I've been going stir-crazy for lack of . . . a lot of things, really. Lack of exercise because of my leg; lack of music-playing time; lack of sewing. Mom suggested I remedy "lack of sewing" by sewing the pillowcases she'd meant to give as wedding gifts four months ago. Thanks, Mom.
But I did it. I sewed 11 pillowcases over the past two weekends. There were two more I could have sewn but I told Mom I was done and she'd have to do them herself. Besides, now that so many pillowcases are out of the way, I can use the sewing table for other projects. (Also, I used the time I put in to justify claiming an extra pillowcase for myself and the two extra wedding pillowcases--there were four instead of two, for some reason--for a gift for a coworker.)
I got this remnant on clearance at Wal-Mart. It's a salmon pink-and-white chambray-type upholstery fabric (like chambray but heavier) and I got 1 3/4 yards for a whopping $2.50. It's even cotton. Amazing. It's a bit lighter and less salmon-y in real life.
One and three-quarter yards is actually a little bit tight for a skirt for an adult woman, so I went with a plain, gathered, dirndl skirt since, counterintuitively, they're actually easier to cut from scant fabric than a more fitted design.
I had to add a panel in the back to make the sweep as full as I wanted. To make it look more intentional and less makeshift, I faux-seamed and topstitched "panels" in the front, too.
The pockets are lined in pink gingham cotton-polyester left over from McCall's 2440 (1961). I didn't actually need to piece them but it made better use of my scrap and I liked the look. It's going to be a pretty big skirt and I thought a little extra white topstitching would help break up the sea of pink.
The inset belt is also lined in pink gingham. The hem will be faced with it, too. That should just about use up the gingham scrap.
These are just for scale. I wanted big white buttons for the pockets. I looked everywhere but the biggest nice buttons I could find were one inch, which was barely big enough, and were too modern-looking. The only 1 1/2-inch buttons I could get were those awful oversized craft buttons. No way am I using those. I finally found some older, white pearlescent, buttons on Etsy.
You get the idea (these buttons are 1 3/8-inch):
Lining up the pocket seams with the faux seams in the front would have put the pockets too close together, so I offset them a bit. I had to do buttonholes before I attached the pockets, obviously. I hadn't even found buttons yet so I did the foolish and sewed buttonholes in blind faith that I'd actually find buttons that big that I liked. As it turned out, I did, so no harm done, but I really shouldn't make a habit of speculating.
I love the topstitching.
I'm out and around tonight but will be home Wednesday so hopefully I can at least get the inset belt on, and maybe even get the hem done. Then I'll just have to wait for my buttons to arrive!
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