. . . sewed a skirt

for Betsy's Christmas present. She loves to wear a skirt or a dress every day. And since I have no money to spend on presents, I rediscovered my fabric stash and for the price of a $2 (on sale at JoAnns) pattern and about $1.50 elastic, I came up with this skirt. The fabric to make the skirt came from leftover samples from decorators. The purple flower is detachable, but Betsy loves purple. Betsy has the perfect figure for a 5-year-old: 24, 22, 24. The skirt is 10" long, isn't that just adorable? I was inspired by the clothes on the Matilda Jane website and I think I pretty much nailed the look. I will also get a plain T-shirt and embellish it, either with iron-ons or ruffles, and maybe some tights or leg warmers, also embellished, or if I can's find the right ones, I'll just whip some up. Maybe a little skirt for Nora, too?


My mother would be dismayed at how I put this thing together. Everything is machine-stitched, even the hem. My thinking is that I want Betsy to wear this and she will play in it and I don't want my hand-stitched hem coming apart. All the seams are pressed in one direction, then zigzagged and then top stitched. I'm a bit befuddled by this pattern, because there is a yoke facing on the front, but I couldn't see where there was a yoke facing on the back because there was a casing for the elastic. Shoot, I even read the directions and they weren't any help.


I will never be the seamstress that my mother is, and my sister is even more amazing. They are both perfectionists. Not me. I experiment. I will try anything. I don't necessarily follow the directions on the patterns. Like on this one, I added the little "aprons." And, most of all, I want instant gratification. So while this is the first skirt I made like this, I will be making more, and they will be variations on a theme.