A Tweed Delphine

I had such high hopes for this make and it’s ended up being a bit, well, average to be honest…

This is the last piece of fabric from my John Lewis sale splurge in the Summer. (Still using up…). It’s a beautiful, tweed fabric, labelled as ‘check boucle’ which is cream with shades of blue, lilac and black in it. The first half of this make went perfectly. Unlike my previous two Delphines (see here and here), which were both made from linen, I decided to line this one. There’s an online tutorial on Tilly’s website (Tilly and the Buttons) for guidance as to how to do this. And as usual, Tilly’s instructions were clear and informative. I was so proud of my progress that I even took mid-make photos…

This was bizarrely the first time I’d inserted a ‘normal’ zip (really not sure why I selected this one and not an invisible one actually, but there you go). I consulted my ‘Sew, Step by Step’ manual and followed their instructions for inserting what they called a ‘centred zip’. I was really pleased with the result (above left). I was also really pleased with my lining (above right) which looked very professional once the inner waist-band was attached 🙂

But then I attempted to hem…. Hmmmm, well, the outer skirt went fine. Deciding the fabric might be too bulky, I just folded under once and used some pretty ribbon (no photos sorry, but it looks mighty pretty, you can take my word for it). I’d seen many bloggers use this method and I was really pleased to try it out. Then I attempted to hem the lining. Oh dear! My first attempt was ridiculously wonky, far too wide and when I measured it against the outer skirt, also far too long: not a good look 😦 Out came the unpicker… I’m thinking maybe I should have used a finer needle on my machine to keep it more even? Second time around wasn’t too bad, but then over to the ironing board, and yes, you’ve guessed it: I’d forgotten to turn the heat down from pressing the outer skirt, grrrr….. Luckily I singed the inner, seamed side, so once attached to the outer skirt it wasn’t too noticeable, but still, mighty annoying…

I attached the lining to the top of the waist-band, as per Tilly’s instructions, but couldn’t fathom sewing around the zip at all. Maybe, by using a ‘normal’ zipper I’d made this an impossible task? I recalled doing this particular bit of my BHL Charlotte Skirts by hand, so I improvised and hand-sewed instead (after under stitching the top of the waist-band to keep it flat). Time-consuming, yes, but it worked well and my hand stitching is slowly getting neater…

Overall I was really, pretty pleased with this, despite a few hiccups. But then I tried it on and was just completely underwhelmed 😦 It’s kind of fine, ok, not bad… But I’m nowhere near loving it, as I thought I was going to! The fit’s really good. The high waist is still flattering, although the bulkier material is less forgiving than my Summer, linen versions ( maybe that’s more to do with the excess food and drink from our half-term holiday though?)

Ever found this? Maybe it’s not the skirt, but me. I’m just not really into it. I’m also feeling pretty exhausted from being back at school, even though we haven’t even done a whole week yet…. Not a good sign! Maybe I’ll force myself to try it again when I’m feeling more upbeat? I did manage to smile for the camera, but only because my son was taking the photos for me…

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