(July 2003)

My oldest daughter asked me to make her a "home" skirt, as it is so hot this summer. After I measured her I figured she can wear a ladies size 10, so I made her the bias cut view of McCall's 2029.

This was the first time I sewed a side zipper. It was a little tricky, but it came out right. The only drawback is that this fabric also wrinkles a lot, but Miriam doesn't mind that much and loves the skirt.

BTW, she traced the pattern herself and also cut it out. She would also like to start sewing, so I will have to start teaching her.

(April 2004)

I made skirts for my two oldest girls. Both are from the same pattern (Simplicity 7041), but I cut them on bias. They have side zippers and elastic in the back.

For summer skirts I am hoping to totally eliminate the zippers and try to make them with the back elastic, but pull-ons.

Each fabric was totally different to work with. The one with more pink has more drape, but was a pain to work with. It kept stretching and the machine couldn't handle it. Also, if I pressed it with a cool iron, it had no effect. If I used a hotter one, it scorched the fabric. When I tried steam, the white part of the fabric kind of shrunk and created waves on the pink part =). Using an ironing cloth did the same thing. I don't know if I will sew more with that fabric, even though it's really pretty and my daughter loves it!

The purple is more like denim and it sewed great, but doesn't have that much drape.

One problem I encountered with both of them is that when they put the skirts on, the front is over an inch longer. I hemmed it a bit shorter in the front, but I have to figure out how to change the pattern in the future to accommodate this.