Piracy and Pirate Skirt Re-Fashion

I’m sure you know by now that Wikipedia (and other websites) have gone on a 24-hour blackout to protest the SOPA and PIPA legislation being debated in Congress right now.  In fact, the only page Wikipedia is showing is a description of the legislation, why they don’t like it, and links to related news stories.

I don’t know how to address movie and music piracy, but these laws don’t look like the best way.  Devoted pirates are unlikely to be checked by the contents of the legislation.  Instead, SOPA and PIPA lay the groundwork for wider, legal internet censorship.  In this time we live in of systemic corruption, revolution, social change and Occupiers, I don’t really trust a government to regulate the free speech and free information we all enjoy right here on the internets.  What do you think? (I always welcome opinions; let’s please be respectful.)

Rather than join the blackout (I’m too lazy to figure out how), I thought I’d share some information of my own and show you how I resurrected a half-dead pencil skirt.

This skirt comes from Plasticland.  Once again you, my style-enablers, encouraged me to chase a whim and make something fun.  (Note the anchor embroidery.)

This skirt is made of organic cotton from one of those useful little 1960’s “instant skirt” patterns.  I love it, but this fabric softens with age.  Once it started softening, it didn’t look quite “smart” anymore, but was too restrictive for me to cycle into my casual-wear.  So I stuck it in a drawer.

Today, I pulled it out from hiding and drew a few chalk lines until I found a pleasing curve, then cut it.  I overlocked/serged the raw edge and removed the faux-pocket flaps:

I acquired this very pretty, flowy poly chiffon from a friend’s de-stash.  I cut it along the bias, using the pattern in the fabric as a guide.  I cut it roughly 5″ wide, and joined the strips to measure roughly 5X the hem of my skirt.  Then I made a rolled hem on my machine.  As happens, it skipped in a few places so I went back over the skipped spots with a neat hand buttonhole stitch.

I turned up the differential feed on my serger to help gather the ruffle.  This works best on light fabrics and four threads and usually gives something of a mini-pleated effect.  Mine was sissy-gathering because I used just 3 threads.  I divided the hem of the skirt and the edge of the ruffle into quarters and pinned them together.  Then I drew up the needle thread to gather it further.  I stitched, serged the seam allowance together and pressed toward the skirt.

At that point, I decided the skirt was too long.  I wanted a longer skirt than Plasticland’s, but not as long as this skirt came out.  No way would I unpick and re-sew the ruffle, so I stitched a pleat in the body of the skirt as I’ve seen on late 40’s dresses.

Unfortunately, the cool pleat doesn’t show up in my quickie “in-progress” photos.   I’ll take some lovely pictures once I embroider the skirt and finish the sailor top.  What do we think of these whales from Oh, Fransson!?

Awwwww.

In other news, remember the 50’s housewife micro-houndstooth shirt I started last September?  I finished it for Sew Weekly’s “Buttoned Up” challenge.  Have a look.

Edited to add:  WordPress users, you can opt to “protest SOPA PIPA” under your “settings,” which is interesting.  That’s the ribbon in the corner of the screen, which takes you to a form to write to your member of congress and to more information about the legislation.