Pages

Saturday 25 October 2014

What difference does a language, or fabric make... Cascade #13 or m

I have spent many months (I'll admit to well over a year...) admiring everything in Handmade by Carolyn's blog and apart from her Alabama Chanin creations, the posts I keep re-reading & being inspired by are those from Natsuno Hiraiwa's  Unique Clothes Anyway You Like It, released in English as Shape Shape.
Shape Shape is now out of print in English - sigh, I remain SO far behind the times some days... so after getting an inter-library loan & reluctantly returning it, I've bought the Japanese version.
This is Shape Shape's #13 Cascade Skirt, or UCAYLI's skirt 'm'. Carolyn made it in a gorgeously soft pink linen cotton  and my grey shirting is my closest version to this inspiration.



As a lesson in choosing fabrics wisely, my first version was in this slightly stretchy, heavier weight print. I adore this fabric & might have clutched it to my chest, along with my raspberry dragon scales wool, while at The Remnant Warehouse in Sydney during a fabulous fabric store tour with Maria.
I do love this fabric as a skirt, it hugs but doesn't show the seams of my underthings, and the little hatted men are just so fabulous. It doesn't collapse into itself though and as dramatic as it appears, the skirt extension simply doesn't work in it.
Exhibit A:

I also used snap tape instead of a zip on this version - my thought was that I could vary the waist circumference & wear it on my waist or my hips as I wished - that definitely doesn't work, the snaps pop open with the weight of the skirt, let alone with any movement or small person tugging = closure fail. It's ok though as being one large rectangle, the fabric is available for another pattern - and I feel it will be perfect for a Vogue 1247...
The lighter weight shirting was collected as part of my $10 fabric haul at Phillips Shirtmakers - I was completely overwhelmed by the bolts of fabric and limited myself to the remnant bins - there's been a few pictures on Instagram of the amazingness of their first ever sale, and I do hope they have another one - I'll focus on the bolts next time, I promise!
another 'Anna's Shrug' from a Phillips remnant
I initially thought (on trying it on), that I'd erred on it being too lightweight for the skirt, and then noticed that Carolyn had lined her lightweight version, an excellent idea. I'm tempted to try for a lucky third time with something really drapey, and potentially lined. I have worn this version out to three social functions & found that the textured grey goes with SO much of my spring wardrobe, so I guess it's a keeper as is ;)
I used an exposed metal zipper from the stash rather than the invisible zipper the English pattern called for as after my experience with the snap tape, I don't trust the plastic zipper to hold. A touch of overkill maybe, but I also like the exposed metal teeth.
I also reinforced the waist with straight seam binding within the layers of the self faced seam.
The skirt is one large pattern piece, joined on the side seam and with the zip, half of the waist, which forms the cascading drape. I sewed a size L without sizing modifications.

18 comments:

  1. I too have admired this skirt on Carolyn's blog and agree the lightweight fabric is the way to go - you need some drape but not too much! I think matching fabric and pattern is a massive skill in itself and one I am definitely still working on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Philippa - I think I'll always be still learning ;)
      I was thrown off by the English translations' fabric suggestion of 1.5x1.2m of Herringbone linen - I do know linen is flax, however my brain still translates that as cotton with body rather than drapey like rayon ;)

      Delete
  2. I love Caroline's blog too. It's so inspirational. Great seeing the skirt in different fabrics, that is rather educational. Your finished skirt is lovely. Glad to hear you can reuse that fabulous fabric. Good work.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Isn't Carolyn completely inspiring!! I love each new post (and finding old ones that I haven't read before!) ;)
    I hoped that someone would find the different fabrics interesting - I definitely do. and Thank you, I'll post about my adventures with the Vogue skirt when I get to it ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. ooh lovely! Glad that your somewhat dazed rummage at the Phillips Shirtmakers sale turned up fabric that ended up being something so fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks again for letting me know about the Phillips sale!!! I haven't put a close up pic of the fabric on the post - I'll add one as it's a really cute black on grey textured print - despite looking almost chambray in the photos. And that batik design you insisted that I take, was very much the right call, thank you for it ;)

      Delete
  5. I agree that Shape Shape (Unique Clothes . . .) is an inspiring and underrated book, and I'm sorry that it went out of print. Thanks for your helpful review of the Cascade skirt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Patricia, it was your styling of the waterfall skirt and scarf top in May that cemented my wish to search out ShapeShape, and it is such a loss that it wasn't re-printed. The second version just doesn't seem as inspired, or I'm not behind the times enough to appreciate it yet ;)

      Delete
  6. Oh wow! This is so architectural and fabulous! Your style to a T, Nic! :D

    ReplyDelete
  7. Replies
    1. Thanks Winifred ;) The whole book is gorgeous, I'm impatiently waiting for my 'very own copy' to arrive to keep exploring ;)

      Delete
  8. Fabulous! I know only too well just how a non-ideal fabric choice can really affect the outcome. I think that matching appropriate fabric to pattern is probably the final frontier for me. Love how this works for you :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Mel ;)
      I'll still be learning for a long while, but if it was easy, I suspect we wouldn't be half as interested in our experiments - as frustrating as they can be...
      That buzz when it 'works' though is so worthwhile!! ;)

      Delete
  9. Such a striking pattern! And I love seeing how different fabrics behave on the same pattern; it's fascinating. I'm looking forward to seeing your takes on the other ones in the book

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Danielle, I'll be sure to post my next adventures in Shape Shape - Most likely the scarf top or the waterfall skirt - both of which Carolyn and Patricia have made up beautifully ;)

      Delete
  10. Very cool pattern and looks great on you! Thanks for the review with the different types of fabric, very interesting. I've always been interested in this book!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Elise, if you can get your hands on an english version, snap it up! Even if it's not to your taste in the end, I'm sure it will keep a high swap value ;) My Japanese version has just arrived in the mail & it's fabulous, just with that extra added level of translation entertainment ;)

      Delete

We've love you to reply, comments make the dachshund & I smile ;)