Day 338 - Girls floral skirt with a little bit of lace

Little girls skirt with a wee bit of lace. A gift. Modelled by Ms Juliet.

Day 305 - Vintage paisley and doily skirt

Juliet is going to yet another party tomorrow. I found this scrap of fabric in my cupboard which was the perfect size for a skirt, no cutting out required. I added some pieces from a cut up doily and what a cute little skirt it made. This is for the birthday girl by the way, although the model did try to nab it for herself.

Day 290 - 20 minute skirt

This skirt literally only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish, unless you have a 13 month old grabbing everything out of your sewing cabinet and tossing it around the room, which can make things take a wee bit longer. I bought this vintage fabric at an op shop for a couple of dollars about 3 months ago.

Fold over 2 layers of fabric and cut like this. Sew up the sides, hem and make an elastic waistband.

Photo by Ms Juliet.

Day 288 - Beach Tote

Today I have made a tote bag from a skirt I made a couple of years ago when I started sewing a bit. The way I did the panel was by using iron on applique and then sewing it to the base fabric, but it never sat the way I wanted it too. The iron on stuff was too stiff and I really should have just sewn the fabric as a panel. Live and learn.

Here's the skirt.

First I cut it down the two side seams.

I then cut the pockets off some old jeans.

These became external pockets on the bag. I sewed them to the plain side of the skirt. (The back) And sewed up the sides and bottom of the bag.

I found some gingham scraps in one of my craft tubs to use as a bag lining. I had to join a couple of pieces together but since it will be on the inside I didn't mind having a seam.

I added two more old jeans pockets to the lining. I can't stand foraging in my bag all the time for my mobile phone and keys. Conveniently these also had a little pocket that fits a pen. Again I sewed the sides and bottom, tracing the size from the bag outer I had already made.

Then I put the lining inside the bag.The bag is right side out and the lining is inside out.

I use the method of pressing an inch or so of fabric under at the top of each bag and sandwiching the handle in between the layers before top stitching around the entire top of the bag. In my case I decided to use the waistband of the skirt as the handle so it has a bit of a frayed look from where I cut it off the skirt.

Here's my bag.

 Lining.

I'm ready for the beach now. If only it wasn't 200km away. :-)

Day 229 - Cute baby skirt

Another gift for a one year old girl, a cute little skirt in this awesome Amy Butler fabric.

My model is rocking it out once again ;-) .

 

And now all the pressies are wrapped and we are ready to PAR-TAY.

Day 223 - The sewing school files - a skirt

Another beautiful day here today and the boys went out for a couple of hours this morning to milo cricket, so Juliet and I decided to do another sewing lesson.

After our big day yesterday we opted to skip baths in favour of collapsing into bed after books, so you may notice that Juliet still has remnants of face paint from yesterday's party, and a bit glob of glitter paint in her hair from our outdoor painting.

We started off with one of her favourite skirts - made for her by my sister in law.

When we had a look at this skirt we discovered that it was simply the width of the fabric (112cm fabric) cut into a strip and sewn along one side. Easy peasy!

So Juliet set about cutting out a strip - this is leftover fabric from a dress I made her when she was about 3. I love this fabric.

 Happy!

Then she chose some cotton, and this time I showed her how to insert the bobbin and she even threaded the sewing machine needle herself. First time! Sharp eyes.

Here she is sewing up the side edge.

Then I even let her use my overlocker - under close supervision.

After she had overlocked the side seam I overlocked the top and bottom edges and pinned a hem and a top elastic casing for her.







Next I showed her how to press the hem and casing so that it was easier to sew it properly. This is her first time using an iron.

She sewed the hem and the casing, and then inserted the elastic, with a little bit of help from me.

Here is her skirt. Gorgeous!

And here is the model.

 

All this in about an hour! Well done my gorgeous girl, I'm so impressed.

 

Day 141- Crazy Ghanaian pants become skirt

Way back in 1999 I spent a few months living in Ghana and teaching English as a volunteer. I lived with a family during my time there and my local 'mum' made me these amazing patchwork pants with some fabric I purchased at one of the local markets. The thing about this fabric is that it totally encapsulates 'my Ghana' with it's colour and vitality. It brings back wonderful memories of the streets of colour I walked among.

My time spent in Ghana was and remains to be magical in every way. I fell in love with the people and their way of life in an instant. The day I left was a day of great sadness, and were it not for some other commitments I made before going there, I doubt I would ever have left. A part of my heart remains in Africa always.

Here are the patchwork pants below. I haven't worn these for so many years. They never fit properly, were in fact huge in spite of being measured before they were made, and an alteration a couple of years later went a bit wrong due to the side pockets. And as for wearing them now, I may be a little alternative in my fashion sense but even I would feel a little out of place wearing these around the streets of Bendigo.

It's time to get the seam ripper and the scissors out!

First, I used the seam ripper to rip the inner leg seam all the way around (a bit hard to see).

Then I chopped off the legs to the desired length and basically sewed the seams back together, chopping out a little bulk.
I'm happy with this cute little skirt, and can now wear the spirit and colour of Ghana once again.

I am hoping to make something out of the bottom of the legs tomorrow.

Day 121 - The Heart and Polka Dot Skirt

A simple skirt in polka dot corduroy with a heart applique. Size 2-3 mini.

Day 79 - My last little girl's skirt from this quilt and owl pants.

I will get back to my metre of fleece tomorrow but I have some special visitors coming tomorrow from Adelaide and I wanted to make a little gift for one of them. I can't wait to see them.

I have made two things. First is the last quilt skirt I will be making from the vintage chenille quilt that I have made quite a few skirts from. I have given the rest to someone else to make some creations from and give it new life. :)

This skirt has some flowers and dots sewn on from pink corduroy scraps and scraps of another pale blue chenille bedspread.

I also visited a church charity shop this morning and was extremely excited to find another chenille bedspread in fantastic condition in a camel brown colour that will be perfect for little boys clothes. I couldn't believe my luck after looking for over a year and just giving away the other one a week ago. I was obviously meant to give the other one away. It was only $4.50 and is really thick and warm for winter. Expect to see it as part of a creation or three very soon.

The second is a pair of red cords with a little owl friend on a branch.

Day 56 - Refashion old favourite tunic/dress to skirt and headband

Another tough day at our place spent in doctor's waiting rooms confirming my daughter has a broken collar bone from her accident last week. She's been so brave.

This project was so easy it almost feels like cheating. I have a very well loved tunic dress that I've worn to death and still love, but it's a bit stretched and out of shape from being worn through two pregnancies.

Here are the photos.

First cut - always a little sad.

Roll over and create a waistband. Add some elastic. Pretty cute skirt now. I still love the fabric and it's really comfortable. Love the buttons too.

Made a little headband with the extra fabric for the mini gorgeous invalid below.

Day 52 - Refashion of ladies top to girls wrap skirt

Today is yet another beautiful day. My daughter is home from school again taking it easier and slowly getting back to her old self. I wanted to make something for her this morning because she loves it when I make her things and she really appreciates them.

Due largely to her passion for strawberry shortcake, my daughter has a love of anything that has strawberries on it. With that in mind I purchased this cheap ladies knit top at the op shop a while ago with the idea of making it into a skirt for her. Today is the day!

Here is the top.

Step 1 was to cut off the top section. I wanted to take advantage of the gathering already done around the top and keep that bit, so I just chopped off the top and then made a cut down the side seam.

Although it wasn't my original plan, once I cut the side seam it looked like it would make a really cute wrap skirt.

All I did next was hem the two side seams and wrap it around her for size. Then I sewed up the two points where the wrap crosses over. So it has the look of a wrap skirt, but is easy to slip on and off with the elasticised waist.

I had a little strawberry button that was a spare that came with one of her jumpsuits, so I sewed that on at the wrap edge. It's just for looks. The original top wasn't hemmed at the bottom and I left it that way.

Happy customer!

Day 27 - T-shirt + T-shirt = cute skirt

If you've got some old t-shirts you like the design of but don't really wear anymore this could be the solution for you. For me, this project started off with one of my favourite skirts which is made from a sort jersey and just so comfortable. I wanted another one.

Craft cupboard materials

- elastic
- t-shirts

-

Next came this owl t-shirt. I love owls but this was too short so I never wore it. I coupled it with another t-shirt that is a couple of sizes too large because I bought it when I was pregnant with my fourth baby.

I forgot to take photos but I simply cut a paper pattern off the old skirt by drawing around it, and used this to cut a middle panel with the owl tshirt and side panels with the other tshirt. The back of each t-shirt forms the back of the skirt. Then just sew all the panels together, add the band and hem your skirt.

Here is the finished skirt. I added some wide pink elastic I found in my Grandma's old stash but if you have a longer t-shirt you could double some over and make a waist band using the bottom of the t-shirt. I did a little mistake sewing the waistband and learnt not to try to unpick small stitches using my huge dressmaker sheers. OUCH plus bloodstained carpets. Oops.