Hello everyone and welcome to visitors from
Sophistique Noir! I wanted to kick off Red & Black week with something fun and spooky, so I decided I must sew something out of this fabric:
Allow me to present Midnight Madness by Northcott. I'm not really sure why I bought this fabric (other than, ya know, it's super cool). I didn't have any particular garment in mind, and I really do have plenty of skull fabric already, but I guess I just couldn't resist. For those curious, it came from my favorite fabric site,
Fabric.com, but they no longer carry it.
I only bought two yards, so I was a bit limited in what I could make. I
don't have all that many long, full skirts, so I figured that would be
good. It would be simple enough to halve two yards of fabric, sew them
together, make a casing, and insert elastic, but I'm not all that fond
of elastic waists (except in PJs). Rather than try to find a pattern
for something so simple, I just grabbed the waistband from a different
skirt. Readers may recognize
Simplicity 9825 from my
first pattern review.
That pattern actually zips up the back, and since I wanted to gather the
fabric, I moved the zipper to the left side. Readers may also remember
that I almost did that, quite by accident, the first time through.
The next step was gathering the fabric. I halved the fabric after I cut
the waistband and then sewed it together. To gather, I just used a
long stitch and pulled the ends. A gathering foot would also have
worked here, but I don't have one.
The pattern calls for the facing to be hand-sewn in place after sewing
the skirt to the waistband. I just didn't feel like it at the time, so I
top-stitched it. I figured since the stitching would show anyway, I
might as well do it in a contrasting color, and in spirit of the theme, I
chose red. And since I'd done the bottom, I figured I'd do the top too.
And I might as well do the hem!
This only took about two hours. I knocked it off on a weekend in between breakfast and my morning run. And that time includes several doctor-prescribed kitty-petting breaks.
I'm not sure if I prefer this with the shirt tucked or untucked. I really balk at tucking in my shirts most of the time. I know it tends to look sloppy, but they never stay tucked and sometimes look silly. I think the untucked version gives more shape to the outfit.
From the back, tucked, and the side, untucked. My hair is wet, sorry.
And with my favorite new accessory, Lydia. She was feral, and abandoned by her mother when she was only two weeks old. A cat rescue found her and took care of her until she was old enough to be adopted. The poor girl has some serious abandonment issues, but despite her rough start to life, she's sweet and cuddly.
This one wasn't too pleased at first, but seems to have accepted Lydia as a minion in her evil kitty army.
What I'm wearing:
Plain black girly-fit t-shirt: JoAnn's, ~$5
Sandals: Famous Footwear, ~$30
Metal skull bracelet: Spencer's, $7 (probably the first spooky accessory I ever purchased)
Plastic skull bracelet: Some gas station in the Outer Banks, ~$2
Skull earrings: the top and bottom pair are probably from Hot Topic, ~$5; the middle pair is from eBay, ~$2 (I bought them so long ago that the archives don't go back that far)
Skull barrettes: pretty sure these came from Claire's, ~$5
Thanks for reading and stay tuned! I have posts planned for every day of this event!
I wish i can have that skirt..lovely..the prints is gorgeous
ReplyDeleteThe skirt wasn't at all difficult to make, and the print is still available from a number of places, such as this one:
Deletehttp://webstore.quiltropolis.net/stores_app/Browse_Item_Details.asp?Shopper_id=88316371818831&Store_id=868&page_id=23&Item_ID=2313
If you're interested, I can give you more detailed instructions on making the skirt.
Nicely done!!! What a great idea to take the waistband from another skirt pattern.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for participating today! I hope we'll see more of your brilliant handiwork as the week progresses. And bonus points for the sweet little grey kitty!!
Thanks for setting up the event. It's a fun way to be creative and find new blogs to follow.
DeleteCute skirt! Long skirts fits you, something I always think can be a bit difficult.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Though most of my skirts are knee-length, this one convinces me that I need more long ones.
DeleteOh I love the fabric! Good job on the skirt too; the red top-stitching is really attractive with that print.
ReplyDeleteThanks a bunch. I think this could have only turned out better if I had embroidered little skulls around the waistband - which would have been cool, but it would have taken a lot longer than two hours.
DeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteCool fabric and a very nicely done skirt! ^^
ReplyDeleteThank you kindly.
DeleteSo cute! The fabric is fabulous, and the simple shape really works because of the great print-it lets the fabric speak for itself. Well-done, and love the matching accessories! Also, your posts are making me miss the ol' sewing machine. :)
ReplyDeleteI think that don't take long vacations because I'd miss my sewing machine too much. Thanks!
DeleteLove this fabric! you are so crafty. ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you. I am quite in awe of your skills with cosmetics. I can barely even apply nail polish.
Delete