Fancy Holiday Skirt

 Pretty original post title, huh? Ok, not so much! But I think it's fairly accurate in description, so I'll just stick with that. :) With this floaty, light skirt, I'm picturing Christmas-time. I'd pair it with a black leotard-style top, black leggings, and black patent-leather shoes. Oh, and maybe some holly in the hair with a little black bow. Yes, that's my vision. But it's August, and way too hot. 

My little model, Clara, went with a white tank top and shorts. 

 As I mentioned in an earlier post, I've been making some pieces for Clara this summer (my friend's beautiful 5-year-old daughter). She really was so good about modeling these garments for me and letting me take a bazillion pictures. And this morning, the patio was quite chilly and her feet were cold. But she didn't let it stop her. Unfortunately, I didn't get a great straight-on shot, but you can sort of see from these pics how ethereal this skirt seems to be. It's a burnt-orange/red color with gold highlights and swirls. I have three layers of fabric sewn together at the waist, following Dana's Simple Skirt tutorial. And then I added a black cotton bow in the front to dress up the skirt even more. 

 I love it on Clara! And I can almost hear Swan Lake playing in the background (oh, wait. I was playing Swan Lake in the background that morning. Swat to the forehead).

 Not too early to be thinking ahead, right?

Have a great day!

Twirly Teacups Skirt

 A few weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me to make some skirts for her 5 1/2 year old daughter (who is also a friend of my son's). I was so excited to complete four skirts and to have little Miss Clara try them on! It was so different sewing for a "big girl" as I'm used to using half as much fabric for my two-year-old. I had a lot of fun picking out fabrics I thought Clara and her mom would like. This is the first skirt, and turned out to be everyone's favorite.

 I used Dana's circle skirt pattern guidelines as well as Cherie's tutorial for doing a reversible circle skirt. The Twirly Teacups Skirt is indeed reversible, though I have a feeling Clara strongly prefers the teacups showing.

I added the turquoise and yellow bands on the bottoms of the two layers for added interest and used some orange thread to hem the turquoise band (hard to see in the photos, I know). I really like the color combinations in this skirt!

Five-year-olds like Clara definitely have the twirling thing down. I've seen so many other blogs with some darling twirl pictures, but figured my baby girl was too little for that, and wondered at what age she'd start.

 Well...

...after seeing how it's done, my daughter wanted to give it a try!

Hehe, isn't she cute?

Thanks to my super sweet models for this post. I hope to showcase more of Clara and her skirts in the coming weeks!

Earth Day Upcycled Shirt to Skirt

This little wild outfit came from a second-hand, teen-sized t-shirt -- the skirt, the little wristband, and the hairband (with 3 rolled rosettes, which you can't really see). The only addition, is the bird, which came from some black fabric in my scrap pile. I think the crazy wristband and hairband go with the wild print of the fabric. Perfectly wild, all in all.

 And it was so super easy. (Which I love -- instant gratification!) You probably know the drill already. Find an old shirt. Cut it up. Use the hem of the shirt for the bottom of the skirt. Make a casing and insert the elastic. For the applique, I drew a bird on some black fabric, ironed it on some Steam-a-Seam, cut it out, ironed it on the skirt, and then stitched around it to keep it secure. I think the bird makes the skirt look fresher. Because, really, it is a new garment now after all. 

 And it's another little project done for elsiemarley's Kids Clothes Week Challenge and Project Run and Play's Earth Day weekly challenge. Fun!

As a sidenote, I just found out I did not win the last round of Rae's Spring Top Sewalong. But that's ok - I'm just so honored to have been chosen for the last round. The winning tops are beautiful and you can view them HERE. Thanks to everyone who voted for my top! :) :)