Stripes in silk
Quite some time ago I bought a long silk skirt that looked like this* (and also like this).
Now it looks like this.
Not so different, really, but I’m hoping to get more wear out of it at this length.
I don’t have any other skirts this shape and length so it will be a welcome addition to my wardrobe. It will work with boots in winter or flats and sandals in summer (or autumn, as the case may be).
As you can see, the lower part of the skirt with all the lovely stripes is what I wanted to retain, so although it would have been easier to just chop off the excess length from the hem to bring it up to mid-calf, I had to do the following:
- unpick the waistband
- unpick the zip
- unpick the lining that was joined to the skirt at the waist
- cut off the waist/hip area once I’d worked out where I wanted the hem to fall (this involved a lot of standing in front of the mirror adjusting where the hem sat on my calves and deciding accordingly where to chop at the hip). Of course I have put this excess fabric aside for some future project.
- take in the side seams and press them to sit open
- make new darts at the front and back
- reinsert the zip
- shorten the lining and reattach it
- reattach the waistband
- reattach the eye part of the hook and eye fastening as the waistband was always a bit big but I’d never got around to fixing it
- handstitch the side slits to sit in place
- laugh at how long this list is because it didn’t feel like quite that much work at the time!
The green in the skirt is one of my favourite colours and happily, I found a cashmere sweater in a similar shade for $5 at an opshop a few months ago. Perfect match!
*For more recent readers who may not be aware, in this photo I’m posing with my little old lady cat, Suki, who is unfortunately gone but definitely not forgotten. How cute is she!?
Cats really do improve any outfit shot… and they know it.
Your stripy skirt is going to bring some welcome vibrance to the cooler seasons and I think you should wear it as often as you can without people thinking it’s your only skirt ever. 😀 It goes so well with that gorgeous jumper, too.
Oh, I’m sure anyone who knows me will realise it most definitely is not my only skirt ever 🙂
Hello! I didn’t know you have a blog, about op shops too!! I wanted to say the skirt looks like it’s one of those traditional skirts that Thai ladies wear as their Sunday best when they visit temples. The shorter length works well too. Will pick your brain on altering clothes because while I love op shopping, I’m terrible at alterations.
It wasn’t actually a traditional skirt, it was something from the 70s. But it does look like it was Thai silk. You’re welcome to pick my brains!