"Elvis ain't dead baby, he was abducted by Rock and Roll lovin' aliens..."
I thought I would do a festive little blog post today full of sequins and glitter... whilst the year has been rather less glamorous to say the least, definitely 'all shook up', I'd like to at least end it with a little more jazz than it started with.
First up it started with THIS amazing fabric from Jenny Stitches. It's a 'Strictly Sparkle' deadstock that has a 2 way look to it. Gold, pink and blue one way, brush them back and it's silver, red and orange.
The fabric is sequins on mesh so the back was a little scratchy - definitely something that needs lining. After a little obsessing on Pinterest about a simple sequin skirt that may last the years, it was 'always on my mind' and needed to get made. Keeping it super simple and went for that classic beginner basic - 2 rectangles and a piece of elastic.
That simple.
I measured my hips, added 3 inches and cut that width length out of the sequins. Length just eyeballed. Sew one seam up into a tube shape. Voila, skirt piece. Same for the lining. (The lining is some stretch woven satin which worked beautifully). Trap a thick circle of glittery elastic in between the 2 tubes, sew around and hey presto, sequin skirt.
The lining fabric is hemmed, but the sequin fabric is not - why make work for yourself. It's mesh so doesn't fray.
Did I pick sequins out of the seam allowance - absolutely not. Straight stitched right over those bad boys with a universal needle. Regrets - none.
After seeing all these deadstock velvets, it was then that I got 'caught in a trap' and couldn't resist a purchase of some Rainbow Fabrics stretch velvet with sequins - also deadstock. (Jenny Stitches also had these too but I had a discount code for the Rainbow Fabrics one...)
Now this fabric is glorious as it is very stretchy and actually really soft on the reverse side so no lining necessarily needed - although you may choose to. The 'suspicious minds' amongst you may doubt this but it's true.
It WAS going to get saved for a special occasion (like I have any of those haha) but surviving another year felt like a 'fuck it, just get it made' situation and as we know, life itself is that special occasion. I figured 'it's now or never'. The mood struck one afternoon and I had a massive urge to make trousers. So sequin trousers I now have!
This is my trusty Style Arc Parker Ponte Pant pattern - widened the legs and omitted any kind of pocket.
These trousers are sewn up with a straight stitch using Maraflex, I stitched each seam twice for security, and then zigzagged the seam allowance shut, trimming back to the zigzag. That way most sequins were caught in the middle and not against my skin. SOME poke out a bit so I picked a few out that were obvious, and figured I could wear chub rub shorts underneath for extra comfort.
DO NOT OVERLOCK sequins! Or if you do, please wear safety goggles as you are likely to have bits of sequin flying at you, broken needles flying at you and probably rage after breaking threads and needles every 5 minutes. (I know his from previous experience!)
The waistband is just a strip of normal black ponte from some scraps I had as you definitely don't want a sequin waistband scratching at you. The trousers are also not hemmed for similar reasons. As the fabric is stretch it doesn't need hemming anyway.
All I need now are some Blue Suede Shoes....
Thanks for sticking with me. I wish you a Merry Christmas Baby.
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