You've Gotta Have Faith-Skirt

The last skirt I'm going to show you this week, is for the oldest of the three sisters.  

Clark was really concerned about this skirt, and the fact that it is green and blue.  EVERY time he saw me working on it he'd express his concern that she would not like it. "I think it looks a little bit boyish", he'd say.  I happen to love the scale of this print, and the colors.  I'm hoping that this little eight year old can get past the fact that it's mint green, aqua, and cornflower blue (the girliest greens and blues you can have). 

I added a small mint crochet trim between the print, and the solid white band.  There are four pleats on the front of the skirt, and the back features an elastic casing.  It was fun to work with the print of the fabric when determining pleat placement.  

We added pockets, and an aqua blue ribbon sash. Three different skirts, for three different sisters.  Hopefully they like them, and put them to good use.

Apple of My Eye Skirt

Day 2 of 3 on paternal cousins skirt week. (Can you call them paternal cousins?). The youngest of the three sisters is starting pre-school this year.  She's an absolute doll, and needed a new skirt all her own.  I've had this apple print corduroy scrap, sitting in my  drawer, just waiting to be used.  I thought this was a fitting print for back-to-school, and the corduroy adds a bit more warmth than a cotton.

I'd intended on having about 2.5 inches more on the length of the skirt, but as I serged my last seam, I somehow managed to catch the under layer in the knife and make a nice ugly hole in the skirt.  I think that the skirt will still work, but it made the proportion of the pockets a bit odd. I tried the skirt on Clark (my husband hates that), and the skirt should still be about knee length, perfect with a pair of leggings.

The skirt features two box pleats, a contrast waistband, and some piped side pockets.  In an effort to save every bit of length I could, I trimmed the hem with bias tape.

Much like the June Bug Skirt, I sewed three bands of elastic onto the back of the waistband, leaving the front flat, and eliminating any need to run to the store for supplies.

I thought that the skirt turned out pretty cute, not perfect, but wearable.  Luckily, my niece could wear a paper bag and make it work.

It's a bit of a hybrid of the piped pocket infant skirt, and the boxed pleat baby skirt.

The June Bug Skirt

 After making the Kissing Cousins skirt for my nieces on my side of the family, Clark and I thought that it was only right to make a few skirts for his cousins on my husband's side.

Unfortunately, these are not accompanied with tutorials.  The first skirt that we made was the June Bug Skirt, named after a certain little miss by the same name (not given, and minus the skirt).

You'll recognize the fabric, as being the same as one of the Kissing Cousins skirts.  Clark loved it so much, and I did too, that we thought we ought to make another skirt out of it.  A big old bonus is that all of the material for this skirt came from Miss June Bug's great grandmother.

The skirt is a basic A-line, with a ruffled side box pleat.  I've been wanting to do a gathered box pleat for quite some time, and hadn't quite found the right application.  I love the idea, but think that I ought to have added even more extra material for the gather.  I ended up pressing the fabric to create a bit of a crushed gather.  Jury's still out if I like it pressed. Perhaps I'll do a tutorial on this technique, any takers?

The box pleat was topped off with a grosgrain ribbon bow.

The waistband is flat in the front, and gathered with elastic in the back. For the front, I added a bit of eyelet lace trim.  I love this material, and it seemed like an appropriate garment for it. To attach the lace to the waistband, I added a bit of hem tape to the back, ironed it in place, and then stitched along the scalloped edge of the lace.

  I didn't have thick enough elastic for the waistband, so I ended up using three separate pieces of elastic, and creating a divided casing.  I actually really like the effect.

The skirt has two large pockets sewn into the side seams, I probably won't make a girls skirt again without pockets.

The hem of the skirt was finished with a scalloped stitch.  I finally found a project for that technique as well.  I am kind of in love with this skirt, and may have to make one in my size!

Side Note: I am 95% sure that Clark married one of his cousins last weekend.  We saw them standing together in front of the wedding reception backdrop, with an eight year old officiator between them.