Silk Georgette Pleated Dirndl Skirt

When I made my Burda 09-2010-111 wrap blouse out of silk georgette in my favorite shade of olive (from G Street's $7.97/yd silk novelty table; with discount and coupon I paid $5/yd) I managed to lay out the fabric to be able to make a skirt as well.

Source: arizonafoothillsmagazine.com via Trena on Pinterest

Source: richesforrags.tumblr.com via Trena on Pinterest

I am very drawn to the ballerina style skirt, as shown by my Pinterest picks!  While I don't know that I could go full-on tutu like the look on the right (at least for daytime/work), I could at least take advantage the airy properties of my silk georgette to get a little of the same feel.







I just used simple rectangles for this self-drafted skirt:  two for the skirt, French-seamed together, and one for the waistband, heavily interfaced.

A traditional dirndl skirt is gathered, but I wanted a touch more sophistication so I pleated the fabric instead.  I didn't measure, just eyeballed and pinned out the pleats, using the waistband for the length.

I admit I had to pin them a couple times to get the fabric evenly distributed, so depending on your personality you might prefer marking.


For the lining, I cut an A-line with a wide hem (almost a half circle skirt) and pleated the waistline of the lining as well, taking larger and fewer pleats.

As per my usual procedure, I first stitched the waistband to the wrong side of the fabric, sandwiching the lining between the fashion fabric and the waistband.  Then I flipped the waistband to the front and topstitched.  That way, I don't have to worry about catching the underside of the waistband in my topstitch.



























I always prefer to French seam silk, but a zipper creates a dilemma.

First, I interfaced it for stability and inserted an invisible zipper.

Then I French seamed from an inch or so below the zipper to the hem.  I wish I had a better description for the next step, but I don't.  You just kind of wing it to finish that last inch below the zipper.  It only works in a lightweight silk, but you can see from the outer photo of the zipper that it doesn't look too bad at the bottom.



I used my rolled hem foot to finish the hem of the skirt.  I love the rolled hem foot, though it is a bit tricky to use.  The trickiest part of a rolled hem is going over seams.  So here, I didn't.  I hemmed the two pieces of the skirt before seaming them together.  Then, when sewing the pieces together, you have to start your side seam from the hem edge to get them to line up.  This only works if you know exactly how long your want your finished garment.





When I finished this skirt I realized it was my third olive green silk skirt!  I previously made Burda 01-2008-127 and one of Burda 09-2007-116 which I apparently never blogged but is made out of the leftover fabric from this project.

However, it's my only *bikeable* olive green silk skirt, so it's a justifiable wardrobe addition.  `-)

All photos are here and the pattern review is here.