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6.04.2014

And then I made three linen skirts

After sewing this dress for Indigo, I had over a yard of this dusky pink linen left over.   It seemed like just the right amount to make a couple of (smallish) skirts.


skirts x3


 
three linen skirts


 I fell in love with this skirt on Pinterest and wanted to recreate something similar.  I looked around for a tutorial and couldn't find anything that seemed right.

three linen skirts

So I drew up a pattern for Indigo and Iris's skirt.  It's pretty simple, but I do hope to share a tutorial in the next couple of days, in case it's helpful to anyone.  :)  I really love this skirt.

three linen skirts
Indigo's skirt is made from this linen blend in steel.  I had considered using it as the pleated center of Indigo's persimmon dress instead of the red-orange.  I had only ordered a yard of it.

three linen skirts


It now takes a full yard of fabric to make a skirt for Indigo!  I remember when I could easily make her a skirt using only 1/3 of a yard! 

three linen skirts

I had underestimated the amount of yardage I had on hand and didn't have enough to make Tia this same style of skirt.  (I had cut Indigo's and Iris's first.)  So Tia's is the Oliver + S (free) Lazy Days Skirt.

lazy days skirt

 I love the name of that pattern.  It's so fitting, especially for a skirt in linen that will undoubtedly end up looking crumpley and relaxed, perfect for summer.

lazy days


We're already one month into our summer vacation! It's been a lot of fun, not having the pressure of having to complete school work. The three big kids are swimming on our neighborhood swim team and have practice 4 (soon to be 5!) days a week. Then they have meets on Saturdays.  Next week they are starting some fun summer school classes, too.

three linen skirts

They've needed to have some planned activities to burn energy.  Without the distraction of school work, they are definitely more inclined toward getting into typical sibling arguments, tattling, and that kind of thing. Iris even tattles on herself sometimes. Moo-oom, Iwis got into your yipstick! she declared in her telltale, sing-song tattling voice.  And the evidence was written all over her face - literally.  :)

Then there are the times when they are the best of friends and so loving toward one another and it makes my hearts want to burst.   I try to hold onto and focus in on those moments.

my girls

It's hard to believe that in two months(ish) we'll have one more girl added into our mix!

 

19 comments:

  1. I so know what you mean by "it makes my hearts want to burst". My children (my daughter R, 4yr, and my son J, 1yr) get along well mostly and laugh a lot together. However, they also shout at one another or are angry. But there are also these moments like yesterday when J went to his sister, cuddled her and enjoyed being close to her. These definitely fill my heart with joy! It's these moments why we need to have children ;)

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    1. I completely agree, Annika. So much joy! It took me several years before I really tuned into it. It's easy to lose sight of it in the more mundane or frustrating moments. But when you do, oh, it's just so good. :)

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  2. Oh your beautiful girls! One more... yes please :) And you have such an eye for a colour palette.

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  3. Adorable skirts and beautiful girls. I was dying, btw, at Iris tattling on herself. That.is.awesome.

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    1. Thanks, Masha! Iris is so funny. With four kids, she is our first to tattle on herself. They are all so different. It makes it so much fun!

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  4. Such lovely skirts - you always choose such perfect fabrics.
    Enjoy your summer!

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  5. While she may not always get along with her 3 big sisters I'm sure she'll love their hand-me-downs. The girls look gorgeous, beautiful colours and the photos are hilarious and so cute.

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  6. they are so sweet together! such beautiful colors in these photos. I can't wait to meet this new little girl of yours!

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  7. They look so sweet together! Perfect summer skirts I'd say, love them.

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  8. Oh. My. Gosh. They are so cute! Iris' chubby little legs spinning around in her pretty new skirt! Kill me with sweetness! (And telling on herself?!! Priceless!) I am looking forward to your tutorial - your drafted skirts look like have more of an a-line shape and swing, which I really like!

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  9. I love these skirts - especially your self-drafted one. Hope you do a tutorial!

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  10. You've done it again, Rachel - wowed us all with your clever sewing, great fabric choices/palette, and amazing photography. Love the real life stories that you shared too - so fun to get to know your family better! So precious . . .
    So how was I not following you on Pinterest? That has been quickly corrected:) Funnily enough, but probably not surprisingly, multiple times I tried pinning one of your kids clothes pins, only to have the message pop up that I had already pinned that image to my board previously - great minds, and all that:)

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    1. Lucinda, you know I love your style so much (or I hope you do!). So yes, I will take great minds as a compliment, for sure! :)

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  11. All three skirts are beautiful! And what lovely pictures. I just made a pinafore for E with that exact same pink linen! It is a lovely color, isn't it. I also have two yards of that steel linen in my stash. Maybe it's time to make a skirt! It just seems so stiff that I haven't been so sure what to do with it. Do you think it softens over time? Or do you wash/dry it in some special way?

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    1. Yeah, you're right - linen is definitely more stiff than quilting cotton. But
      not enough so that my girls noticed or complained about it. I think it's really
      key to dry it in the dryer, because if you hang dry linens, then they are /very/
      stiff. I actually just went to the dryer because I had one of the girls' linen
      skirts there and I felt it and it wasn't very stiff. And I always iron with a
      hot iron, so maybe that helps, too? We use linen cloth napkins and they are
      very soft now, so I think they must soften over time/washing. My biggest
      complaint with linen is that it wrinkles a lot. :/

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  12. Oh very cute - i love linen in summer (even if it does need more ironing than most). did you do the side ties like in the inspiration?

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  13. haha omg the lipstick. Too great!

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