What’s New, and a Crisp Pleated Skirt
Well, it’s only been about nine months since my last blog post. That’s not too bad. Of course, I have a few projects from the last few months to share, but mostly my time has been filled with sewing-free activities. After a 3-week backpacking trip with waaay too much time to think, I have some new enthusiasm for my sewing projects and goals. Lately, I’ve been musing on the possibility of selling some items I create, maybe through an Etsy shop. Currently, I’m making some product prototypes and doing a little background research to see what is truly feasible for me.
First up, a project that should’ve been very quick in early July. I wanted to make four zipper pouches as a gift for some friends, and decided to experiment with adding polyester batting and straight-line quilting for more texture. I chose the fabrics for each pouch based on my friends’ styles and personalities, which was a fun exersize.
This project taught me two things. First, I need more zippers. Yikes! It was hard to color match and find zippers that went with these color combos. My few yards of cream zipper tape are not compatible with the zipper pulls they came with, so I ended up stealing some pulls from other zippers. I never seem to end up using the neon/bright zippers, so I’ll try not to purchase those again.
Second, I had gone so long without sewing that the project took way longer than it should have. I’ll try not to go so many months without sewing again. The pouches got assembled in the wrong order, I forgot what method I like to use to sew around the zipper, and I even sewed a pouch together without leaving the zipper half open. This was a huge problem because I couldn’t turn it right side out. Instead of unpicking, I tried to pull the zipper from the wrong side, which damaged the zipper teeth. The whole situation took almost an hour, and was finally resolved with tweezers and aggressive grunting. Next time, just pull out the seam ripper!
This week, we took a family vacation and I, of course, had to find the local quilting store. And, of course, buy more fabric I don’t need. I have a plan for the top and bottom pieces, but those beauties in the middle were just too irresistible for me. Any ideas for what to make?
This next photo here is just a peek at what happens in my mind. This was a random Monday afternoon (the day after returning from backpacking for three weeks) spent pulling out all my works-in-progress. Here’s all the projects I’ve began but not finished. Yikes! I haven’t decided if seeing them all laid out like this was motivating or demoralizing. I have been sewing more since then, so maybe it worked! Many of these are clothing mends which won’t take too long, but others, like my EPP quilt will take years.
Current projects include 5 clothing upcycles, 3 alterations, 2 mends, 5 quilts, 1 mini quilt, 1 crochet project, 1 knitting project, 1 garment project, 1 cross stich project, and 1 spinning project. Phew!
Finally, here’s a project that I completed two summers ago. It’s long overdue for a blog post. These three gorgeous Ankara fabrics were a gift from my friend after a trip to Ghana. The pink/yellow/cream one is a crisp cotton a little thicker than quilting-weight. It was a delight to work with and pressed so easily. The blue floral is also a woven cotton, but the roses are some sort of thick polyester I think. I definitely have some qualms about ironing it. I immediately knew I would use the pink one first, but if you have any ideas for projects for the other two please comment below!
Although I probably did have enough for a short dress, I wanted to make something that would be easier to style and wear to everyday events. Enter - the pleated skirt. I don’t normally wear prints this bright and bold, but if I made a skirt I knew I could pair it with a neutral top to fit my style a little more.
This gorgeous Sarah Hearts label fit perfectly with the bold colors! There is just something about sewing in a label that makes a project feel so complete and professional - even when it is full of mistakes! (Yes, I’m talking about you, blatantly obvious skipped stitches!)
Since a pleated skirt is literally just two rectangles of fabric, I hated the idea of purchasing a pattern. So I found a free tutorial from the blog Sew Much Love, Mary. Unfortunately the site is out of order and I can’t link to it anymore. The tutorial was very helpful though and made this project fast. With a crisp cotton, pressing pleats is actually super fun! I decided on 2” pleats.
At some point I realized my dreams of an invisible zipper and an in-seam pocket were conflicting ambitions. Oh no! What was I thinking! Then, I remembered, the internet. Ah yes, I was not the first to desire both of these things together. I was rescued by an extremely detailed and helpful tutorial (that I can’t find these two years later, sorry!). Zippers and pockets can peacefully coexist. Yay!
Proud moment here - look at the pattern matching! This was the most satisfying part of this project!
Look at those nice and tidy pleats!
For the hem, I decided to practice my machine blind hem, which has always been a bit of a struggle. It was impossible to match the thread color with this fabric, so the mistakes are pretty obvious. The hem is very even in depth and lays nicely, but you can definitely see the stitches a little too well.
Stay tuned for some cool clothing upcycles! I’ve got two skirts, a shirt, and some jeans in the works or already done, and I can’t wait to share. Two upcycles are creative and fun, two are very functional - all are so much more wearable than before!
Project Overview: Ankara Pleated Skirt
Cost: Maybe $2 for the zipper?
Pattern: Sew Much Love, Mary pleated skirt tutorial
Materials: Cotton Ankara fabric, cream invisible zipper, label
Date Finished: October 25, 2024
Happiness Level: :) :) :) :) :)
