In Which She Sews a Grown-Up Skirt.

I love to wear skirts. I always have. When I got the sewing machine, I knew I could make Miss M some things but I also looked around the glorious Internet and found this skirt at Angry Chicken that I could *gasp* make for myself.

The picture above (Yes, I am standing on the toilet, I do not own a full-length mirror. What's your point? ;)) Is me wearing a version of the skirt.

I was a little worried about trying this skirt for two reasons. 1. I was making the pattern myself and 2. I have never sewn with elastic. I grew up hearing that making clothes for oneself was impossibly difficult (although my home economics project in 8th grade was a skirt with a zipper, button and gathering). My mother was many things, but a risk-taker was not one of them.

Yesterday I was talking about my lack of clothing that fits and how difficult it is for me to find things I like. The Husband said, "Didn't you see a skirt online you wanted to make?" Busted! I hemmed and hawed, but the Husband was having none of it. "What's the worst that happens?" he said.

After dinner I ran to the fabric store and found some fabric (30% off woo hoo!) and ran to another fabric store for fold over elastic. This morning I measured myself (sob) and made a pattern on newspaper. It looked too full at the bottom so I took it in a little bit , comparing it to another skirt I own.

When Miss M went down for her nap, I had a go at it. The result is in the photo above. I do not have a serger so it has a regular hem and the elastic was definitely a learning experience, but it came out fine. I will tweak the pattern a little more to make it less full and maybe a touch shorter, but I certainly consider it a success.

It was fun! As I was pinning the hem, I remembered that my paternal grandmother was quite a seamstress. I never met her but I remember hearing stories of the intricate wedding dress she made for my mother. I wonder if I'm channeling a bit of her when I sew? I am not skilled but I do enjoy it and that is half the battle, right?

I feel incredibly blessed to be able to try new things, to learn and grow. There are so many things I have learned in my life, some are tangible and others are not. Today in the process of making something tangible, I learned something about myself too.

It's all part of the process.

-Peace