Skirt sloper or how I started my skirt collection.

Merry Christmas everyone!

A few months ago, I went back to school, to the National Tailoring Academy here in Dublin. During the 30-week course we are supposed to learn how to draft and sew a ladies jacket. This course has awoken my dormant drafting skills which had been hibernating since my move from Japan back to Europe, and I realized how cool it is to draft your own patterns! So I decided to experiment with my basic slopers.

What is a sloper? According to the dictionary, a sloper is “a basic pattern without seam allowances used as a tool to create other patterns”. When I lived in Tokyo, I took pattern-making classes with Ayumi-sensei, and she helped me develop my bodice and skirt slopers. Despite the fact that it took us ages, I ended up with both a bodice and skirt which fit me like a second skin.

As I looked at the sloper, tons of skirt designs started flickering in front of my eyes and I began to jump around the room. Of course, I immediately brooded over the idea of reducing my fabric stash and creating a mini autumn/winter skirt collection. How does that sound?

My all time favourite Andy coat!
Today, I’ll show you a skirt made from the sloper, with no modifications whatsoever. But first, the sloper! Did you notice that there are two back darts?

Usually multiple darts are drafted in areas where the difference between the waist and hips circumferences is very big. For example, if you have a protruding tummy you may want to add two darts to the front for better shaping. In my case, due to the 30-centimetre difference between my waist and hips, my swayback is too prominent; therefore I drafted two darts in order to make the transition from the waist of the skirt look smoother.

And here is the skirt! I could not help using some of the zillion metres of NiniIro fabric which I brought from Japan. As ridiculous as this may sound, I underlined it with silk organza. If you haven’t ever used NaniIro double-gauze before, you may not know that it wrinkles quite easily. And tell me, who likes to iron? Ok, I do, but maybe not every day ;) Besides, silk organza helps create a sharp and crisp look.

So, this is the basic of my collection. The next skirt will be inspired by one of the skirts from this Pinterest board.
Have you been drafting lately?