hope floats in a new skirt ~

hello and happy friday! 

sooo  nice to be back home, in our own beds, as we recover from vacation, travel, labor day festivities and work stuff.  oh my gosh, what a hectic couple weeks!  

so here’s what i’ve slowly been working on ~  a one-pattern piece skirt!  yup!  you read that correctly. it’s a skirt pattern from “favorite things” ~ it’s called “the hope skirts.”  {i like that name!}

although the pattern speaks to using cotton fabric, i chose a cotton knit, as you can see in the picture below.  i made it in the maxi length, and i loved this fabric, in such beautiful turquoise and bright coral-orange print.  perfect for late summer, into fall.  i have a coral tank top, and top it with a light-weight, white knit cardigan for work. 

this cotton knit fabric was 60″ wide, and i believe i purchased 3.25 yards.  the grain line of the pattern requires alot of yardage, so you have a nice, soft drape in the way the fabric hangs from the waist.  it’s flattering, and comfortable.  don’tcha just love how i have it modeled on the hanger in the window?!  and yes, those are christmas lights, but we use them all year round for dining room/evening use. 

i used a narrow zig zag {and yes, a serger would have been zippity-do-dah-lickity split!} but … i did it the old-fashioned way!  i also used cotton thread, and finished the hem with a blind hem stitch from my machine. 

the next version i made was sewn from a beautiful, drapey rayon; a fabric i’ve had for several years, from designer amy butler.  i love it!  and this time in a much shorter length,  great for swimsuit coverup, running around at the lake, or golfing… all sorts of those summer-time activities.

i finished the hem with just a simple 1/4″ turn-up of the raw edge, and turning it again, then lightly pressing, and topstitching it with white cotton thread. i love this fabric design and color so much, perfect for fall.  so i think i want to make it again, only into the mid-length, as i have more yardage.

i originally started with a stretch needle on the cotton fabric, and that didn’t work out well at all.  i found out that it is probably best used only for stretchy swimsuit-type fabric, so i switched to a microtex 80/12 needle, and then everything was great.  a ball point needle would have been fine i think, too.  sometimes jumping back into garment sewing just means a refresher course of my skills, and a little extra time. {and patience!}

all in all, the maxi-length skirt took about 2.5 hours to stitch, from cutting to hemming, and inserting the elastic in the waist.  and made from beautiful, quality fabric, in totally wearable and practical styles for me!

here’s my next ‘wanna-do’ fabric.  a classic black ribbed knit, with a hint of shimmer in the fabric.  this will likely be a slippery fabric to cut out, so it will take extra patience, and time!  although this pattern is just one piece, you {are supposed} to cut out four of them individually. trust me, did cut out two at a time… and i ended up wasting alot of fabric, so i won’t be doing that again.  

this black fabric was $6 a yard on sale, so i think it will be a great value and also very wearable; a much-needed addition to my work wardrobe.

and  another very practical knit fabric that ‘practically’ jumped into my arms at the joanns fabric store!  i thought it was worth trying. it will offer me lots of color options paired with jackets or sweaters as tops, with the coral, pink and black colorway.  perfect for wearing into the early winter months.  even better, easy to wash and dry, and no ironing.

yesss! ‘hope floats’ ~ but just in a skirt!!  {or three or four!}

and look at this cute topper pattern  i’ve had for two or three years now… we shall see ~ hmmm…the wheels are spinning, that’s for sure and maybe this will be the lucky year?!   

enjoy your friday, have a blessed day and a great weekend!  thanks for stopping in!
xo
soli deo gloria!
leslie