you seen The Hour? I loved it! Watch it if you haven't. Bel Rowley (played by Romala Garai) always looked so fabulous in those tight pencil skirts! How did she ever sit down in them?!  I was so disappointed that they didn't bring out a Season 3, that when I saw the pink colour way to my New York Cape wool from  Addicted to Fabric I dreamt of living a season 3 in my very own Bel Rowley tartan skirt.

So I made one. The colour is pink although it comes up red in a lot of the photos.  Of course the pattern is the By Hand London Charlotte skirt, of which I am no stranger to given this is now my third.  That should have meant that the make went together easily, but not this time. Some things seem to come together easily and others don't.
Pink Tartan Charlotte Skirt
The good news is that I'm happy with my pattern matching - I'm particularly pleased with my invisible zip on the back!
Pink Tartan Charlotte Skirt
Sadly,  I made a mess of my invisible zipper the first time, so had to resew it.  I also sewed the waist band with the inside on the outside (on purpose) but decided that it didn't look right the way I had it, so unpicked it and resewed it the other way around.  There also remains a lot of bulk on the waistband which maybe I should have trimmed further.

UntitledThe biggest problem is the linining. The wool is lovely and soft on the inside and I nearly didn't line it.  I almost wish I hadn't.  I took hours hand sewing it up beautifully and was very proud of my efforts.  Every time I tried it on, I felt super great in it.

I took some photos this morning before work and felt good and was even thinking how much better this lining is to my first attempt.  On my walk from the car to work this morning I felt the skirt grab at the left side of the pleat and by the time I had got to work I realised there was something wrong.   So disappointing.  Lesson - always check and check the drape!


I got home and unpicked the lining on the left side and let it hang. The result is the photo.  The lining skews off to one side, almost like the lining is cut smaller.  It's obvious now why the skirt was pulling . But because I had sewn it up by pinning it flat I hadn't noticed. But why? How did this happen? I tried and tried to get it to hang properly on that side - suggestions welcome!  But in the end I did the dodgiest thing and just cut the lining above the pleat so that it can just hang rather than attaching to the skirt.  Dodgey yes, but at least the skirt now works and sits perfectly.

This photo which I took obliviously this morning, shows a crease on the bottom which wasn't usually there but I now think was probably also a lining issue. If you look closely you can see the way the pleat is pulling a bit on the left.   Oh well, all fixed now and you know what, it's still a damn sexy skirt and I can't wait to wear it again, now that I won't be fixated on the lining.
Pink Tartan Charlotte Skirt
And well, why not finish it all tartan'd up!  Tartan on tartan!!
Tartan on Tartan - NY Cape v Charlotte Skirt

31 comments:

  1. You look so fantastic in pencil skirts! I love this plaid one - excellent matching! Love your Total Tartan outfit too!

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  2. Why is it that some projects sew together beautifully and the next is a mess? This happens to me ALL THE TIME. It looks as though you made a great save here and I don't see any flaws whatsoever! Just seeing a sexy pencil skirt! I love the plaid..perfect and classic for fall.

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  3. that skirt looks amazing on you! Glad you were able to sort out the lining issue. such a great winter piece!

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  4. This silhouette is so killer on you! I'm glad you were able to fix the lining. I have noticed that certain silks and other slippery fabrics get skewed during the cutting process, and it's made me want to explore some better methods like using a rotary cutter or using a paper layer. Not sure how you cut it out but just thought I'd share my struggles! Either way, your skirt is a great success and congrats on your plaid-matching skills!

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  5. Such a great skirt, pencil skirts clearly suit you very well! I hate it when the lining doesn't sit right and you have unpick. You did a great job in fixing it though.

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  6. I just love the Charlotte skirt pattern and it looks amazing in this tartan fabric! Pink is an unexpected color in plaids so that makes it even better. I had a similar issue with the lining in the sleeves of my Cordova jacket. I still haven't figured out how to fix it so I'm hoping that I'm the only one who notices.

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  7. This looks great! I love the pink (of course!) and the style looks so good on you. It looks so cool with your cape as well.

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  8. Thanks Kathryn. I think it would look better with a tartan cropped jacket - a Victoria maybe (!!), but it is still fun with the matching tartan :)

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  9. Thanks Shar. I didn't realise you had that problem with the lining... it is so frustrating. Oh well, I've done a dodgey fix this time, but it's something to try and improve into the future.

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  10. Thanks Claire. I have found the pencil skirt to be an unexpected pleasure to wear! Aaah, lining. I must do a course on how to get it right.

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  11. Thanks Morgan. It makes me feel better to know that others have had a similar problem. I think I actually cut some of it out with a rotary cutter and the other with scissors, but I can't remember which so it's not a very controlled trial is it! I'll be keeping my eyes open for information on this.

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  12. Thanks Shivani - it's great to have a winter piece where you are really happy for it to be cold and wintery. It doesn't happen often... and sadly I'm already planning a piece with my eyes firmly on the sun :)

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  13. Thanks so much Margo. The other day I was thinking that maybe I could call myself an intermediate sewer - clearly I jinxed myself !! :)

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  14. Thanks Gail! Well it's winter so I may as well tartan away :)

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  15. Love it! And your stripe matching skills are simply awesome. I started watching The Hour purely for the fashion, but quickly got hooked on the storyline.

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  16. Rocking the Romala look! Add me to the list of lining losers - why is lining soo tricky?

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  17. Wow! This is seriously pretty! I love all things tartan so imagine how much I like the last photo!
    The skirt is amazing!

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  18. Looks brilliant! And I too really love the last look with the two different tartans and tam o'shanter... too cool!!

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  19. Good looking skirt! And, your invisible zip is just that, invisible.

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  20. I wonder if the lining itself was not cut on grain or was not 'squared' before it was cut, so then it pulled when you sewed it?

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  21. It looks really good, I like the pink plaid. I am afraid I am no help in the lining department- I am very inexperienced with linings. So much to learn!! Glad you could fix it.

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  22. Thanks Kelly! I might avoid all things with lining from now on?!!! The only way is improvement from here :)

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  23. Thanks and yes, you might have something with that. I might not have been as careful as I should have been.. and I'm not that experienced with slippery fabrics so next time I'll take much more care.

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  24. Thanks Merche... and of course I had a stripey tee underneath!

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  25. Thanks Penny and I agree why is it so? I must check out to see if there is a craftsy or cbug class to do on getting lining right. :)

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  26. I'm glad to here of another The Hour fan!

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  27. Nice inspiration make and that sure is one invisible zip!! I'm a big fan of The Hour too, such a great show. Tartan on tartan, very Vivienne Westwood.

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  28. So epic! That wool is radness!

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  29. Thanks Amy! Yay to another fan. Hope your London trip is yielding you plenty of sewing inspiration :)

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