By Janome Maker: Meredith Daniel
I am a girl who loves detail. Some of my favorite blouses are those with fine elements like complex pleating or pintucks. When I discovered Janome’s pintucking foot, I immediately wanted to try this “hack” at pintucking. Traditionally each tuck must be folded and sewn individually, making pintucks a true labor of love and a sign of a finely made garment. A hugely popular element in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, pintucking is a feature that we don’t see as much in the days of fast fashion. Janome’s pintucking foot certainly does speed things along, and you can add this beautiful detail to all sorts of projects. Today I’m going to show you how I used it to make a skirt, which you can make according to your own measurements.
Supplies –
- A lightweight fabric such as voile or lawn for the main skirt (56” wide)
- Lining fabric (I used a plain white lawn)
- 1.5” soft elastic for waistband
- Cotton thread for pintuck cords (I used #10 Egyptian cotton crochet thread)
- Janome pintucking foot (I used the narrow one)
- Janome pintucking cord guides
- Twin needle
- Pencil or something to mark fabric that will wash out
- Safety pin
- Threads that coordinate with the main fabric
- Pocket Template (optional)
Machine Used
Feet used:
The design of this skirt was inspired by Horror Vacui, which is an incredible couture brand that features a lot of pintucking, pleating, and scallops in their designs. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at making such a gorgeous garment, and so this is my “tribute” to their awe-worthy style
Please note that this project as shown is not an afternoon project. Give yourself at least two sewing sessions to make this! This method of creating pintucks is in every way faster than the traditional method, but it is still a very time consuming task that requires you to be paying attention so that the rows remain even. That said, don’t let the time discourage you from this project! Think of it as a work of art that you are creating for yourself, and don’t rush it, but enjoy the process of creating. I made a great dent on an audiobook while I sewed and it was a very relaxing process
Before we begin, I want to walk you through the basics of the pintucking foot because it will help you to determine how much fabric you’ll need whether you choose to make this skirt with me or if you choose to embellish some other project with pintucks. Always begin by creating a swatch so that you know how much shrinkage the pintucks will create. The pintucking feet, both the narrow and the wide, have several rows in which the corded pintucks are guided through. Depending on where you place your last pintuck, your spacing will be very close or further apart. Additionally, the size of the cording you choose will have an effect on the shrinkage created by a pintuck. For instance, if you choose a thicker cord and pair with the wide pintucking foot, you will have a greater degree of shrinkage, and greater more if you choose to space your pintucks close together.
Here, I’ll demonstrate how I did my swatch, which will hopefully clarify my above explanation.
Switch over to pintucking mode by attaching your twin needle, second spool of thread, pintucking foot and cord guide. Thread your cording thread into the guide. If you are sewing on the Continental M7, you can click on the shirt button, then over to the feet options, and then choose pintucking. If on another machine, make sure your foot plate is good with a twin needle, and then adjust your stitch length to be about 2.5 or so.
I cut a 4” square of lawn fabric, and using the narrow pintucking foot paired with cord guide A, which replaces the clear bobbin plate, with #10 thread in the cording guide, I sewed a line down the center of the swatch piece.
From there, I inserted the previously sewn line into the third notched section away from the needles, and continued to sew lines of pintucks to the edge of the swatch. I did this until I covered the full swatch. Note that the pintucks ate up some of the fabric once I got to the edge, so it is not good practice to sew all the way to the raw edge as I did here.
So what did I learn here? Aside from the sides being a bit wonky from sewing too close to the edge, I learned that my 4” swatch shrunk down to 3” with the foot, spacing, and cording I used. This told me that I needed to add at least 25% to the length of my skirt which would be pintucked to account for the shrinkage.
I absolutely recommend practicing until you come up with exactly the spacing and thickness of pintucks that you are happy with. I will be demonstrating the remainder of the project off of the swatch I created and the measurements I need, but every single part can be customized according to the size you need for you.
Now its time to measure your body. I made this skirt for my daughter and we came up with the following list of wants/measurements:
the total length we wanted for the skirt: 22” (just above the knee)
waist measurement: 24”
waistband width: 1.5” (finished)
skirt top portion: about 8”
skirt pintucked portion: 14” (finished)
scalloped hem (desired detail)
pockets
So first I know that the pintucked portion needs about 25% extra, so I know 14/4=3.5 and 14+3.5=17.5”
I also know that since I want about 8” of the top of the skirt to be plain, I need to subtract the waistband width from that to give me the top skirt portion. 8-1.5=6.5”
So I add 17.5+6.5=24” total skirt length to cut
The waistband will need to be 4” x the width of the skirt (you’ll see why that’s the size later on)
All that is needed before cutting it to determine width. This skirt is not overly wide or full, and we used the width of the fabric which was 54”. In general, its a good rule for a skirt that is meant to be more shapely to be 1.5-2x wider than your hips.
Going off of her measurements, this is what we cut:
main skirt (2) 27 x 24”
waistband (1) 54 x 4”
lining (1) 54 x 20” (should be a few inches shorter than the main skirt)
pockets (4) using template and lining fabric
Let’s begin sewing!
Place pockets about 1.5” or so down from the top of your main skirt piece. (Feel free to adjust this to what is comfortable for you!)
Starting with just the standard A foot and single needle, use a 3/8” seam allowance to attach pockets to either side of the skirt panels on both pieces.
Press pocket pieces away from skirt, and then edgestitch along the pocket fold to keep it inside the skirt when worn.
Place skirt panels right sides together and place pins or clips to keep together when sewing. Using a 1/2” seam allowance, and beginning at the top of one side, sew down the side until you are 1/2” below the top of the pocket, and with the needle down, pivot and continue sewing around the pocket, pivot again, and continue to sew down the side until you reach the bottom.
Repeat for second side of skirt. Finish raw seam allowances as desired using M foot and overedge stitch or a zig zag or serger. Turn skirt right side out.
Just below where the pocket ends, we are going to mark a horizontal line across the skirt (all the way around). You will want to either pull up the pocket and pin in place, or just hold it out of the way when we begin to sew in the next step.
Switch over to pintucking mode by attaching your twin needle, second spool of thread, pintucking foot and cord guide. Thread your cording thread into the guide. If you are sewing on the Continental M7, you can click on the shirt button, then over to the feet options, and then choose pintucking. If on another machine, make sure your foot plate is good with a twin needle, and then adjust your stitch length to be about 2.5 or so.
Pull all threads including the cord through about 4” before you begin. Using the line you just marked as your guide and beginning on a side seam, sew around the entire skirt, carefully avoiding catching the pockets. Stop right as you reach your beginning stitch, raise the foot and needle, and then gently pull the threads. Cut about 4” of excess. Pull the top threads to the back, and then tie securely by knotting 2 to 3 times. Yes, this is slow work, but it is absolutely worth it to secure your careful workmanship!
Using the spacing you determined in the swatching stage, place your previous pintucking line in the appropriate space (I used the third to the left of the needles) and repeat the first step. Stop to tie your threads off.
Repeat this until you reach your desired skirt length. Remember this is the bulk of the project, and you can reasonably expect it to take many hours spread over a couple of sewing sessions. Its all a part of the process! I sewed about 60 rows on this short skirt, and it took 10 or so hours.
When you have reach your desired length, switch back to standard sewing mode with a single needle, and either fold under your hem twice and stitch to finish the hem, or add in a ruffle or scallops to finish.
Once your main skirt panel is complete, its time to add the lining and waistband.
The lining should be the same width as the waistband. Stitch down the side, and finish the seam if necessary. Then fold up the bottom raw edge once and then once more and stitch around to finish the hem of the lining.
With the main skirt right side out, and the lining wrong side out (the wrong sides of each should be together), baste the two skirt panels together along the top raw edge using a 1/4” seam allowance.
The waistband should also be the same width as the main skirt piece, so cut to the appropriate size if needed, and then join the short ends to create a circle. Fold in half lengthwise and press along the fold. Open and finish one of the sides of the waistband with your preferred finishing stitch or serge.
Place the unfinished edge of the waistband piece right sides together along the top of the skirt, and sew all the way around with a 3/8” seam allowance
Press the seam allowance up toward the waistband, and refold the waistband.
Beginning at a side seam, stitch in the ditch along the waistband which will catch and secure the finished seam allowance on the inside of the skirt. Stop sewing and backstitch about 2” before you reach the beginning of your stitches so you have a slot to insert your waistband
Cut your waistband elastic to size- I find that cutting it about an inch shorter than my actual waistband is often the most comfortable width for me. Attach a safety pin to the end of your waistband elastic and thread it through the opening and all the way around the waistband, being careful not to pull the back end all the way into the channel yet.
Once you reach the other end, make absolutely certain your elastic is not twisted, then overlap the ends by about 1/2” or so, and secure with a box stitch, or by zig zagging back and forth several times.Inert: secure elastic.jpeg, secure elastic 2.jpeg
Pull the elastic fully into the waistband channel, then stitch in the ditch to full enclose the waistband.
Optional: I really like to stitch at least one row of stitches on the waistband to prevent twisting and to keep gathers pretty even. To do this, first space out the gathers pretty evenly along the waistband. Once you are happy with that, place at least four pins around the waistband. Lengthen the stitch on your machine a bit, and put the needle and foot down on the waistband. Very gently stretch the waistband so that the fabric is taut and the elastic is stretched between two pins. Sew slowly, readjusting your hands on the waistband as often as needed until you have gone all the way around the waistband. This securing stitch can be done in the middle, or you can do what I did here and sew two rows.
Alright, my friend! You have done it! You have made it to the end, and are ready to wear your new creation. It has certainly been a labor of love, but I hope you are enormously proud of yourself. The result is pretty impressive! I and everyone else at Janome would love to see your work, so please tag us in your makes.
