Skirt with directional fabric

[mamavegan]

I'm new to the world of sewing and bought 2.5 yds of directional fabric that I fell in love with. I am now discovering that lots of skirts are cut on the bias. I was hoping to make a wrap skirt since I'm such a beginner. It looks like I didn't buy enough yardage for a wrap skirt, though. All the ones I find online call for 3.5 yds +.

I love the skirt on the cover of Weekend Sewing and I think that length would look great on me. In fact, I don't want anything above the knee at all.

So...
Do I buy the fabric I love again, but in more yardage?
Do you have a suggestion for a flattering skirt (maybe A-line) that would work with my yardage and directional print?
Should I find a non-directional fabric in the proper yardage instead?
All of the above?

TIA and sorry for the ramble!

[cristeen]

Most of my (wrap) skirts are made from a single piece of directional fabric (mostly the kind that that has a pattern on one edge). Basically if you have enough fabric to wrap around yourself one and a half to 2 times, you should be fine. But it won't be an A-line type skirt, it will be a straight skirt.

How is a bit more complicated to describe than it is to do... let me see if I can find a tutorial. Hmm... I see what you mean. I'm not finding one either. Maybe I need to think about doing one when I get my sewing room set up again.

Basically, all of mine are a flat piece of fabric hemmed to length with strategically placed darts to allow the fabric to lay flat (2 darts front, 2 darts back, and one long dart either hip). They have a really long belt, and a buttonhole on one side so that I can wrap it and tie it and be done. Basically I wind up with a single panel of fabric on the back, and two panels in the front, so unless it's really windy modesty is preserved.

If you'd like to see pictures of how it's constructed, I can take some for you.

[mamavegan]

I'm washing the fabric right now, so I'll have to wait a bit to see how many times I can wrap it around me. I appreciate the offer for pics. I may get back to you after I have some more experience to ask for a few if the offer still stands. I'm not sure I can replicate what you're doing. This will be the first item of clothing I've ever tried and I have no idea how to do darts. Thank you so much, though! It's good to know that you're using directional fabric, too!

[cristeen]

Well, darts are actually really easy. Think of it like folding a paper airplane or a snowflake. Take a piece of paper and fold it in half. Now, from the folded edge, fold it over about an inch to form a triangle, so that the point ends midway on the folded edge. Holding that second fold in place, open up the piece of paper and see how it bends into a sort of conical shape. If you consider the top of the folded triangle your waist and the bottom your hip, you should be able to envision how that will help the fabric to lay flat if you were to stitch along that line (and the shaping isn't as drastic in fabric as it is in paper).

So if the difference between waist and hips is 8 inches (which is what I believe mine is), then you put 2 1-inch darts in front, 2 in back, and a 2 inch dart on either hip. Then you should have a decent fit from waist to hips, and the skirt falls straight from the hips. The main thing to remember though is that a 1-inch dart is actually only 1/2 inch on either side of the fold, and the main thing that you will have to learn is how long you have to make the dart to make the fabric lay flat (the wider the dart, the longer it has to be). Practicing with a piece of muslin can help you figure that out - you want the dart to lay flat and not create a point where it ends.

Really it sounds much more complicated than it is. Get yourself a cheap piece of muslin or scrap fabric and practice making darts if you need the confidence.