Friends, it is a miracle that this skirt got made at all.
This will be the third weekend in a row that we are busy away from home, not to mention that our weeknights have gotten so busy that my sewing time is nearly extinct. I miss sewing - I use it for stress relief and without that release, I've gotten a little crazy.
I had a three hour time window to make this dress on Tuesday night - from drafting the pattern to cutting to hemming, it all needed to be done within that time frame. You cannot even imagine how surprised I was when this skirt actually worked out!
This skirt is yet another couch covering from Mama Grand. She really likes covering couches, and who am I to stop her? I get all of the fabric cast offs and that makes me happy. You know what else makes me happy? Poofy crinolines.
Mama Grand was skeptical that I would ever find a use for this fabric. Little does she know that I have used all of the upholstery pieces she has given me in the last several months. I cannot wait to see the look on her face this weekend when I show her all of my recent couch/drape creations. Winning.
To be fair, this fabric is a little insane. There are so many different shades of blue, plus rust, cream, and white scattered throughout, not to mention the crazy shapes, both geometric and flowery. The shapes help to add the little bit of character that I require from all of my garments, and I have tops in most of the colors, making this a very versatile bottom! I paired it with the Jasmine here because the Jasmine was clean. Laundry will be the death of me yet.
I still have plenty of this fabric left over (apparently it was a very big couch), so I plan on making either a pencil skirt or a jaunty little jacket. The great part about working with upholstery fabric is that it holds its shape so well because of the stiffness. I did throw this fabric in the dryer, and yet it still retains its shape. Brilliant, I say.
I was so glad that I was able to finish this piece in three hours, and I got big help came from the sneaky bit below:
The sewn-in interfacing for the hem of the couch fabric made for a most perfect waistband. I just cut off an even amount of the un-interfaced fabric above it, folded it over and machine stitched it on. BOOM! Waistband magic. Unfortunately, we did not have hem magic. It's pretty messy (machine stitched also) and un-ironed. There wasn't even time to iron. I'm so ashamed.
Overall, I love this skirt. It is a circle and totally fabulous to spin in (but most of you already knew that). I can definitely see myself making many of these - they are super easy and quick (obviously), and this project helped me get over my fear of sewing related math. I hate math. This math, however, yielded a lovely result and thus, it's okay math. Not great, but okay. We don't want math to get too cocky.
Friends, are you big fans of circle skirts? Do you have closets overflowing with these swishy bits of wonder? Let me know your experiences below - I would love to hear them!
Have a great weekend, all!