Thread: would a joint seam on charmeuse silk skirt be unsightly?

I recently dyed some of that 19mm charmeuse and it was a lot of work..my current supplier can sew 34 inch length skirts for me in a 12mm silk because she can only get a max of 44 inch wide fabric

but a seamstress i was talking to in town today mentioned that 44 inch fabric can be used but she'd have to put what she calls joint hems in them..i have no idea what this means..anyone have any pics or experience?

are they unsightly? would they show up like in a bad way on solid color charm silk? what about dyed charm? would the pattern be enough to distract from the hem if it is in fact unsightly?

I think I know what she is talking about. What she would do is add a small piece of fabric at the bottom. She may use a flat felled seam or a French seam. Both of which are enclosed. If you look at the sari skirts which you sell, you will see what I mean. I know all the ones I have have a piece added at the bottom because saris are generally made from 45" fabric.

I am including a link to a sewing sight which lists common seams. This happens to be for cotton, but I don't think - and I could be wrong - that there is much more for silk.

sewing seams for cotton fabric; sewing seams for knit fabric;kids can sew seams

{{{{HUGS}}}

Jesennia, she isn't using a good pattern. She should be able to get longer than 34" skirts out of 44" wide fabric. The little half circle that you cut out at the top of each panel for the hip opening does not need to have a 10" radius. A 6 inch radius circle should do fine for a skirt with 2 half circle panels, then you can get skirts up to 38" in length so long as the hip measurement isn't more than 43" or so. On paper, the 6" radius half circle produces a half circle with and edge of 6*pi = around 19" (thus two panels would acommodate 38" hips) except that this edge will stretch significantly on the bias (just as the bottom does), adding several inches to the waistband.

A 10 inch radius circle is actually going to produce a bulky waistband (62" plus the bias stretch for a 2 panel skirt) unless it is for a very full figured dancer.

All this is assuming that you attach a waistband casing to the top of the panels, rather than turning over a self-casing (which is difficult and sloppy), and that you are doing a rolled hem on the edge that takes up minimal length.

Originally Posted by jesennia

I recently dyed some of that 19mm charmeuse and it was a lot of work..my current supplier can sew 34 inch length skirts for me in a 12mm silk because she can only get a max of 44 inch wide fabric

but a seamstress i was talking to in town today mentioned that 44 inch fabric can be used but she'd have to put what she calls joint hems in them..i have no idea what this means..anyone have any pics or experience?

are they unsightly? would they show up like in a bad way on solid color charm silk? what about dyed charm? would the pattern be enough to distract from the hem if it is in fact unsightly?

If you are making 1.5 circle skirts, the little half circle cut out can be even smaller -- 5" would produce a 39" skirt with hip band up to 43" (plus bias stretch), and 4" would produce a 40" skirt with waist up to 38" (plus bias stretch).

So basically, with 44" fabric, you should able to produce a skirt for all but those who are both very tall and very full figured.

Originally Posted by jesennia

I recently dyed some of that 19mm charmeuse and it was a lot of work..my current supplier can sew 34 inch length skirts for me in a 12mm silk because she can only get a max of 44 inch wide fabric

but a seamstress i was talking to in town today mentioned that 44 inch fabric can be used but she'd have to put what she calls joint hems in them..i have no idea what this means..anyone have any pics or experience?

are they unsightly? would they show up like in a bad way on solid color charm silk? what about dyed charm? would the pattern be enough to distract from the hem if it is in fact unsightly?

I've always been able to make circle skirts for myself that were 39-40 inches long out of 44-inch wide fabric without needing to do any piecing. I wonder what's wrong with your current supplier and the seamstress she talked to. See my instructions at Belly Dancing: Making A Circle Skirt for details on how I'm able to achieve a long skirt without piecing out of 44-inch fabric.

i need to sit down with your instructions, Shira, and walk thru them with fabric in hand so that i understand it instead of just passing ideas over to a seamstress :)

do you think the seamstress is having trouble because i asked her to make one with a max waist of 50 inch? so changing the little half circle that is cut out for the waist is what is making it difficult?

thanks you guys, in college i had to sit down and teach myself chemistry, one tiny symbol and word problem at a time..i'm very other brain these days (or no brain according to motherhood) again thanks!