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About Face(ing)

Every since I made my garden apron, I've been planning to use the spare gold dotted fabric for a pretty facing in my denim skirt—but then I lost the fabric. And I was wearing the skirt almost every day. And one thing led to another, and now, many months after I had the idea, I've finally done something with it.

First I found the fabric.

A long piece of deep-lime-green fabric with tiny gold dots, laid out flat but deeply creased from being folded into a small square, with an open pouch of sewing supplies and a coiled pink measureing tape peeping from under the near edge, on the photographer's blue-skirted lap. A narrow strip of the same fabric lies across the photographer's lap, a little higher up, with a single twist in it.
It's so sparkly!
And did a bit of math to make sure I'd have enough for the width of facing I wanted.



A piece of dark lime-green fabric with scattered gold dots, draped over the edge of a tall wooden bedframe with a cranberry-sheeted mattress on it. The near edge of teh fabric is cut into short tabs.
Featuring my bed frame with the Miraculous Seven Section Tenon. Miraculous because it hasn't given up the ghost and dumped me on the floor yet.
And snipped little tabs in the selvedge so I could tear nice straight strips easily. I didn't feel like trying to cut that many perfectly straight lines. Not my forte, and tearing is so cathartic anyway.

A close up of a needle inserted just below the lowest line of stitching on a machine-serged seam in blue denim, supported by a white hand.
I've been meaning to repair this torn seam for about three months.

I also took advantage of having planned not to have my favorite skirt available to fix a small tear in one of the gathered seams before it got worse.

A close up of a seam ripper with a red stop and a blue handle, inserted just under the stitching of a narrow hem in blue denim.
This feels sacrilegious.

And then I ripped out the entire hem seam! Which went very quickly, and I was a little shocked at how tiny the turned-under bit was.

A very full denim skirt turned inside out, showing the narrow strip of dark lime-green fabric with scattered gold dots pinned into the existing hem.
This skirt is now very stabby.

Then I inserted my previously seamed strips (whoops, skipped photographing that part. Imagine nine identical photos of seams across the short ends of strips of gold-dotted green fabric. There, now you're caught up) into the hem fold, and pinned the hem right back where it had come from.

That bit got stitched primarily in the car on the way to Queen's Prize 2018, at which I took no photos at all. The stitching was kind of impressive though; done in my green silk bliaut, with a large basket on my lap, wedged into the backseat of a car with two other people. And I didn't stab or elbow anyone, including me.

A close up of a narrow strip of dark lime-green fabric with scattered gold dots, stitched into the hem of a denim skirt and pinned at the top, folded under edge.
I'm very proud of how perfectly I put the hem back together, and of the neatness of that turned edge at the top.

And then I went around and turned under the top edge of the facing, working carefully to avoid making the outer fabric bag (this is very like how I stitched the trim onto the green silk bliaut), and slip stitched it down.

The end! Really a very simple project, and it only took a few days to accomplish. The new hem is a little heavier, which is handy in high winds, and it pleases me, even though it's really only visible to other people if I'm walking fast, or have somehow tucked up my skirts.

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