Making a Liberty Gypsy Skirt

Hello there,

It’s been a while since I posted due to lots of family commitments but I am back in my sewing room having just spent a week in London (being a real tourist). I confess that I did pop into Liberty’s (I mean who wouldn’t when they have a sale on) and managed to find some absolutely gorgeous fabric. The day before, we had been in the newly renovated National Portrait Gallery (which is totally fab btw) and while I was wondering around, I saw a young lady dressed in a Liberty gypsy skirt and a beautiful hand embroidered jacket. It was such a wonderful outfit that even though it was only a glance, it was captured in a snapshot and lodged in my mind in an instant and simultaneously placed top of my list of ‘to do’. My daughter had recently made one and it brought back memories of days gone by when I had a gypsy skirt at about aged 14 and then again about 20 years ago. I am normally a real ‘jeans’ girl, but several weeks or so ago, I bought a denim skirt for summer and found myself unexpectedly enamoured with a more feminine look. I used to wear skirts a lot and I don’t know if it is do with getting older and finding my waistline taking its leave without explanation or just that the weather in Yorkshire is rather on the chilly and wet side, but I didn’t have a single one in my wardrobe. I subsequently bought a linen skirt from Marks & Spencers and made a Feather Maxi Skirt which you can read about here. So…having established that this was the year of the skirt revival, the flash of Liberty fabric swishing around the National Portrait Gallery was more than enough to send me up rushing Regent St. in search of the floral heaven that is always ‘that store.’

I have known Liberty’s all my life, or so it seems. Even as a little girl it was a place we always went when in London and as I grew up and went to live and work in London, late night browsing on a Thursday evening was one of those life affirming regular treats. Even now, whenever I am in the City, it always on my list and I love it just the same. It has never changed and for that I am grateful - so much has in London. It is still a bastion of the slightly eclectic style lover and of course, the famous and absolutely gorgeous fabric. The wooden panelled galleries stacked with bolts of saturated floral prints are so very english country garden that it is always summer in there. It is always hard to decide which print, they are all so gorgeous, but I did have somethings in mind. The skirt I had seen in the gallery was Liberty’s ‘Capel’ print in red and as one of my all time favourite prints this would have been my choice, except that it wasn’t in the sale. So something with red in, naturally, and then perhaps something with purple or violet in too as I am having a bit of a lilac and lavender moment in terms of colour. The first fabric fitted my plan perfectly. The second fabric, which is the same print in a different colour way was just too ‘me’ to leave behind - those rich reds, emerald green and gold tones always sit well with my inner zen.

I have to say that it was hot and ‘bother-y’ in store because of the sale, but definitely worth the effort because the discount was significant. I bought 3m of two fabrics in different colour ways, figuring this was enough for a tiered skirt.

Once home, I watched at least three different youtube videos on how to make this skirt. You don’t need a pattern and it is pretty straight forward to calculate the tiers. I used my denim skirt as a guide to length as it is clearly easier to hem the bottom tier before you gather it, so it’s wise to work out exactly the length you want.

I used the overlocking stitch on my Janome Horizon to edge all the tiers before constructing the skirt. This looked so neat and was super quick, I was actually rather surprised. I think the fine weave and lightness of the fabric rolled easily under the sewing machine foot and it looked ‘safe’ from fraying concerns and not at all bulky. I did a fairly substantial hem as I wanted two rows of stitching at least an inch apart and because the fabric is so lightweight this helped to add some swing to the bottom line.
The real magic of Liberty fabric is that when you press this in place before sewing it forms a neat crisp line and doesn’t unfold making hemming a very quick process indeed.

Honestly it was super easy to make. A simple elasticated waist with one inch elastic and I used the machine for the gathering stitches, with two rows of the longest stitch length on my machine. Most of the videos only used one row of gathering stitches but I always remember my Mum saying you needed two. I consulted my dressmaking books and really you do need two rows to make for a more even gathering.

It was whipped up in a jiffy and so very pretty, I was just delighted. With the fashions of today meaning that canvas pumps and even chunky trainers are comfortable options with the skirt, it is just a joy to wear.

However, Liberty tana lawn fabric is very lightweight and I thought I needed a petticoat. Years ago I had several different styles of underskirt, but those have all long gone so I started looking for a cotton frilled petticoat to go with it. It was harder than I imagined to find, but to my astonishment, lo and behold, Amazon had the very thing. Honestly, it couldn’t be better…. such excellent value and really very pretty too.

Here is the link to the shop ‘Beautelicate’ if you are interested. I think I will order a black one for winter as I am now planning to make a tartan gypsy skirt in the autumn.

Finally, if you now me at all, you will know that I am an accessories girl above all else and love hunting out vintage things to match my outfits. I have to confess that I had bought the fabric with the beads in mind, but soon discovered that I had several things that uncannily blended perfectly with this fabric. A gypsy skirt can be dressed up or down and with the heavy floral designs of Liberty you can usually go in several colour directions with the print. I had Bakelite beads (vintage find) and faceted amber beads from my grandmother. The gemstone beads were from a second hand shop in Venice on holiday a few years ago and the vintage porcelain earrings are from my Sis. The matching brooch came from Etsy and the little embroidered neck purse is something I made last year with some simple embroidery and a crochet and beaded chain. The velvet flower brooch was a rare treat (and much treasured) from Sophie Digard at Loop knitting shop in London and the painted wooden folk bangles are from travels long ago and far away. All these things can be mixed and matched with the scarves and for me, this is what makes an outfit ….

although the embroidered jacket I spied in the gallery would help…….

See you soon, Ruby x