Look! I make grown-up clothes, too!

There is a gross imbalance between kiddie confections and grown-up creations on my blog. It’s not too surprising — after all, they do outnumber me. And they always seem to need something. “Please, please, please! Gimme gimme gimme! I need, I need, I need, I need!” (Name that movie quote and get a hundred points to redeem for, um… how about a pretty little snowflake ornament for your tree? Leave me a comment.) But, once upon a time, I was able to squeak out a skirt of my own. Several years ago, I saw this beautiful skirt on craftster. It’s gorgeous; you really should check out the link. {sigh} I still love her skirt. That turquoise wool is to die for!

I had a vintage skirt pattern that I thought I could adapt enough to incorporate those pleats in the back. Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo of the pattern and I sold it on ebay a few months ago because, truth be told, I never really liked that pattern that much anyways. It served its purpose, so no regrets. I didn’t have turquoise wool, but I did have some really nice black wool that I had bought just because I loved it and had no particular project in mind. Most of my fabric purchases are emotional rather than logical, tempered only by my bank account.

First, I constructed the skirt normally, and then I cut out the square in the back and inserted the pleated fabric. That sounds so simple, doesn’t it? Trying to get even pleats was a real hassle, though. If I were doing it now, I am fairly certain that I could do it better. Live and learn, right? After going to church, crawling in and out of the car and grocery shopping, it could stand to have a date with the iron, but you get the idea.

I had these really pretty buttons that were originally intended for another project. I can’t even remember what that was anymore. I thought the pale aqua would be a nice homage to the other girl’s skirt.

This was also my first time to line a skirt. Again, another learning experience, but I think it turned out pretty well. And it feels really nice! The reason I’m featuring this skirt now after making it three years ago, is that I’ve finally been able to wear it! When I made it, it was shortly before I became pregnant with Konik. How’s that for timing? So that was an automatic 9 months that I couldn’t wear it. Then, miraculously, after he was born, my weight fell off to the extent that the skirt also fell off of me. I threw it in the repair basket (aka Sewing Purgatory) thinking I would have to remove the waistband and deepen the darts. Of course, that never happened because I hate deconstructing things I’ve made. As I was packing up my sewing room to move to the cabin, I came across the skirt and decided to try it on, just for the heck of it, and discovered that it fits again. So, um, yay?