Kitties on Bicycles Skirt

This fabric. Take it in. I saw it first on Pinterest in blue. Once I found it on Spoonflower, I immediately wanted the pink version. The kitties were calling my name, saying “Frances...we’re kitties...on bicycles...with polka dots...and PINK!!!” The kitties knew my favorite color. Damn those kitties!

Two yards of cotton sateen later, I started working on this little beauty of a skirt.

Side Note: This was the first time I’d purchased fabric online. I was a little disappointed that the fabric felt a bit rougher than I anticipated, but I still like it. If I’d had a sample in advance I probably would have chosen a different type of fabric (still the same print though), but I was too excited to buy this fabric to bother with samples first. Lesson learned.

The pattern was the circle skirt from a retro dress pattern. The skirt was a little longer than I wanted and also, since I only had two yards, I had to cut it on the bias to get the pieces out whole and even then, the bottom inch was left without the print on it in some places where it got too close to the edge of the fabric.

I had the front and back of the skirt sewn together, but stopped there, still contemplating the idea of lining it. In the end, I tossed it in a bag for later and went back to more pressing projects. I cut out the pieces back in October, but I was derailed from the project by my step-daughter’s semi-formal dress, the Brocade Corset Dress. No regrets there.

Initially I was going to line it with flannel backed satin so it would be nice and swish well, but have a little bit more warmth than regular satin. I decided to nix the lining and simply wear a slip underneath (I have a sudden desire to own a multitude of half-slips in various colors, but that’s another post for another day).

I dug it out again for my Sew Finished February challenge (#sewfinishedfeb) as one of the projects I knew I just had to complete this month.

So after cutting out the pieces as designed in the pattern, I marked off two inches from the bottom, due to previously mentioned print and length issues, and gave it a little trim. This afforded me a bit of selvage that I could work into a waistband which I had neglected to cut out because the pattern was for a dress, not a skirt. Luckily, that worked out wonderfully for me because it now has this darling little one inch waist band that I just love.

I’ve only had my serger for a few months and this was my first attempt at a rolled hem with it. I was not pleased. :( I don’t think I have everything quite right as far as settings go, because it just did not look like a rolled hem to me. I serged it as a rolled hem anyway, and then when I decided that I was not happy with it, I moved over to my regular machine and busted out the rolled hem foot on that and re-hemmed it. Much better results. Since it was serged first, my rolled hem came out wonderfully tight and darn near perfect. I still have quite a bit of learning to do with the serger, so I’m not giving up on this rolled hem thing just yet.

My overall feeling about this project is that I don’t know why I waited so long to pick it back up again. It took me only a short while to finish the skirt from where I’d left off. (Seriously, I finished it on Sunday and I still managed to real half a book that day.) This skirt got rave reviews at the office on Wednesday. Everyone there knows I sew, so they’re always interested it what I’m wearing and asking if it’s handmade.

Speaking of handmade wardrobes...This lovely skirt will definitely be a key piece in my wardrobe for Me Made May this year, so look for it to grace these pages again in a few months.

I'm hoping to get a few better shots of the skirt later this week, but lighting in our house is a bit of an issue when it's nearly dark by the time I get home. I'll update the photos as soon as I can.