Uploaded November 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I made a Victorian walking skirt four years ago, and today I'm gonna RIP IT APART! Now I'm better at skirt making and sewing, so I did a Victorian style clothing flip to make this 1890s skirt better. Join me for a cozy studio vlog and sew with me as I enjoy the slow fashion magic of remaking old clothes.
I've been making historical costumes for years now, and I've learned so much more about skirtmaking than when I was first making a walking skirt. So it's easy to wonder, what should I do with my old sewing projects? The beauty of Victorian fashion, like modern ethical fashion, is that rebuilding clothes was expected! Knowing how to resize clothes and how to fix old clothes was no big deal, and so was reworking old clothes and sewing projects to update your style. So I took this five-gore 1890s walking skirt plus the two yards of fabric I had left over, and completely rebuilt it, adding two more gores, a horsehair hem with wool hem braid, and a pocket I can actually use.
There's a lot that goes into learning how to repair old clothes! For this Victorian walking skirt, I first took apart all the pieces, including the placket. Then, I used a different skirt pattern to adjust the original 5 pieces, and draft two new ones for a fuller hem sweep. After sewing all the pieces back together, it was time for placket cutting and stitching. The placket sewing on the original skirt was a bit weird, but I put it back together carefully. Then I decided sewing a horsehair hem into the skirt would give it better fullness at the hem. Fixing the hem took several steps : first sewing the nylon horsehair hem braid to the bottom edge, then binding it with vintage wool hem braid, and finally sewing the horsehair braid on with a blind hem stitch. There a lot of ways for how to sew horsehair braid into a hem, and this one is my favorite.
Finally, it was time for getting dressed in my me made fashion and enjoying my newly remade walking skirt! My favorite part of DIY fashion is knowing that I made so much of my own outfit. DIY clothes and sewing projects are made for this, and it's so satisfying to know that mending clothes or rebuilding clothes is possible. You don't have to give up a piece you love because you've changed size or style, because resizing clothes or reworking old clothes is an option when you know how to sew! So next time you ask yourself what should I do with my old clothes, I hope you think of this cosy sewing vlog and make them into something new.
Join my Patreon for Discord access, behind-the-scenes updates, pattern diagrams, research lists, monthly video chats, and more! patreon.com/snappydragonstudios
Or, you can buy me some Ko-Fi : ko-fi.com/snappydragon
Follow me on IG for more stitchy business : @missSnappyDragon
For business inquiries, send an e-mail to : SnappyDragon at TBHonestSocial dot Com
I do not take personal costume/sewing or research commissions.
Want to send me letters? Send mail to PO Box 11573, Oakland CA, 94611! Letters and cards only please 💚
I made a Victorian walking skirt four years ago, and today I'm gonna RIP IT APART! Now I'm better at skirt making and sewing, so I did a Victorian style clothing flip to make this 1890s skirt better. Join me for a cozy studio vlog and sew with me as I enjoy the slow fashion magic of remaking old clothes.
I've been making historical costumes for years now, and I've learned so much more about skirtmaking than when I was first making a walking skirt. So it's easy to wonder, what should I do with my old sewing projects? The beauty of Victorian fashion, like modern ethical fashion, is that rebuilding clothes was expected! Knowing how to resize clothes and how to fix old clothes was no big deal, and so was reworking old clothes and sewing projects to update your style. So I took this five-gore 1890s walking skirt plus the two yards of fabric I had left over, and completely rebuilt it, adding two more gores, a horsehair hem with wool hem braid, and a pocket I can actually use.
There's a lot that goes into learning how to repair old clothes! For this Victorian walking skirt, I first took apart all the pieces, including the placket. Then, I used a different skirt pattern to adjust the original 5 pieces, and draft two new ones for a fuller hem sweep. After sewing all the pieces back together, it was time for placket cutting and stitching. The placket sewing on the original skirt was a bit weird, but I put it back together carefully. Then I decided sewing a horsehair hem into the skirt would give it better fullness at the hem. Fixing the hem took several steps : first sewing the nylon horsehair hem braid to the bottom edge, then binding it with vintage wool hem braid, and finally sewing the horsehair braid on with a blind hem stitch. There a lot of ways for how to sew horsehair braid into a hem, and this one is my favorite.
Finally, it was time for getting dressed in my me made fashion and enjoying my newly remade walking skirt! My favorite part of DIY fashion is knowing that I made so much of my own outfit. DIY clothes and sewing projects are made for this, and it's so satisfying to know that mending clothes or rebuilding clothes is possible. You don't have to give up a piece you love because you've changed size or style, because resizing clothes or reworking old clothes is an option when you know how to sew! So next time you ask yourself what should I do with my old clothes, I hope you think of this cosy sewing vlog and make them into something new.
Join my Patreon for Discord access, behind-the-scenes updates, pattern diagrams, research lists, monthly video chats, and more! patreon.com/snappydragonstudios
Or, you can buy me some Ko-Fi : ko-fi.com/snappydragon
Follow me on IG for more stitchy business : @missSnappyDragon
For business inquiries, send an e-mail to : SnappyDragon at TBHonestSocial dot Com
I do not take personal costume/sewing or research commissions.
Want to send me letters? Send mail to PO Box 11573, Oakland CA, 94611! Letters and cards only please 💚
