Spoleto Ribbon Skirt Sew-a-Long

20 Jun Spoleto Ribbon Skirt Sew-a-Long

We all have our own favorite clothing stores. You know, the store that offers cute clothes which fit well and work for your lifestyle.

In my case it’s 

These small retail stores selling their label of traditional silhouettes with a fresh twist are downright irresistible to me. I can justify buying any item in the store with the exception of one style;

 The Ribbon Skirts.

 
          

As cute as they are, spending $200 on these skirts struck me as frivolous, but that didn’t keep me from wanting one……… as well as examining the skirt in detail until eyebrows were raised.

Well, now I can make my own and so can you!

The talented Julie Starr was also inspired by the J McLaughlin Ribbon Skirt. She not only made a duplicate skirt but is also offering a Sew-A -Long on my blog.

I contacted Julie immediately after seeing her skirt on the Pattern Review Website and she graciously agreed to teach us how to sew this fun and unique skirt.

Three weekly lessons will be offered beginning on Monday July 8 and finishing Monday July 22.

Julie made her skirt in a blue/green colorwave.

“The Spoleto Skirt” 

  from Julie……

“The subtle ombre effect of this skirt is achieved by 4 tonal shades in the same color family.  This may be difficult to find all at one store but I was able to find a nice variety of aqua and blue shades at Joann, Hobby Lobby and Hancock. Or you may prefer to use contrasting colors, or even one shade for the entire skirt.  For a young girl’s skirt, polka dot or other patterned ribbon would be adorable. It’s your project… personalize it as you like!”

 If you’d like to sew along  you’ll need the following supplies listed below:

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1. Your favorite straight skirt pattern (Julie used McCalls 3830)

2. 1 yard good quality prewashed cotton fabric for your skirt base (Julie recommends Kona cotton)

3. Fusible interfacing for the skirt facings

4. 1 9” invisible zipper in a color to coordinate with your ribbon

5. 1 hook and eye

6. 1 package double fold seam binding for seam finishing, if desired

7. 1 ½” wide grosgrain ribbon.

Julie’s skirt which is a finished length of 19” has 14 rows, not including the waistband. Add rows accordingly for additional length. The ribbon quantities for Julie’s pattern size 10, graded to 12 at the hip are:

8. 2 ½ yards dk aqua (bottom 2 rows)

9. 5 yards light aqua (rows 3-6)

10. 5 yards seafoam (rows 7-10)

11. 5 yards light blue (rows 11-14)

12. 1 yard 3” wide grosgrain ribbon for the top layer (waistband)

13. Thread in colors to match your ribbon. Note – since the seam for each layer is hidden by the layer above, it’s not imperative to match each ribbon color exactly.  The waistband ribbon is the only row which you should match closely since it is topstitched.

*Julie also mentioned that her ribbon has a rayon content which prevents the ribbon from wrinkling.

 Hope you’ll join the fun!

Until soon  🙂