Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Sewing Project: "Twist & Shout" Twirl Skirt for Pre-schoolers



This is Abby's new thing:  refusing to look into the camera, instead posing as if she were contemplating a far off land.
 


Close up:  It's better if you don't look too close.
 My first piece of clothing!  For this project I followed the directions in One Yard Wonders.  The steps were pretty straight forward, but included a bunch of things I've never done before like make an elastic waistband, use piping, make gathers and hem with bias tape.  I did cheat a little and used store bought piping and binding, but I'm going to assume that is what many people would do, not just beginners like me. 

Notes on the project:
-I initially sewed the piping to the inside of skirt when I combined the yoke and bottom half.  I ripped it out and messed with it until I sorted it out.  I needed to flip up the raw edge of the piping before sewing it.  Piping is still a little wonky, but works.

 Backwards piping.  Ugh.

-I really do need to practice my straight stitches.

-Bias tape is too cool for me.  I love the way it looks, but wow do I have a hard time using it.  I've gone over more then a few tutorials on how to sew with it and am still awkward, at best, around it.  I also should have used red thread to attach it.  I thought the white contrast would look good.  Which it would if I could sew straight.

-I snapped the elastic apart at one point and had to rescue it from inside the casing and reattach it.  Not fun.

-Cost was really low.  I only used 12 inches of 3 yards of elastic that was $3, so, that's like what, 20 cents?  The fabric I had left over from the Valentine's Day chairbacks, about $2 worth.  Plus the piping and the bias tape both of which I have plenty of now for other projects...  I'd say this skirt cost me about $4.  Took me three hours or thereabouts to finish. 

Verdict:  Success!  Well, relative success.  I can see a lot of the mistakes in it, anyone who looks closely could, but I know I'll make it again and do a lot better.  Plus, my daughter loved it.

2 comments:

  1. "...contemplating a far-off land" Ha!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gail! I was thinking of you when I made this skirt actually. I was remembering the skirts that were made for us to wear in your wedding and how cool I thought it was that we all matched. That fabric was silky. I haven't used anything but cotton yet! Too scared.

    ReplyDelete

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a rundown of what I've been up to: DIY wedding dress, "Back to School Night" decor, Flower Arranging for the Incomptent, more jam labels, a dog bed solution, paper embroidery, flying pig needlework, attempting to scrapbook, make your own board game kit, Link from Zelda costume, organinzing for homework, and how to build an afterschooling program!

how to declutter after a death... and how not to do it

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