purple velvet pleated kilt!

whew. one of my toughest projects has been completed. i used "simplicity 7130," a pattern for wool pleated kilts, a pattern from 1967!

and this super plush eggplant purple cotton velvet, leftover from a velvet bible cover i once made for an ex's mom years ago. i JUST had enough velvet to lay out the pattern pieces!! (usually i have way too much extra, which ends up in the scrap pile for ages!) bunks was a huge fan of this velvet. here he is roaming on it while i'm trying to sketch out pleat lines. "scoot, bunks, scoot!"
here's a close up of the pleats. i used gold thread... meaning i had to sew neatly! unfortunately, the velvet was so thick that in making the pleats, more material was used up than anticipated and thus the skirt didn't really have enough material to fold completely across the front... so, i decided to make this a high-waisted kilt, so that at least i could fold it 3/4 of the way across the front (if i had kept it normal, it would hardly have overlapped in the front. EEK!)
the pattern called for leather belt tabs for the sides. 1) i doubted i could find gold leather belt tabs and 2) i wanted something less conspicuous. so, i bought tiny gold d-rings and designed 2 simple belts for the sides. here's the first. not bad, right?here's a pic of both.
ages ago, i bought something from anthropologie that had the tags attached with this big gold safety pin (isn't that rather fancy for just securing the tags?). i'd actually been saving it to use either as a simple brooch or, once i picked up sewing as a hobby, to use on a kilt! perfect isn't it? i sewed down the pin way at the bottom of the skirt, as you can see in the next pic. the skirt didn't need the pin to keep it shut, so i just made it a permanent decoration piece. i initially wanted to make the skirt for a broadway outing with mom in nyc. however, we all know i'm slow, so i didn't finish it until after. i wore it to work this tuesday and colleagues joined in on the photoshoot. this is david. he is REALLY tall. and also in purple. em is the photographer. and around back hehehehhehehe! kristin is dying of laughter.em zoomed in so you could see the pleats. david got tired of modeling and went back to work hehe.

ironing that many skinny pleats was SOOOOO frustrating, yet the result looks pretty neat. not my favorite style of skirts, but i like the unexpectedness of the velvet!