Liner Notes

I managed to finish my Lanesplitter skirt! I decided to line it with a poly/cotton knit jersey fabric and make a waistband at the same time, rather than knitting in a waistband. There are lots of ways this could have been done, but my objectives were to 1. make it quick, 2. enclose the top edge of the knitting, and 3. reduce bulk. In case you're interested, here's how I did it:

1. Wash and block the knit skirt. It's basically a large rectangle, and I measured it after it was blocked and before it was seamed.

2. Cut the jersey fabric the same width as the skirt, but 2 inches longer, making sure to orient the stretch of the fabric across the width. These dimensions mean that once the jersey is seamed using a standard 5/8" seam allowance, it will be just slightly less wide than the skirt itself. The waistband will use up 2-1/2" of the height, and the hem will use up another 1/2", so the liner will end up being about 1" shorter than the skirt.

3. Once the skirt and liner are each seamed, with wrong sides together, baste the skirt 2-1/2" below the top edge of the lining. Put the seam of the knitted skirt on the opposite side as the seam from the lining to reduce bulk.


4. Fold down 1/4" on the top raw edge of the lining, and then fold this down towards the right side of the knit skirt, enclosing the top edge of the knitting. Sew in place, using a topstitching foot if available. Leave a 2" gap to insert elastic.


5. Insert 1" elastic, adjust to fit, and sew ends of elastic together. Finish topstitching remaining 2" gap.


6. Add a 1/2" hem to the bottom of the lining, if desired. Since it won't unravel, you really could just leave it alone if you prefer.

Voila!


More pictures on Ravelry.

Rainbow Connection

I know I'm going to shock you, but I have actual knitting content to share with you today! The Lanesplitter Skirt was one of the WIPs I wanted to tackle. I had started this one back in July, soon after the pattern came out, and used Noro Kureyon 233. It was a fun knit, and I loved the colorway, except that I didn't love the way the colors alternated in stripes. I frogged my first attempt and found a better home for the yarn.


I cast on again, this time in Noro Silk Garden 279, but didn't get very far before I got distracted by Life. I came back to this skirt a few weeks ago and have really enjoyed it. I tell you what--if you ever lose your knitting mojo, I highly recommend a simple Noro project to get you connected to your knitting again. The ever-changing colors will have you doing "just one more row" to see how things come out!


I'm all done with my knitting now and just need to figure out whether to line it and what to do with the waistband. I also need to find boots to go with this skirt :-D.

[BTW, the whole time I wrote this, I could hear Kermit's voice in my head singing, "Why are there so many songs about Noro?" LOL!]