Summer Skirts

I was inspired by my friend and fellow etsy seller Candy to make my daughters a couple of adorable Easter skirts a few months back. And since I just can’t seem to be bothered with patterns these days I figured these were a good project that would actually get done. Well, I’ve since made 7 more and with the addition of my new ruffler foot (which I swear looks like something invented during the industrial revolution) I can make these in about 45 minutes now. I will never ever gather anything with two rows of basting stitches again. (Or with the zig-zag over the dental floss trick.) Never because I’d rather have a root canal.

Here’s my formula to make these skirts without a pattern. As if you even need the formula.

Three layered skirt: Measure your daughter’s waist and multiply by 2.  My girls have the same waist of 21”. So I cut a strip of fabric 42”. (If you are brave enough to make a skirt without a pattern I assume you can figure out how long to make each layer.) For the middle layer multiply the width of the first layer (42”) by 1.5”. So that’s how wide the second layer is cut, 63”. For the third layer multiply 63”x1.5. You get the picture. (For the skirt on the bottom left I used my pinking blade so I could leave the raw edges showing. Loved it!)

 

  For the two layer skirt I think it turns out better to double the width of the first layer for the one ruffle. So again, for a 21” waist cut your first layer 42” wide and the second layer 82” wide.  I’m thinking I need to make myself one out of an irish handkerchief-weight linen or gauze-y cotton.  Hallie would rather wear a skirt anyday so I think I’ll make her a couple more. Nothing is better than summer. Nothing.

Camp Sew Fun

The kids have been out of school just about a week now, but so far so good.  I must admit I was a bit anxious as the school year came to an end. After all, the kids fight like cats and dogs on the weekend so who is to say that the other five days of the week would yield a different result? Most days I believe that my kids would sell each other for a nickel—with or without a coat of many colors. So what’s a mom to do? Structure is the answer my friends.

I decided that every Tuesday this summer would be Camp Sew Fun in our house. So for this week’s projects the kids wanted  to make banners for their rooms. Imagine that, their mom makes and sells banners to everyone else on the planet, and yet my own kids don’t even have one. So I put one of my sewing machines on the lowest possible speed (lest Camp Sew Fun result in a trip to the E.R. for removal of a sewing machine needle) and let the kids sew their own banners. They picked their own fabrics, traced the letters, cut them out, and pieced them together. My oldest son had the hardest time cutting out his letters and my youngest daughter excelled at cutting hers.  Go figure. Now I just need to figure out what we can sew the rest of the summer.