A Skirt for Growing

Do your children grow out of their clothes as fast as mine??? Every time I look, pants and skirts are too short. When you love to sew for your children, it can be disheartening when they grow out of clothing you made (and labored over for many hours), in the blink of an eye. Since my girl has out-grown most warm-weather clothes in her wardrobe, I set about making a skirt that *might* last until the fall.

The pattern is very simple, a few gathered layers with an elastic waistband. I made it super long, hoping that she can wear it more than a few weeks. She chose the fabrics from my stash. That seems to be a key component in having your children wear what you make--involve them in choosing the fabrics.

To finish the internal seams, I went over each of the panels with an overlock stitch. It's a type of zig zag stitch that comes standard on most machines.

For the pattern, I adapted one from the book Stitch by Stitch by Deb Moebes. This book is fantastic for those just starting to sew! And, obviously, for those of us not so new to sewing too. The pattern called for patchwork panels, and I just didn't want that look for this skirt. So I did some extensive math to calculate the size of the panels I would need, plus sized it up since the largest size as the pattern is written is a child's 6. I needed a 10. Algebra, it turns out, can be pretty useful outside of high school.

She wore it the very next day to school, so I think it's safe to say that she likes it!