Grey Pinstripe Skirt and Waspie - Done!

In traditional Pin Queen style, I have NO photo of me actually wearing the garments - I'm still nagging waiting for Ian to take the pictures (it's only a case of pressing a button darling!).

In the meantime here's a couple of views of work in progress:


It looks like a normal side seam...



But there's a surprise!

I used a slotted seam to achieve this look.  The technique is very simple and gives a lovely result (think crepe trousers with satin trim etc...)  Set your sewing machine to a longer stitch length - I used 3.5 on my Janome.  Once the side seam is sewn, meld stitches.  Take a seam ripper and cut every 5th stitch, then press your seam open as usual.  Next, you need to lay your trim over the seam allowances as follows:



Oh look, my nails match!

If you have a walking foot, it's a good idea to use it as the next step is to stitch the trim to just the seam allowances, work from the top down on both sides in case there is any movement - I had a small amount. You can decide how far apart you want the stitches to be, mine were around 1.5cm as I want the trim to be really visible when I walk.

Oops, my trim moved as I sewed it, but at least it's on the inside!

Press the seam/trim and now the fun bit - remove the original seam stitches - the ripping of every 5th stitch makes this process a little easier.

I love putting in concealed zips:

Here's a quick view of the inside - a lovely bright green!

Here are a couple of pictures of the waspie in progress.  I used a soft coutil for the backing as it's one of my favorite fabrics.  I use it all the time for my corsets too.

As you can see, I sewed the side seams wrong sides together so I could put my casings on the outside.  As I don't want this to be tight fitting I used plastic whalebone rather than spirals for support.

I cut my casings so the stripes were horizontal, just so they stood out and I've stitched them down with green thread.  The closing is an open-ended zip (I didn't want to use a busk) and I've trimmed it with the green lace used on the skirt lining.

I'm delighted with the results!  Photo's to follow.  Perhaps I should just have an end of month fashion show?!

Now I'm working on this - and it's nearly finished!

Have a good week!