I Am Such a Cheater

I know. I'm supposed to be working on Retro Redux, Socks for Nieces, and the granny square blanket. And I am! But no one said I couldn't sew. Last night, when the house was quiet, I got a mind to make a skirt. So I did ... in about two hours. You have to love sewing for the instant gratification.

Missing: one waist. Reward offered.

Voici, my first attempt at an elastic-waist A-line skirt. I used the pattern from Sew U by Built by Wendy and I made the size medium. (I have big hips, what can I say?) The fabric is just quilting cotton from the big-box fabric store.

Mmmm... don't like a whole lot. It's a little too long. And the fabric was fine for practicing (I think I bought it for quilt/craft projects), but it looks a little too "1980s-Laura Ashley-Junior League" for me. Not that there's anything wrong with the 80s, Laura Ashley, or the Junior League.

Oh wait! There's my waist!

This morning, while S was at summer school and J with his grandma, I tried again. Much better!

This time, I used the directions from Sew What? Skirts. I like this book. I like drawing the pattern right on the fabric. I like that it teaches you what measurements to take and how to make a skirt that fits you just the way you want it to fit. So, obviously, I went shorter and I also made the angle from the waistline to the hemline pretty wide. In the future, I think I'll draw the side seams at a sharper angle, to make a narrower skirt. Also, I did not need to incorporate as much ease in the waist as I did. But it is fine; I can wear it lower on my hips if I like.

A word about the fabric: it's Zinnia by Alexander Henry. I don't know who Alexander Henry is, but I luff him. I bought the fabric at Sew Mama Sew, which I also luff.

I swear there will be knitting. If I can resist the siren song of the sewing machine and the promise of actual completed projects.