Curated by ITF - Issue 11
Barkly skirt Hack Kit
So, you’ve made a Barkly toile and added a Barkly skirt (or two!) to your wardrobe. You’ve even made a skirt block. But where to now? This month in Curated by ITF we’re going to take you on a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ in garment design with the Barkly skirt Hack Kit! (Don’t forget to pack your creativity! *wink wink*)
Once you know how to sew and fit your own garments, learning how to hack a pattern is the natural next step in expanding your sewing prowess. But, understanding the 'Why?' and 'Why Not?' is key to transferring your newly-learned skills to other patterns so that you get a well-designed garment for all your effort. By hacking patterns it also means that you have a base to work from (a base that already fits you) so you don’t need to start from scratch. The Barkly skirt Hack Kit offers an array of tips, tricks and clever techniques to help you do just that!
Want to add pleats? Sure thing - how does three different styles sound?
Like the sound of a front button placket? We’ve got it covered.
Gathers? We can help with how much volume to add, or show you how to create a skirt with tiers. And for those who prefer pants over skirts, we even have a tutorial showing you how to draft culottes from a skirt pattern!
The Barkly skirt Hack Kit has over 100 pages of instructions and illustrations, and that’s just the start! We’ve also included instructions for flounces, tiers and a lantern skirt! And just like most of the additional resources we create at In the Folds, the Hack Kit has been designed to be used alongside a range of different patterns, so you will be reaching for it over and over, long into the future! When it comes to sewing the hacks, we've included a range of resources to help you work out the best order of construction, fabric yardage, and included a deep dive into some specific sewing techniques that you may need for sewing your hacked skirt.
Please note: This listing does not include access to the Barkly skirt pattern. You will receive the Barkly skirt Hack Kit, which provides instructions and supporting tutorials to create new skirt styles, all from the Barkly skirt pattern. If you would like to purchase the Barkly skirt pattern, please purchase Issue 10 of Curated.
Please note: This product can only be purchased by Current Curated by ITF subscribers. If you would like to sign-up you can do so here.
Hack Details
The hacks included in our Hack Kit:
- Skirt with box pleats (and tips for adding different types of pleats to a pattern)
- Adding a centre front button stand to a skirt pattern
- Adding horizontal panel lines - curved or straight
- Adding a gathered panel to a straight seam or curved seam
- Adding a flounce to a skirt pattern
- Drafting a lantern skirt
- Adding an elastic waistband to a skirt
- Drafting a straight waistband
- Drafting culottes from a skirt pattern
- Drafting an inset pocket
As always, these tutorials have been created so you can use them over and over and adapt them to any project you like. All the hacks are supported by a range of tutorials that cover all the basics of drafting your own patterns. This includes everything you need to know about tracing patterns, marking notches, adding seam allowances, and checking and truing patterns and darts.
Skills library
One of the challenges of pattern hacking is that you no longer have instructions for how to make the garment. We've solved this problem by including a range of resources to help you work out the best order of construction, fabric yardage, and included a deep dive into some specific sewing techniques that you may need for sewing your hacked skirt.
Mighty Networks community
By purchasing this issue you will gain access to the extra resources we shared in our online community group when we released the project. This means that you will be able to ask questions, share your makes and connect with other makers who are also on a mission to learn new skills and sew clothing in a slow and conscious way.
Please note: The pattern hacks in the Barkly skirt Hack Kit are based on the Barkly skirt pattern, so we'd suggest grabbing a copy of Issue 10 to support the skills you will be learning through Issue 11 (although you could apply most of the hacks to other skirt patterns if you wanted to).
Difficulty
We created a range of different hacks for the Barkly skirt. They have been designed so that no matter what your patternmaking experience is, there will be something for you.
Are you new to pattern hacking? Try adding a horizontal panel line or some pleats. This is a great place to start your pattern hacking journey and will help you gain confidence.
Ready to level up? We'd suggest adding a curved seam to your Barkly.
For those of you who want to learn a whole heap of new skills, give drafting culottes a go! This will give you a chance to try out a lot of new patternmaking skills and level up your drafting abilities.
Keen to learn as much as you can? Try them all! You can make multiple skirts or combine a few of the hacks into the one skirt. You will be able to download the Hack Kit as soon as you receive it and will be able to refer back to it as much as you like. Apply the skills you learn to the Barkly skirt or skirt block and then practice them on other patterns in your stash.
By working through the Hack Kit, you will gain confidence in: altering sewing patterns to suit your style, adding seam allowance, checking patterns come together correctly, adding design details such as panel lines, flounces tiers and gathers. Altering the design of a garment by changing the waistband, adding length or adding flare.
Digital product details
The Barkly skirt Hack Kit: 109 of patternmaking tutorials and content. The booklet is suitable for printing on both A4 and US letter sized paper, or can be viewed onscreen using a PDF viewer.
If you have any questions please see our FAQ and Digital Product Policy.