Vlisco un of un (yes!), deux (for sure), trois (maybe)

Ever heard of Vlisco Real Dutch Wax Fabric?

A Circle Skirt

It's been a while since I posted any of my projects. Life has been busy, and I was sick with an upper respiratory bug for nearly 3 months(!). I'm sidling back into sewing with a beautiful Vlisco Genuine Dutch Wax Block fabric that I've been dying to work with. It is a very busy print

 purchased from Angela Marcos' shop LaAntigua on Etsy. This was the first fabric I purchased from Angela, and I couldn't be more delighted with it.

The large-print fabric cried out for a circle skirt, one of my fav summertime garments. I have tons of  'em.  Now I have tons plus one:

 

 

I lined the skirt with Hang Loose static-free lining and had to add a bit of a ruffle to it:

 

Because the fabric was not wide enough for a full circle skirt in the length I wanted, I chose a pattern that featured an added border. To hide the seam between the two pieces, I covered it with a teensy 1/8 inch-wide satin ribbon, first adhered with Steam a Seam Lite and then topstitched.

 Vlisco Real Dutch Wax Fabric is a much-sought-after fabric made in Holland with a strong African influence. According to Angela's website, it is often counterfeited all over the world. She offers tips on how to ensure that what you purchase is the real deal, and of course guarantees her fabrics' authenticity.

I first read about this fabric on Stitcher's Guild, my fav sewing site (I'm one of the admins there, just so you know) on a topic there. It discusses sources for the fabric, pre-washing and sewing information, and photos of some projects made with Dutch Wax fabric.


The fabric is a lovely piece of 100% cotton and the dyeing process results in a print with as much color intensity on the wrong side as the right side.  I prewashed my piece of Vlisco fabric in cool water and color-friendly Tide detergent. It did not fade a single bit. I put a Color Catcher in with the wash and it did not pick up any dyes. 

The fabric softened with washing and lost its waxy scent, which was good.

The pattern I used was McCall's 6570

Modifications to the pattern:
1.  I did not use the waistband piece, choosing to make a grosgrain ribbon facing as I usually do for my circle skirts.

2. I found the recommended cutting layout puzzling. The pieces, including the border pieces, were placed on the crossgrain, necessitating 2 1/2 yards for the skirt and 1 7/8 yards for the border for both 45 and 60 inch fabric.

I had 2 yards of the fabric, 46 inches wide. By placing the skirt on the lengthwise grain I saved over a yard of fabric (1 1/3 yards needed for lengthwise placement).

The border presented a problem though, since I only had 2/3 yards left. I solved it by cutting the contrast's front and back pattern pieces in half, resulting in 4 pattern pieces. These pieces were easier to place on my remaining fabric. I figured with such a busy fabric that the seams would not be obvious. I easily got all of the skirt, border included, out of my two yards of fabric. Of course I did not use the waistband piece with the bow.

I'm loving this skirt. In fact I loved it so much that I threw credit card caution to the winds and went back to Angela's Etsy shop and looked at more Vlisco Dutch Wax fabric. Of course I did not stop at merely looking. Sigh. (wink) Another skirt (different design) is in the works. Stay tuned.