Sew Much Fun blog hop - Back to School

The Stripwork Skirt- A great back to school project

Do you sew for your kids or grandkids? I do. Mostly for my grandkids, but there are times I sew for my big kids. Why do I do this? There are a few reasons. 1 is that I can get a better fit. My granddaughters are tall and skinny. To get the right length on a dress, they seem to fall of the shoulders. They also love the things that grandma makes.

Today I want to share a fun and easy to make skirt with you.  A few years ago, I was doing a shop hop with my daughters and granddaughters.  We found this really cute pattern at one of the stores.  Well, grandma decided she needed to make it. The pattern is by Pink Fig Designs and is called The Stripwork Skirt.

  The first one  I didn't make with as many strips as you are supposed to do. It is still cute, but not as full.  You can tell it has been  worn a lot.

The first of these skirts I made. This one I used only half the panels. 

 Well the granddaughter I made it for outgrew it and reluctantly passed it on to her little sister. It is getting too small for little sister, but she puts leggings under it. Now, the best thing about this pattern, is it is cut in rectangles.  So it is easy to lengthen.  You have probably noticed that your kids grow straight up faster than growing wide. This skirt is easy to lengthen, you just cut the strips in the body of the skirt a bit longer, you can cut the hemband a bit longer as well as the waistband. 

I like having more panels in the s

I don't have lace. Darn. I guess I need to go visit a daughter, because there is a shop I like that sells lace for a really good price, and the shop is close to both daughters and a son and daughter in law.  Or I just have them buy me the lace. I think adding lace to the bottom would look so cute.  

I have  been looking for this pattern, to be able to tell you where you might be able to buy it, and it sounds like it is out of print. I found a website with a pdf download, but I haven'the gotten a response that they are still in business. However  for this pattern, they have the chart that shows you how big to cut everything, so I will give you the link www.whimsicaldesignsclothing.com  go to pdf patterns and then click on Pink Fig Design, and just scroll down till you find it.  You can find the size chart on any of the patterns.  This next site has a really good tutorial  http://www.mothergingermama.com/p/stripwork-skirt-tutorial.html

I tried the skirt on both granddaughters and it looked cute. For the older one, I will not fold up the hem band, but I will do a small narrow hem and will add some lace. I hope by the end of the week, I will have a few outfits done, and I will share here  Facebook, and Instagram, so please stay tuned. 

I will also be making a cute t-shirt that she can wear with this. Maybe I will also make a cute button down shirt. Yes, I could just buy some clothes for them, but I enjoy sewing. I can use fabrics they like and fabrics I like. 

Is it less expensive to sew? I don't know. I don't buy a lot of clothes for my grandkids. What I do to make it less expensive is watch for sales. I buy patterns on sale and I buy fabric on sale. But, I dare say the quality is much better in handmade. I grew up with handmade clothes.  My mom sewed a bit for us, but I have an aunt that is amazing. I loved getting my cousins hand me downs. 

I have quite a few things I want to make. Do you remember the Daisy Kingdom patterns from the 80's?  I loved those patterns. I made some of those dresses for my girls.   I found some of those patterns at a thrift store. They are in my filing cabinet waiting for me to stitch them up.

I love your comments, so please feel free to share. What are you sewing right now?