Carrie Bradshaw Month 2: Scout
This is part two of a series in which I pay tribute to everyone’s favourite fictional fashionista. To read the other posts, click here.
For my next project, I chose this red and white skirt from season 4 episode 7. The location is ‘Scout’, Steve and Aidan’s bar in SoHo.
The skirt is Prada spring 2001 RTW and it was also styled with a black long sleeved top on the catwalk.
I’m making my own version from…. tshirts, of course!
Both of these items came from the Sue Ryder shop in Upminster (though the tags are different) for £2 each (on sale!).
This simple skirt really couldn’t have been easier to make. Firstly, I considered the design, noticing that the red stripes are thick or thin, and the white stripes are all the same thickness, apart from the ones at the top and bottom which are thinner. For simplicity’s sake, I made the thick red stripes twice the width of the thin red stripes, and the white stripes three times the width of the thin red stripes. A quick bit of maths later, it transpired that the optimum width of a thin red stripe would be 1.75cm, making a thick red stripe 3.5 cm and a white stripe 5.25 cm, except for the top and bottom ones which are 3.5 cm. The top and bottom white stripes were actually cut double the width so they could be folded over (so I didn’t have to make a hem). The seam allowance had to be reduced to the bare minimum, 0.5 cm (which is the depth of an overlocker seam) in order to get all the white stripes out of the white shirt. This is based on a total skirt length of 56cm. More excessively complicated maths describing this really very simple situation is below, for those that are interested.
Enough maths… time to start cutting!
I use a rotary cutter, cutting board and a long ruler (actually, a pattern master) to cut these stripes accurately and exactly straight. I cut the shirts through both front and back at the same time to help with keeping cutting lines straight and on-grain.
Before sewing it all together, I cut each stripe (which was actually a loop) up the side seams. I laid it all out on the floor to check whether I had the right number of pieces. You’ll notice below that some of the white stripes are already shorter (at the top of the skirt) – because they were cut from between the armscyes of the the white tshirt, which was all that was left. The waist of the skirt will be slimmer than the bottom anyway, so no problem.
Here’s how the front looks overlocked together. I had to be very careful to be accurate about my 0.5 cm seam allowance so that all the stripes were even widths!
Once both the front and back were done, I trimmed the edges off. Note that I am curving in from the hip to the waist and slightly curving in from the waist to the hip as well. You can see the doubled over top and bottom stripes in this picture too.
Here’s the final skirt after pressing.
Tracking down the bar that doubles for ‘Scout’ in the series was no problem at all since it regularly gets busloads of SATC fans stopping by. It’s O’Nieals on the corner of Grand Street and Baxter Street. Now, this came as a slight surprise to me as I know my SATC trivia. In one episode, Carrie heads down to the about-to-open bar to give the boys a gift of a Mulberry plant, “because the bar is on Mulberry Street”. Turns out that Mulberry Street is the next block down, so I’ll let them off.
We had dinner there on a Sunday night which was great as it was all but deserted, a great time to go. The staff are certainly used to SATC-tourists and were very friendly! (we stopped short of ordering Cosmopolitans, though). One regular patron told us that he had seen SJP in real life a number of times and that in real life she is ‘tiny’!
It’s a great bar. As Carrie observes in the series, it feels like Aidan. There is a lot of heavy wood and the decor is quite masculine. The most spectacular part is the ceiling, which is entirely made of carved wood panels, it’s beautiful.
You can see that we had fun trying to recreate the original photo… though there was no way I was doing the bare midriff/flat cap/bum bag look! Even Carrie Bradshaw has trouble pulling this one off :)
We had also headed over to Greenwich Village earlier that day to check out another couple of SATC must-sees.
The first was the Magnolia Bakery, where the girls have cupcakes while discussing Steve/Aidan. I looked, but couldn’t see a bench outside where the girls must have sat. We had red velvet cupcakes which were delicious!
We also headed over to 66 Perry Street in Greenwich Village which is the exterior that’s used for Carrie’s apartment in the series (though they say in the programme it’s somewhere on the upper east side). There were other SATC fans there taking photos, which I think is a pretty normal occurrence. It’s on a great, quiet street, and you can really imagine Big waiting outside in a limo. We weren’t lucky enough to see him, though ;-)
Charity Shop Chic 
Fantastic stuff, the maths required to make this skirt seriously hurts my brain ;o) I’m loving the location shoots too!
Marie, that is quite simple maths, it’s just my crappy explanation which makes it seem complicated!
We had SO much fun going round to those locations, especially the bar. It’s a must for any SATC fans in New York.
I’m calculating how soon I can get down to the local charity shop for some tee shirts…So CooL!! P.s good call on the no-midriff
Thank you Kym! Yeah there’s no way you’ll be seeing my midriff any time soon ;-)
Wonderful work.
Thanks, Kim!
Fantastic! and I have to say, as an engineer, I’m loving the way you did the math. But that’s the geeky side of me :)
Very cute… once I get caught up on the kids Halloween costumes, maybe I’ll give this a try!
Thanks, Ali! Sometimes maths is the easiest way (or only way) to explain something. This is a really easy make – you should definitely give it a go!
I really enjoy seeing all of your creations! You do such a spectacular job, every time. I often times like your version better than the original. Now: to get my tush in gear and start recreating. :)
Yes: DO IT! It’s so much fun cutting things up and making them better. I can’t recommend it enough. Have fun! And thanks for the kind comment! :)
WOW. I humbly bow before your awesome refashions because this one just takes the cake!!! So very well done!
Haha thanks Meg! :) You are too kind!
If you liked this… wait til you see what’s coming up!
Fantastic! I follow several refashion blogs, and am always very impressed with what you do with your thrift finds. Many others simply resize, and shorten whatever they find.
Hi Cathy, thanks for the kind comment. I do try to go the ‘extra mile’ with these projects. Really glad you are enjoying reading and thanks for your support!
I follow you in a while and every day you surprise me more. Thanks for the tons of inspiration. Kisses
Oh, thank you! You’re welcome :)
Very impressed by the maths involved in this!
Thanks Erica, it’s not really that complicated. Only the explanation is complex ;-)
Just stumbled across your blog – I love this series of posts and that skirt looks fantastic! Such a great way to transform two boring t-shirts!
Thanks! Glad you liked it. Stay tuned for more similar projects coming up!
I agree with cathynd95, I find a lot of refashions disappointing because they simply shorten the length, take in the side seams, give a one shoulder look, cut off the collar, or maybe add a belt — not much of a refashion in my book. Your refashions are the complete opposite. Just like sewIthought blog, you both have the eye for seeing a completely different garment from a dowdy one and transform the new one into something so amazing. I love how you have been recreating Carrie’s garments — wasn’t that a show fun!
Hi Learningnewtricks, thanks for the comment. It’s true there are a lot of refashionistas out there and everyone has their own unique style. My personal style tends to lean towards sewing completely from scratch with recycled materials, and taking on longer or more complex projects. But each to their own! I am glad you are enjoying this second ‘Carrie’ series – it has been so much fun to make and photograph. I can’t wait to show you all the series finale which is coming up next week.
PS Yes I am also a fan of Angie at SewIthought :)
A friend of mine, (who is a seamstress) told me about your site. WOW, I’ve come away with a few thoughts. I couldn’t sew my way out of a paper bag, and YOU have an amazing talent. Well done!
Well I’m glad you enjoyed reading about my projects, hope you found something helpful! Thanks for the compliment, it’s so great to get good feedback!
Hi there i made this skirt once aswell as part of my Carrie Bradshaw thing lol i made mine with blue and white striped fabric and a elasticated waist.
You ive awesome aswell
Hi Kay, thanks for the comment! This would look great in blue and white.