I bought a skirt from a charity shop because I fell in love with the colour. It was a wrap skirt and usually they fit any size. A bit tight on the waist but it's easy enough to move a button.
My first move at home was to move the button on the waist. However, when I first wore it I immediately discovered that it no longer overlapped by gapped, showing my slip. It gapped right the way up to the waist, and was too tight at the waist.
I looked in my box of buttons. You can remove buttons from garments you throw away, or remove spare buttons from clothes. I used to do that every time. Now I leave the buttons attached in case one needs replacing when I'm on holiday or out travelling.
If you were to remove all buttons from every garment of every member of your family, you would soon have a box of buttons and if you co-ordinate them by colour it's easy to retrieve the one which originally came from a garment. If you lose a garment or it is stolen, you still have the buttons.
Large craft stores often have bags of buttons. If you wear the same combinations of colours frequently, you might instead of buying a cup of coffee, spend half an hour in the craft and sewing section of a store such as Spotlight in Australia and Singapore, or John Lewis in central London and Watford, England. I bought a box of red buttons because my favourite colour is red.
My 'new' skirt had a tiny hole in it from where the material was thin and had torn. It was too late to return it to the shop, and I liked the skirt. The olsution was to sew up the hole to prevent it getting larger, or catching on anything which would make it worse. I could have put a support fabric behind, but I planned to simple cover the hole.
I went back to my god of bits and pieces. I had patches and material from shortened skirts or clothes. Belts which had fallen of garments which had disappeared - one just matched, but I was afraid that if I cut it up I would then find the garment it matched. Cushions cut into squares and strips after a torn or stained part had been discarded provided fabric which was too heavy.
I considered sewing on a patch or flower, but at knew level that might look odd. (I did once sew a black and gold watch patch on a hole on a long black skirt. Lots of women thought it was amusing and part of the skirt. A few short-sighted men thought I had dropped my watch. I ended up getting into lots of conversations.
Back to my skirt. I bought the red buttons from John Lewis. A set of mixed buttons, no more than two alike. Never mind, I needed only one. I could add odd buttons in more than one place and it would look like a scatter design.
It would look neat if I added buttons all the way down the gap. I had lots of buttons. Then I realised that a button covering a hole needs no button hold. But a button acting as fastening needs a fastener. This requires either a machine which makes button hole. Alternatively, you can make buttonholes by hand as my grandmother did decades ago.
If you haven't made buttonholes before, or not recently, you need the courage to cut your fabric. Then to prevent tearing or fraying, the time the spend doing miniature close together blanket stitch around the two long edges, and large stitches to hold the ends of the slit, hoping it will look neat.
My next thought was loops to secure the buttons, rather like those down the fronts of Chinese jackets and the necks of cheongsams. Could I make a similar design using the strings cut off paper carrier bags?
If you ever need to cut up a Chinese jacket, or see one that's tiny or stained or torn very cheap, John Lewis were charging a minimum of Five pounds for a set of three or a large single Chinese style braid fastener with the figure of eight braid on one side and the knot on a matching figure of eight to go through.
I looked at the possibility of cutting the fastener off an old jacket, or making one. I then invested in a packet of three. In practice I hate these fastening. If they are too loose they pull apart. Mostly they are too tight and it's a real struggle to do them up and you fear breaking a nail or tearing the threads when you try to pull the knot out.
In a hurry to go out, I sewed on two ribbons to tie half way down the gap. If you don't tie tight enough, your bow pulls apart the first time you climb steps or sit down. You risk catching your ribbon on anything projecting.
Later I returned to the problem. You can put a series of ribbons down the side of the skirt. I bought a roll of ribbon which co-ordinated in John Lewis. Wide ribbon is more expensive than narrow ribbons. Pricey for one garment - unless you have bought a bargain or just love the agreement which matched another to make a suit. However, You need only two small strips to sew either side of your gap.
In the end I had three different coloured ribbons. I researched not he internet about kick-pleats and gaps and read that you should wear a plain black of matching slip underneath, not one with lace. I know that film stars like to show underwear and look suggestive, but this is not necessarily the look I or you want on a working day in a busy place without the bodyguards who accompany film stars.
In my box I found a set of hooks and eyes. I sewed one of these between the ribbons. If the skirt is held together by the tiny hooks and eyes, the ribbons are less likely to pull apart.
I shall be packing a section of the hooks and eyes set in my travel bag. When I am stuck for hours on a station, by a delayed train, train strike, or long wait between trains, I shall have my sewing to copy my time happily.
(Photos will be added later.)
Angela Lansbury, author and speaker.
Please read my other blogs and posts and follow me. I am also on Facebook, Linked, Lulu.com and Youtube.
My first move at home was to move the button on the waist. However, when I first wore it I immediately discovered that it no longer overlapped by gapped, showing my slip. It gapped right the way up to the waist, and was too tight at the waist.
I looked in my box of buttons. You can remove buttons from garments you throw away, or remove spare buttons from clothes. I used to do that every time. Now I leave the buttons attached in case one needs replacing when I'm on holiday or out travelling.
If you were to remove all buttons from every garment of every member of your family, you would soon have a box of buttons and if you co-ordinate them by colour it's easy to retrieve the one which originally came from a garment. If you lose a garment or it is stolen, you still have the buttons.
Large craft stores often have bags of buttons. If you wear the same combinations of colours frequently, you might instead of buying a cup of coffee, spend half an hour in the craft and sewing section of a store such as Spotlight in Australia and Singapore, or John Lewis in central London and Watford, England. I bought a box of red buttons because my favourite colour is red.
My 'new' skirt had a tiny hole in it from where the material was thin and had torn. It was too late to return it to the shop, and I liked the skirt. The olsution was to sew up the hole to prevent it getting larger, or catching on anything which would make it worse. I could have put a support fabric behind, but I planned to simple cover the hole.
I went back to my god of bits and pieces. I had patches and material from shortened skirts or clothes. Belts which had fallen of garments which had disappeared - one just matched, but I was afraid that if I cut it up I would then find the garment it matched. Cushions cut into squares and strips after a torn or stained part had been discarded provided fabric which was too heavy.
I considered sewing on a patch or flower, but at knew level that might look odd. (I did once sew a black and gold watch patch on a hole on a long black skirt. Lots of women thought it was amusing and part of the skirt. A few short-sighted men thought I had dropped my watch. I ended up getting into lots of conversations.
Back to my skirt. I bought the red buttons from John Lewis. A set of mixed buttons, no more than two alike. Never mind, I needed only one. I could add odd buttons in more than one place and it would look like a scatter design.
It would look neat if I added buttons all the way down the gap. I had lots of buttons. Then I realised that a button covering a hole needs no button hold. But a button acting as fastening needs a fastener. This requires either a machine which makes button hole. Alternatively, you can make buttonholes by hand as my grandmother did decades ago.
If you haven't made buttonholes before, or not recently, you need the courage to cut your fabric. Then to prevent tearing or fraying, the time the spend doing miniature close together blanket stitch around the two long edges, and large stitches to hold the ends of the slit, hoping it will look neat.
My next thought was loops to secure the buttons, rather like those down the fronts of Chinese jackets and the necks of cheongsams. Could I make a similar design using the strings cut off paper carrier bags?
If you ever need to cut up a Chinese jacket, or see one that's tiny or stained or torn very cheap, John Lewis were charging a minimum of Five pounds for a set of three or a large single Chinese style braid fastener with the figure of eight braid on one side and the knot on a matching figure of eight to go through.
I looked at the possibility of cutting the fastener off an old jacket, or making one. I then invested in a packet of three. In practice I hate these fastening. If they are too loose they pull apart. Mostly they are too tight and it's a real struggle to do them up and you fear breaking a nail or tearing the threads when you try to pull the knot out.
In a hurry to go out, I sewed on two ribbons to tie half way down the gap. If you don't tie tight enough, your bow pulls apart the first time you climb steps or sit down. You risk catching your ribbon on anything projecting.
Later I returned to the problem. You can put a series of ribbons down the side of the skirt. I bought a roll of ribbon which co-ordinated in John Lewis. Wide ribbon is more expensive than narrow ribbons. Pricey for one garment - unless you have bought a bargain or just love the agreement which matched another to make a suit. However, You need only two small strips to sew either side of your gap.
In the end I had three different coloured ribbons. I researched not he internet about kick-pleats and gaps and read that you should wear a plain black of matching slip underneath, not one with lace. I know that film stars like to show underwear and look suggestive, but this is not necessarily the look I or you want on a working day in a busy place without the bodyguards who accompany film stars.
In my box I found a set of hooks and eyes. I sewed one of these between the ribbons. If the skirt is held together by the tiny hooks and eyes, the ribbons are less likely to pull apart.
I shall be packing a section of the hooks and eyes set in my travel bag. When I am stuck for hours on a station, by a delayed train, train strike, or long wait between trains, I shall have my sewing to copy my time happily.
(Photos will be added later.)
Angela Lansbury, author and speaker.
Please read my other blogs and posts and follow me. I am also on Facebook, Linked, Lulu.com and Youtube.
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