Skirts for Girlie

When my daughter and I went back to school shopping, every skirt she looked at was way, way, WAY too short. Am I getting old? I don't think I am... there's no good reason for an eleven year-old to be wearing skirts that short. Yes, they had shorts underneath, but as far as I am concerned, shorts under skirts are for girls that are young enough not to have storytime on the carpet. Or gymnasts, or figure skaters, or dancers. You get the idea.

She tried on skirts like this one... On the model, it looks perfectly fine... My daughter, however, has long legs, and on her, it looked more like this. Now, this would be fine if she'd wear leggings underneath, but I know she probably won't... Sorry kiddo.

So, I told her that none of the skirts she picked out were acceptable, and asked her if she'd like me to make her some skirts. She was happy with that, so we left the minis at the store.

She didn't want to go fabric shopping with me, but I know what she likes. I bought Butterick 4722, and planned on making view B & C (the orange one and the yellow one). I bought the fabric in August, and finally got around to sewing two of the three promised skirts yesterday.

I haven't made the gathered tiered skirt yet, so I won't comment on it yet. I did make two of the pleated skirt however, and it was a great pattern. Only three pieces, eight pleats, a zipper and a grosgrain ribbon at the waist instead of a waistband. I omitted the bow, because she's not really into details like that.

 The first skirt I made was in purple corduroy. I found it in the clearance section of the store. I found the great lime green lace and thought it would be a fun accent.

It is a nice fine whale corduroy, so it doesn't have too much bulk. Purple is one of her favourite colours. I couldn't find the right colour of zipper, so I had to use a black one. I almost wish I could have found a lime green zipper!

The grosgrain ribbon waist was a bit tricky on this skirt, because of the weight of the fabric. It was a little too thick for this waist treatment to work easily, but it did work out in the end. There was just a bit of fussy pinning to do.

The second skirt is made of a brushed cotton plaid. I think out of the two, this is her favourite. It drapes beautifully, and the waistband was much simpler.

I really loved the colours in this fabric. Girlie isn't a fan of brown, but the blue is one of her favourites, and I figured if she didn't like this fabric, I could use it for myself. I'm almost disappointed, because I would have liked to make myself a skirt out of it. I'd buy more fabric, but I suspect she might have a problem with her mum having a matching skirt.

Fortunately, I managed to find a blue zipper that was just the right colour for this skirt. Picking thread was a little more challenging, as I couldn't decide which colour to match. I went with the brown.

I'm quite pleased with my matching of the plaid as well. I normally dislike working with plaid because matching it is such a hassle, but this wasn't too bad.

I decided to have some fun with the decorative stitching on my machine as well. It is subtle, but I rather like it. I wish I'd had lime green thread to do this on the purple skirt!

Girlie wore her plaid skirt to school today, with a white t-shirt and guess what? Leggings. Sigh. Sometimes, you just have to throw your hands up in the air and give up!

Her friend came over yesterday while I was making supper, and was really excited for Girlie because I'd made her skirts. I may have promised to make her a skirt too... fortunately, she's the same size as Girlie, and I have some stash cotton that would be great on her... so I guess that's my next project. I hope to finish her skirt as well as the gathered skirt today.

I guess I'd better get sewing!