Skirt closures

[gem]

So... I'm making great progress on my black linen skirt with pinked suedecloth guards! Next up is the waistband, and I'm waffling on how to close it. The vast majority of my skirts have elastic waistbands, but this one will be a Proper Skirt, cartridge pleated to a waistband and everything!    The last ones I've made had overlapping waistbands that closed with skirt hooks, but I'm wondering what other closure methods people like.

Laura Mellin has a skirt that closes with ties, but I can't really see what's going on there. I like the idea of adjustability, though. One of my favorite methods was routine in the 18th C--just a drawstring casing that ties on the side. But I haven't quite figured out how to adapt that to my current project.

[Kate XXXXXX]

I like the 18th C fixed waistband.  The front and back have ties like and apron, and the sides have pockets slits in the seams.  You tie each half on like an apron, with strings.  Al the advantages of adjustability plus the ease of not having to pleat to an exact waist measurement.

[Lady Renee Buchanan]

I use hook closures and a huge snap (one of the really big ones).  I find without the snap , when pulling on a bodice to lace it, sometimes it pulls the skirt together & the hooks come undone, so I use both to keep the skirt from opening.

[gem]

Kate, that's exactly what I meant! But my skirt isn't open on both sides--it's just 4 straight yards of fabric and one seam. How would you adapt that to something that only had one opening? 

[Kate XXXXXX]

1.  Open up a second pocket slit...  A bother, but possible.

2.  Wrap two ties all the way round and tie off...

[CenturiesSewing]

I've been using a 4 eyelet method, 2 on each side of the waistband and lace it closed.

[Rowan MacD]

  I use trouser hooks, but the ties are interesting.  I might try them on the next skirt.
 The one I made last winter is very heavy, and ties tend to stretch a bit.

[isabelladangelo]

I'd either use the tie, like CenturiesSewing or a hook and eye.  I've also just pinned the skirt closed using a simple straight pin. 

[Orphena]

I usually use a hook - or 2 if it is a heavy skirt. I have been known to use safety pins, but they rarely stay all day. I have also used eyelets, but my placement has been vertical, rather than horizontal as CenturiesSewing shows in her fabulous picture. Of course - if going that route, be sure you have fabric for a modesty panel.

Dont want to install grommets or eyelets? You can always use hook eyes as your lacing points - in fact, I get them presewn onto a strip for projects that require hidden lacing - 1 line of stitches, and I'm done! For this though, I would use 2 or 3 eyes, and then if you dont like the lacing, you can just take them off and not have to worry about eyelet holes in you skirt. Other options - split ring jump rings from the jewerly section! 

[gem]

Oh, thank you!! Centuries, that picture is hugely helpful--I've been leaning toward eyelets, but having trouble figuring out where to place them and how to actually manage the lacing part. But that makes it totally easy to understand. And I can imagine adding a couple extra on either side (like holes in a belt) to make the skirt tighter/looser as necessary. Brilliant.

And I also like Orphena's lacer idea.  I will see what I come up with at my JA trip this afternoon (not that I don't already have a heap of totally appropriate notions!).

[Wickedvox]

1. I always do 4 eyelets, as Centuries does, but I stack them, not side by side like hers--Centuries' is probably more h/a.

2. I'm in love with Kate's fixed waistband--*much* easier pocket slits than what *I've* been doing!  (don't ask, you don't want to know, it's that bad.)

3. I clicked on your thread, opened the link, next thing I know an hour has passed!! Her Le Monde entries are cracking me up--especially the one about the wino and SCA!

4. I should be studying.

[gem]

Her site (Extreme Costuming) is AMAZING!!

Here's a picture of my 18th C. skirt, from a presentation I did on period dress (or, erm, undress as is the case in that photograph!  ) It's two rectangular panels of fabric (not terribly wide), sewn about 2/3 up the side seams, and knife-pleated to separate front and back waistbands/casings. I have it tied with linen tape, but instead of tying the front and back panels separately "apron-style" as Kate describes, I feed my tape all the way through both waistbands and tie it on one side (kind of like the MA partlet, if that makes sense). The waistband is very narrow (only about 1"), but since it's worn over the stays, it doesn't cut into the waist.



(I actually shrunk out of my 18th c. stays before giving this talk, so I'm wearing an Elizabethan corset instead. And, also, I wanted to show the construction of the 18th C. ones to my audience--AND I really wanted to keep my stays *on!* It was a pretty sunny day, and that smock is quite sheer.  Nice to have a spare set on hand.)

[Butch]

For the single side closure, I usually sew 5 button holes (1" spaced) on the top waistband, and then 10 buttons (1" spaced) on the underside waistband.  That gives you 18" of play in the waist.