Silhouette Pattern 1017 Review

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How do I love this pattern, let me count the ways…. The Basic Jean Skirt is super versatile, you can make it over and over again because jean skirts are easy to wear. This time I used a shredding and overlaying technique that I have been researching. This article will cover the technique basics and the Silhouette pattern 1017 Review.

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The Inspiration

My shredded jean skirt was inspired by a jacket I made with Julio Cesar’s Vogue 9341. You can see a YouTube review of Vogue 9341 here. I love this jacket, it’s so interesting. I wanted to recreate the shredded feel, so I have been experimenting with the technique. The base fabric (the floral and leopard – right and wrong sides) I found in the discount bin at Joanne’s years ago and knew I would use it one day. It’s a gorgeous, dense felted wool. The other fabrics were stash busters.

The Skirt

If you know me, you know I’m a big Silhouette Pattern fan. I love the simplicity of her basic patterns. They are strong building blocks to use as a jumping off point. With classic lines, all the requisite pockets you want in a jean skirt, and the back yoke for additional fitting lines, this skirt is a fun make. I would classify this as an advanced beginner + pattern.

The Design Process

I’ve made this skirt before, so I had the fitting all set. This project was all about the design.

I am a visual learner and need to lay everything out in front of me. In this case, I knew I was going to use the green stretch denim as my base. I also had that strip of yummy teal leather and the pebbled brown leather both left over from jackets. I have a YouTube video of the Leather Jacker Project here.

I started with the black and white leopard, but it was too busy – LOL. But seriously, it’s like jewelry, sometimes you need to subtract a piece for the best look. I also decided to balance out the pockets and keep the soutache to just the black.

I love the design process and shifted around several sheers. I did like the teal and black sheer, but it made the skirt more about the teal and I wanted the teal to just be an accent.

Once I finally decide on my palette, then I an start adding and subtracting fabrics. I loved the way the gazelle rayon from EBT Fabrics picked up the teal leather, the brown leather, and the denim green. I settled on the zebra/leopard sheer because – why not! Lastly I wanted a diagonal line so in came the black stretch pleather. This gave me a rough visual of the direction of the finished skirt.

Construction

Starting from the back most fabric, I used a decorative stitch on my Brother CS6000i. I did try out a few before I settled on this one. The leather edge is raw. In fact, all the appliqued pieces have raw edges.

I sewed down the exposed side and bottom on the left front. I basted the other edge down so it wouldn’t get caught in the wrong place.

Next I added the gazelle fabric over the leather and over the entire right front. I just stitched it down with about a 3/8 seam line – more shredding. I added channel stitching down the gazelle fabric every three inches to keep it in place.

Finally I attached the sheer and channel stitched it. For this skirt, I stitched my lines one inch apart, diagonally across the sheer. Then clipped the sheer down the middle of the channel to give it a frayed look. The best scissors to use are Tula Pink Duckbill Applique 6-Inch Micro Serrated Scissor” target=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener nofollow”>duckbill applique scissors they will help you cut only the sheer and not nick the under fabrics.

The final step is to stitch on the leather soutache. As you can see up close the edges aren’t perfect, but they play into the entire design.

Don’t forget to carry your design around the the back. I added just a strip of the sheer under the skirt yoke to balance off the sheer and soutache that wrapped around from the front.

The last seam I constructed (before the waistband) was the center back seam. That gave me the opportunity to carry the sheer and soutache around to the back for a continuous look.

I can’t wear this skirt everywhere, but everywhere I wear it I have a great conversation starter.

I hope you will give this pattern a second look, it is a great wardrobe staple. I had lots of fun designing and constructing my denim skirt. I hope you enjoyed my Silhouette pattern 1017 Review.

Happy Sewing,

Sandi

PS: When you choose a download pattern for your sewing project, get started on the right foot by visiting this short read — How to Assemble a PDF Sewing Pattern.

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