Peppermint Wrap skirt

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issue 193 - HOW TO ADD BUTTONS TO THE PEPPERMINT WRAP SKIRT

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How to add a button closure to a wrap skirt pattern.

THE Q & A SERIES

ADD BUTTONS TO THE PEPPERMINT WRAP SKIRT

Hello there!

I am a subscriber to your wonderful monthly Curated by In the Folds and I really love how much you are happy to share your knowledge with us. Your Fit Guides are so good for me to review and learn from every time I begin a project. 

I have a question regarding the Peppermint Wrap Skirt which I bought a few years back (a contribution to the community was made) and I have yet to make it!!! However, I am thinking of making it, but I wondered how difficult would it be to use buttons as opposed to the tie to close the skirt? I know that I would need an internal button to hold the underlying front skirt, but any suggestions as to how best to position the outer button would be good?

Thank you very much.

Zoe, Australia

Hi Zoe!

This is such a great question, which I’m sure many makers will also appreciate the answer to. Our Peppermint Wrap skirt pattern, a collaboration with Peppermint Magazine many moons ago, has been one of our MOST popular designs.

Sometimes designs are a classic for a reason, right?

You may also have seen that our Malvern culottes pattern uses a similar closure technique, so I’m excited to be able to add the tutorial to our resources!

And what makes it even better is that this hack won’t take any patternmaking wizardry and is perfect for anyone wanting to give a little pattern hacking a go without being overwhelmed.

how to change a tie to buttons on a wrap skirt

Technical illustration of step 1 of hacking wrap skirt closure to button closure.

Step 1

Take the WAIST TIE - LEFT SIDE [5] and identify the outer notch. This is the notch that lines up with the edge of the wrap on the left side. The rest of the piece is what makes the tie on that side.

Technical illustration of step 2 of hacking wrap skirt closure to button closure.

Step 2

Draw a line straight up from that notch. Perpendicular to the edge of the piece.

Technical illustration of step 3 of hacking wrap skirt closure to button closure.

Step 3

Repeat on the other side - WAIST TIE - RIGHT SIDE [4], again using the outer notch. This time it’s on the other side of the piece.

Technical illustration of step 4 of hacking wrap skirt closure to button closure.

Step 4

Move the pattern info (piece name and cutting instructions) and grainline over to the section with the notches, otherwise it will be removed when you cut off the tie section of the piece.

Cut through the lines marked in Step 2 and Step 3. You can discard these pieces as you won’t be needing them.

Technical illustration of step 5 of hacking wrap skirt closure to button closure.

Step 5

Add seam allowance to the cut edge on each side of the waistband. This will now be closed like a regular waistband. 1cm (3/8in) is sufficient.

Technical illustration of step 6 of hacking wrap skirt closure to button closure.

Step 6

You may be able to remove the centre back seam in the waistband due to the reduced width. Place the CENTRE BACK STITCH LINE on one piece on top of the other. The CENTRE BACK is indicated with double notches on each piece.

Measure the width of the piece. If it is less than the fabric width you plan to use then you can tape it in place. If you do this, add a notch at the CENTRE BACK STITCH LINE to indicate the CENTRE BACK. This will help you when you are pinning the waistband to the skirt. You can also update the pattern label.

If your fabric isn’t wide enough, that’s okay, just keep the CENTRE BACK seam.

Technical illustration of step 7 of hacking wrap skirt closure to button closure.

Step 7

Now that the tie has been removed, I’d recommend block fusing the whole waistband to help it hold its structure and give it more stability where the buttons and buttonholes are. Add BLOCK FUSE to the pattern pieces so you remember when cutting.

As for working out where the buttons and buttonholes need to go, this also left me scratching my head too! It’s much easier to work out once you have the skirt and waistband in front of you. I got out my lovely linen wrap skirt to have a play and worked out how I’d do it. 

What I suggest you do is just make it and then work out the button and buttonhole positions once it’s complete. The beauty of wrap skirts is that they are quite forgiving in terms of fit so there’s room for you to work out the best place for you to have your buttons.

Technical illustration of step 8 of hacking wrap skirt closure to button closure.

Step 8

If I were to make this hack, I would put concealed buttons on the side of the wrap that ends up on top and then button holes on the “under” wrap. To work this out, wrap the waistband around you and use chalk to mark the ideal position of the buttons. You will definitely want a button and buttonhole close to the edge of the waistband, while the second one will depend on you.

I hope this helps you on your patternhacking journey!

Happy sewing,

Emily

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS ISSUE

  • The Peppermint Wrap skirt pattern is a free pattern, created in collaboration with Peppermint Magazine - available for download here.

  • The Malvern culottes pattern - digital pattern available here.

For more issues of the Q & A series, you can check out the archive here.

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ISSUE 110 - How to line a wrap skirt

THE Q & A SERIES

How to line a wrap skirt

Hi Emily,

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions and for your contribution to furthering the art of sewing! 😊

I have some light-weight Japanese printed linen which I think would suit the wrap skirt pattern very well, however I would like a bit more coverage and have some navy voile in my stash which would go well for lining.

I would prefer it if the lining was not visible, so thought I could have a facing of the linen fabric on the wrap, so that the lining didn’t show. Your patterns are always finished neatly - any tips for attaching the lining, particularly at the hem?

Thank you,

Donna

Hi Donna,

This sounds like a great idea!

Of all skirt projects to line, the Peppermint wrap skirt is probably the simplest as you don't need to think about a zip closure. 

When it comes to lining a skirt, normally you don’t attach the lining at the hem. What this means is that the outer layer (main fabric) will be able to hang properly and won't be impacted by a lining holding it back. More about that when I show you how to construct the skirt with lining below.

Cutting the wrap skirt pattern pieces

Cut all pattern pieces from the main fabric as instructed in the pattern.

For the lining you will only need to cut the main skirt pieces. You don't need the waistband.

Cut the lining pieces about 2.5cm (1in) shorter than the outer pieces. This will prevent the lining dropping and being visible when the skirt is worn.

On the front lining pieces, trim off the seam allowance at the opening by cutting along the STITCH LINE (grey line on the pattern). The raw edge of the lining will be held in place by the folded edge of the outer layer so we don't need this extra fabric on the lining.

sew the darts

Start by sewing the front and back darts on the outer pieces (steps 1 and 2 of the instructions). Press the darts as instructed.

Repeat for the lining pieces. This time press the darts in the opposite direction. This means that when you join the lining to the skirt you won't end up with too much bulk as the dart bulk won't be sitting on top of each other. 

Skip step 3 of the instructions (finishing the wrap edges). We'll do this after the lining and outer skirt are joined at the top so that the lining becomes enclosed inside the edge finish.

Sew the side seams

Join the front and back pieces together at the side seam.

The Peppermint Wrap skirt instructions guide you to sew this seam with a French seam, but when adding a lining you need to consider how seam finishes are going to impact the overall bulk.

It sounds like your fabric is fairly lightweight, so it's probably fine to sew both your outer and lining fabrics with French seams. If using a bulky fabric (such as a winter weight wrap skirt), I'd suggest sewing the seams with regular seams, overlocking and pressing open.

Lined garments often have unfinished seams, but finishing the seams will encourage longevity in the garment, so we like to finish seams as usual, when possible.

Join the lining pieces at the side seams in the same way. If sewing with French seams, press the lining seams in the opposite direction to the outer skirt (again, this is to minimise bulk in the seams).

Hem the skirt lining using your chosen method. To hem in the same way as the outer skirt, look to Step 16 and 17 of the instructions.

With the outer skirt and lining wrong sides together, pin the two layers together along the waist edge. Stay-stitch the lining to the outer layer with a 6mm (1/4in) seam allowance. 

Flip the skirt so that the lining is facing up. Fold back the front opening raw edges as instructed in Step 3, making sure the raw edge of the lining is enclosed inside the fold on both sides.

At this point you can now continue following the instructions as usual to create and attach the waistband - Step 7 onward.

When you enclose the raw edge of the waistband on the inside (Step 13) the raw edges of lining will be tucked inside for a clean finish.

I hope this tutorial gives you the confidence to give lining the Wrap skirt a go!

Happy sewing,

Emily

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS ISSUE

  • Wrap skirt pattern can be found here.

  • Tips for sewing French seams - tutorial can be found here.

For more issues of the Q & A series, you can check out the archive here.

WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING

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ISSUE 103 - MAKE A WRAP SKIRT WITH MORE COVERAGE

THE Q & A SERIES

Make a wrap skirt with more coverage

Hi Emily,

I've just had the Peppermint wrap skirt pattern printed. I’d like to extend either piece #1 or #2 to give me a bit more coverage as I run after my kiddo at the park. Any thoughts of which piece would work better for that extension?

Thanks!

Hi there,

Great to hear you will be giving the Peppermint wrap skirt a go!

My Peppermint Wrap skirt is probably one of my most worn garments. There is something about this pattern that makes it work with almost everything in my wardrobe.

What I love about this pattern - and what makes it so wearable - is that the front pieces are not cut as a pair. The underwrap (the piece of the skirt that goes under the outer piece) has more width than the one on top (the overwrap). In the illustration below I have placed one piece on top of the other so that you can see the difference between the two.

I designed the pattern this way as I'm not a fan of wrap garments that you have to hold in place or constantly check if you're exposing more skin than you'd like. Clothes should be made to be worn and loved, and I believe that making them more comfortable to wear in our daily lives is the best way we can ensure this will happen.

In saying that, you could definitely extend the underwrap more to have more coverage if you like. The reason I suggest altering the underwrap is that this won't impact the look of the skirt. The overwrap remains unchanged and you will just have more fabric width in the piece that sits underneath.

Step 1
Take piece 2 (Front Left Side Wrap) and extend the grainline through to the top and bottom of the pattern piece. This is the Centre Front (CF) of the skirt.

Step 2
Fold along CF so you have just the side with the dart visible.

Step 3
Create a full piece by tracing the right side (side with the dart) onto the other side of CF.

Step 4
The section of the pattern on the left will be the part of the pattern that extends under the overwrap. We do not need the dart in this location and by removing it (using the slash and spread method) we will retain it's shaping whilst also getting more fullness in the hem (which means more coverage) and less fabric bulk in the waist section.

Mark in a slash line from the tip of the left dart down to the hem.

Step 5
Slide a piece of pattern paper under the pattern piece.

Cut down one of the dart arms (on the side we're working on) and stop 1-2mm from the tip of the dart. Cut up from the hem along the slash line towards the tip of the dart. Stop 1-2mm from dart tip to create a small "hinge" of paper.

Slide the uncut dart arm over to meet with the cart dart arm. You will notice that this has opened up the hemline. What we're doing here is relocating the fullness from the dart to the hem - which gives us the waist shaping we need to achieve a good fit. If you would like to see more details about this technique, you can checkout this blog post. Tape / glue in place and attach to the paper underneath.

Step 6
To finalise the pattern, draw in a nice smooth curve at the waist line and hemline. Add seam allowance back onto these new lines.

Step 7
As the left side of this piece hangs free (creating the wrap) we need to straighten out the edge (as it won't be sewn to the back side seam). Draw a straight line from the top of the side seam to the bottom - on the STITCH LINE (grey line on the pattern). Add seam allowance (2cm / 3/4in) to this new line. This is now the edge of the underwrap.

This alteration will impact how the skirt attaches to the waistband. The waistband will still fit, but the notch that indicates the end of this piece will no longer be correct. Take the waist tie piece and move the notch to reflect the alteration.

Happy sewing,

Emily

RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS ISSUE

  • Peppermint wrap skirt pattern can be found here.

  • Adding volume to a pattern. Tutorial can be found here.

  • How to use the cut and spread technique to draft an A-line skirt. Tutorial can be found here.

  • Checking curved seams (and moving notches). Tutorial can be found here.

For more issues of the Q & A series, you can check out the archive here.

WHAT YOU’VE BEEN MAKING

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