Dear Costume Goddess,

I wrote in with a question on making an eight-point skirt and you provided three wonderful ways to do this. I have just finished making a skirt with 2 squares of chiffon layered and it turned out beautifully. I am interested in trying your multi-pointed skirt design [as shown] and have a question about it. Since one side of the panel is straight do you assemble the skirt with all the straight sides going in the same direction or do they all come in towards the center? Could both sides of the panels be cut curved like a bird's feather or is it better to have one straight? Thanks for all your help, and I am looking forward to trying your multi-pointed skirt design.

--Linda Poynter

Dear Linda,

Thanks for your wonderful feedback.

The multi-pointed skirt can be done any number of ways. I sewed my panels with one straight side simply because the curved side is a little trickier to get looking smooth. But both sides could be finished with a curved bottom to resemble a feather, as you say.

I assembled the panels in random fashion, not putting much importance on which side was towards the center. Try pinning the whole thing together on a band and see which way you like it, before stitching. I'm lucky enough to have an industrial Juki machine available to me, which has a tiny feed dog and foot that edge-stitches fine fabric like silk beautifully. Some sergers have a setting for a tiny overlocked thread edge. With a regular home sewing machine it might be more difficult. Buy a small sample of whatever fabric you want to use, and try making some narrow double-turned hems, including curves. I do these in one operation, but doing it in two steps is fine too. (Turn once, edge-stitch, trim closely, turn again, edge-stitch.) If it's making you tear your hair out, use an easier fabric. Instead of silk chiffon, try sheer knit chiffon (called "stretch" chiffon), a lingerie-type of fabric which doesn't ravel and might need only a single turned edge instead of a double turned edge. (Beware, this can melt from a hot iron). Experiment with any fabric you like. I chose silk because it's so "floaty", but in general knits will be easier to handle, because they don't ravel much and have some "give" which makes hemming curves easier.

It's also not out of the question to make the edges square instead of curved, (have you heard of a "carwash" skirt?) or pointed at a 45-degree angle. If you have straight angles on your belt , or square or diamond-shaped jewels, it would all work together.

Another thing I've done with these feathery panels is sew "tufts" of them on the bra straps to make feathery shoulder decorations, or on a sequin armband for feathery arm decorations, as illustrated above.

--The Costume Goddess

Other articles on this web site that you may find helpful include:

Ask The Costume Goddess: Making An 8-Point Skirt. How to make an 8-point skirt.

How To Make A Narrow Hem. Shira describes how to make the narrow hem recommended above.

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