And I'm finally out of school, leaving me tons of time to work on all my crafty projects and work on my brand new blog! And along with summer comes a whole new wardrobe just bursting with possibilities. It's time to put the winter clothes away and transition our spring pieces into lighter, cooler and brighter outfits. But what better piece works for both spring and summer than a floral maxi skirt?
Before I show you guys what I've been working on for the past few weeks, allow me to give a little back story. I've always been into sewing and fashion design even when I was a kid. I would make little sleeping bags for my Barbies with fabric scraps and a needle and thread since the time I was five. I later started making simple dresses for my American Girl Dolls with fabric and hair ties and safety pins. When I was about eight, I learned how to use a sewing machine and started making things from patterns. When I was about nine, I mad a matching set of a shirt and skirt out of a pale purple polyester (or polyESTHER, get it?). Looking back, I can hardly believe I wore that. Yes, I wore them at the same time. And they were made out of the same fabric and everything. But a few years later, I rediscovered them in a box in my basement. And you know what I decided to do with the skirt? Yep. Reuse it.
I also found in a different box in my basement a lovely floral printed chiffon that just so happened to be a similar shade of purple to the old skirt I made. They were destined to be together.
It's probably not hard to guess that I'm not the same size as I was when I was nine. The old purple skirt did not fit my hips at first, but luckily I had some scraps from when I originally made the skirt, and was able to add some panels on the sides of the skirt to make it fit me again. I added and elastic and put the chiffon on top and it was all ready to wear!
Lessons Learned: It may have been pattern free, but that doesn't mean it was easy. Waistbands are one of the more horrible things on this planet. It took me several hours to get this one just right. Patterns can definitely make things easier. Also, make sure you can walk in your skirt. I wore this one to school for a day, and, even though I was constantly holding it up, by the end of the day the chiffon had a tear in the back seam. It was no problem at all to add a slit where there had been a tear, but if you're making a skirt, just be sure you can walk in it.
