I Tried It

Yep, I’m still around, but I guess I needed a little blog break. I was so tired and a little overwhelmed with getting Augie off to school and starting my little daycare back up again. This year I have 4 in addition to my 3 kids, but thank goodness the 4 are all part-time. I’m starting to get a little routine going and the kids are all adjusting to the change. Their parents all work with Chris so my day is over by 4:30pm and the best part is that I get every school holiday off! (Three day weekend this week and we have a mushroom hunt and an OMSI trip already planned. YEAH.)

So, I’m back and even have some sewing to show you:

(Sorry about the bad picture, but the weather’s been terrible here and I didn’t have enough time to set-up a better shot before giving the gift away today. )

I finally tried House on Hill Road’s Twirly Skirt Tutorial. It seemed like everyone was making these back in the day, but I hadn’t tried one of my own until now.

I made this skirt as a gift for an 8 year old. I did not have any of her measurements so I used some I found on the back of a pattern. Based on these, it looked like the size I would be making was 130cm off of the tutorial. Then I looked at how much fabric I would need and how much I had on hand… I did not have enough as usual. The tutorial called for two widths at 43.5″. I only had one yard so I went with what I had cutting the yard in half so I had my two widths at 36″ and my length at 22″. And thank goodness I did because the skirt turned out so bulky at the waistline! It may have been the fabric I was using since I wanted something a little thicker for the cooler weather. I advise that if you want to try it, make it out of really lightweight fabric to reduce the bulk. The skirt does twirl nicely though due to all the fabric.

Other changes I made was that I did not do the waist tie, but stuck with just the elastic casing. (I’d rather adjust the fit if needed instead of having an 8 year old have to tie it herself- over on the side.) Also, I made my hem a little thicker by doubling the material at the bottom to give the edge a little more weight. I like to have a nice stiff hem that gives shape to the skirt and holds it out a bit. Other than these changes, I followed the rest of the tute closely. Easy.

I bought a shirt on clearance with an ugly embroidered heart near the collar that I had to cover up in order to match the skirt. I appliquéd a daisy with the center covering up the store-bought embroidery:

It’s a little high, but hey it’s cute now and the outfit is complete! Another gift made in an evening and happily given away.

Up next, more skirts with appliquéd t-shirts, but these are hand dyed. It was fun to do and I can’t wait to share it. Come back and read more soon!