Thursday, March 27, 2008

my but i do love a skirt

I want to sew more garments, but until things settle a bit for me, I'll be doing them here and there, and salivating over Adrienne's creations.

To get me sewing on it now, a garment has to be easy peasy, and I have to be able to envision myself wearing it until it's threadbare, because that's what I like to do.

Several projects in my much adored Sew Everything Workshop meet these criteria. If you don't own this book, please don't tell me about it, unless you're some kind of sewing savant and could write such a thing yourself.

Around the time I decided to live free and like what I like, I acknowledged to myself that two things I like are skirts and dresses. I like them so much that I wear them a lot more than pants. Of the two, I find skirts more wearable, because there are fewer fit issues. (Especially for someone with childbearing hips and the chest circumference of a squirrel.) I dream of sewing up a passel of skirts in oodles of colors and fabrics I love (mostly corduroy and denim -- y'all know). Having taken inventory of my closet, I see that this dream isn't frivolity, I am actually suffering a dearth of skirts these days.

I mentioned easy peasy, right? Well that excludes zippers more than it possibly should. But it includes this wonderful classic -- the wrap skirt.

Wrap skirt patterns aren't hard to come by. I'm sure I own at least one more, but the one in Sew Everything epitomizes simplicity because of author Diana Rupp's great instructions. (The book comes with ten paper patterns.) Last year I made this skirt in the brown corduroy fabric that I seem to want to eat for dinner. With my hips in mind I made the large. I wear it all the time, but could definitely have made the medium, so this time I did. Wrap skirts have a lot of room for growth and shrinkage, which is what a girl needs. Plus, do I even need to mention the deliciousness of the A-line shape, which is flattering on everyone and good for really bad dancing?

For my next skirt, I am planning to fly solo. No pattern. I'm going to take an old favorite, trace around it, and sew up a new version.

10 comments:

Adrienne said...

You are so silly !Love those pics and that skirt cute! I LOVE skirts and dresses. The funny thing is, for about five or six years that is ALL I wore!! NO PANTS, and I HATED them...now I'd rather wear them than pants! LOL

Lil Knitter said...

I love that skirt. Work it g/f!!
Fun photos.
Hugs!

Natalie said...

Dang...do I have to get that book?! Because I need a wrap skirt. Your skirt looks SUPER Good! SUPER GOOD! I am coveting your skirt. And Adrienne...man she is something else. did you see that invisible zipper?!

Nik said...

girl, you call them child bearing hips? these size 48s could bear about 3, 4, um 10 kids.

jessie said...

Cute skirt. Great boots!

I have the same fit issues, plus a short waist. Any timy I buy a dress I end up with great billows of fabric around my rib cage.

Ellen Bloom said...

Once again, excellent photos! What are you talking about? You have a GREAT figure! You look like "America's Next Top Mode" (senior edition). The denim wrap is perfect! I'm seeing a new wrap in a print with orange, brown, a touch of beige and summery, to be worn with a tight brown t-shirt!

Christie said...

cute skirt! cute boots!

Victoria said...

I'm glad I found your blog and your skirt looks great! I googled "wrap skirt "sew everything workshop"" and it led me to you. I am planning on making this skirt this weekend and now I'm really inspired.

Anonymous said...

I am in love with that skirt and your antics. A word of warning though, if you are going to sew that dress someday, then it means you'll have to change your mind about wanting to sew simple and basics.
Muster up the courage and find a pattern or one close enough and take your own sweet time to make the dress. Hope it happens soon and again it is 2.30am.
Good night/morning
Heather
Day 10

Emily Cole said...

Wow - you look HOT in that skirt. I have to echo the others... child-bearing hips? ?? Where? I love those boots too! I'm soooo not a skirt girl, but feel like I should be at some point in my life... I'm just always in the dirt or on the floor with the kids.