Two Cute Skirts

I've got a couple of cute skirts for the little girls in your life. Although, you could easily alter either for a mom-size version if you wanted.

The first is a twirly skirt designed by my friend Toni. She said she was happy to share the directions here with all of you. How cute would this look with some calf length leggings and a t-shirt with a big floofy flower pin or hair accessory?! (Yes I like to make up words. And spellings.)

To make this, first take the circumference of your little gal's waist and times it by 2. This will give you the width for the top of the skirt.

Cut 16 triangles out of 4 different fabrics. (I opted to 3-it's not quite as fluffy, but I couldn't find a matching 4th piece )

To figure out your triangles: waist x 2 (40 inches for me). Divide by 16 (number of triangles). This will give you the top measurement of your triangles. (Sophie's was 2.5 inches) The times that by 3 for your bottom width (7.5 here). Confused? It's okay. Keep reading. It'll make sense.

The length is up to you. I wanted my skirt to hang to the knees, so I did 12 inches.

Now that we know the size of our triangle-we're ready to cut! I started by cutting out rectangles 12 inches (my length) by 7.5 (my width).

Next I marked off the top of the triangle at 2.5 and 5.

Cutting from the top markings to each corner will give you your triangle.

Sew your triangles together to make your skirt. (Optional: surging or doing a French seam will give you a nice clean look.)

Round the corners of your skirt so you don't have points on the bottom. Hem as usual. (Toni did a rolled hem on hers.) Now set aside.

Then make your waistband by measuring the new width from the top of skirt. Cut that length by twice the width of your elastic. Be sure to add a little extra to sew waistband to skirt!

Sew the ends of your waistband together to make a tube. Fold in half WRONG sides together. Pin to skirt.

Sew waistband on. Leave an opening to add elastic. Thread elastic through, sew edges together and top stitch to finish off.

This was a fun project and a great way to use some fun fabrics from my stash! Feel free to email questions to twiddlethumbs@rocketmail.com

Skirt #2 is from Make It and Love It and featured on U Create. My soon-to-be 2nd grader and her BFF will be wearing these the first day of school. Get the free tutorial here. You could also combine the two skirts and make this one.

Is there a support group for skirt addicts? I am LOVING this!

Filling in the Blanks

One thing the 3 of us here have in common is a shared passion for scrapbooking. I'm not great at getting the journaling done on every page, but I love that I can have it as a source to give more depth to the pictures. There are little things that don't always make the pages of the family album, though, especially for me being the mom. I hardly ever get out from behind the camera, and subsequently the focus remains largely on my kids. Blogging has helped me some. I get quick funny little things or thoughts written, share a favorite recipe etc. But, I want more. My kids will want more. If not them, then probably their kids. I found some great helps from Creating Keepsakes personality-Becky Higgins. She's got some great "fill in the blank" pages on her website for both teens and adults. (Click here.) It's a great way to round out the family history portions of scrapbooking. I also snuck some pictures of these layouts my cousin did of our Grandma M. and some of her most popular recipes. Another fun addition to a family book! (Thanks Marlene!)

Skirting the issue...

My current craft love right now is skirts. I've made some for myself and have some in the works for my girls. First up is the "Nancy dress." It reminds me of the "units" that were popular in the 80s/90s but so cute and comfy. This dress can be worn as a shirt, dress, skirt, add straps to make a tank, use if for a swim cover up....I could go on. You can find the pattern here for free. It only takes 1 yard of knit fabric to make and makes up in probably an hour or less. Can we say instant craft-gratification?

(To see what the dress/skirt looks like modeled-check outthe pattern link above.

Watch for more fun skirts and other surprises this week!