A Riveting Skirt

Where I live, the winter is indecisive. We can have a 10 degree cold snap one day and be in the 40s the next. So I like to be ready for anything.

When it gets above freezing, it’s Winter Skirt Weather. My strategy for not freezing is as follows: a knee length wool coat and leather boots that come to mid-calf, which leaves only a few inches of leggings exposed to the cold weather.

I made the coat 2 years ago and will have to feature it here before it retires. It’s a fabulous fantasy of a coat (in my humble opinion).

I’m not really sure what all to say about this skirt. It’s a circle skirt made from medium weight flannel and a cotton lining. What makes this skirt special is the rivets!

Sewing the skirt was a piece of cake. I got to use my newly-transferred-onto-pattern-paper skirt pattern, which is infinitely easier to work with than crumbling tissue paper!

The shell is flannel and the lining is cotton. I was worried the lining fabric was too thick but it lays nicely under the flannel. I think it adds a bit of warmth.

I sewed the shell and lining separately, then basted them together at the waist. There are in-seam pockets in the shell, made from the lining fabric.

I attached the waist band and lapped zipper per usual, hemming the layers separately.

The last step was making the belt loops and attaching the rivets. The loops were stitched, turned, and top stitched. I sewed the top of the loop to the inside of the waist band.

The rivets came from my local shop. I bought the rivets themselves and a little tool to aid attachment. They’re teeny rivets of a copper color; both sides are rounded and smooth.

I made an awful racket hammering away at them! The only difficulty was keeping my cat out of harm’s way. (Steady the tools…push kitty out of the way…hammer…push kitty out of the way…repeat)

It was a fun change of pace (and I got to hit things! bonus!). After several wears, including a wedding, all the rivets are still in place.