I have a costume event next Sunday and I hope to have a functional Edwardian outfit for it. I just need a skirt to make it wearable. I am doing Truly Victorian’s Trumpet Skirt in a black pin stripe.

For those of you haven’t made this skirt, you should know there is a lining under the fashion fabric. This lining is 2 inches shorter than the skirt itself and it has a ruffle attached to it.

The job of this ruffle is to hold the bottom of the skirt out in the trumpet shape. It is the lining and ruffle that seems to be the most labor intensive and time consuming part of the whole skirt. This lining and ruffle gives you two more HUGE hems to do and I find gathering and attaching ruffles fiddly.
There are two hems because you don’t just attach the ruffle to the bottom of the lining. you attach it so the bottom edge of the ruffle is even with the bottom edge of the lining.

My theory on why it is assembled this way is that the ruffle supports the skirt and the lining supports the ruffle.
As you can see, in the interest of saving time, I machine sewed the hems. My thinking is that you wont be able to see it when I wear the skirt so it wont matter. I will hand sew the actual fashion fabric hem. If ever I get more keen on authenticity and “how it was really done” or if I decide to enter a contest, I can go back and re do those hems. But for my “fun larking about” the machine hems will do.
I have the placket, waist band, hooks and hem left to do so that it is wearable. There is a final step of adding some stiffening to the skirt hem to help hold it out that likely wont happen on time for the event.
I am running out of time! I need to retire! Work is getting in the way of my sewing!