Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Sassy Sewing



Sewing isn't really my bag, man. My mom spends many an hour with her foot on the sewing machine pedal, humming along patterns and putting together pillows. I dig the occasional chance to sew, though, and I thought I'd share something I didn't make -- I made it better.

I got this skirt at a legendary Dallas bargain store, called quite appropriately, The $6.88 Store. Everything in the store costs $6.88, including this skirt. It's Isaac Mizrahi for Target, which means it didn't start out at too much more than $6.88, but it was also to the mid-calf (AKA ugly).

I decided to invent a bubble hem and make it a sassy cocktail skirt. It looks great with heels or heeled boots, depending on the occasion and the weather. In Dallas right now, we're struggling to winter-ize our summer clothes, since the highs have been reaching the 80s! So heels it is with this skirt! I guess I should mention how I invented the bubble hem, so others could try the ridiculously easy method I came up with. It's a poofy skirt, meaning that the longer the skirt gets, the more fabric you have to work with, so there is no such thing as just "taking it up" by a few inches, because you'll end up with bunched fabric and some bad looking pleats. So, instead of sewing all the way around the skirt to take up the length, I just sewed a short (as in less than a quarter of an inch) section every three inches, so that the excess fabric length makes up the bubble of the skirt.

All in all, I think it works. I think the sewing method is particularly suited to the fabric of this skirt, which is some sort of nylon/silk blend.

3 comments:

  1. will you come to Bloomington like, tomorrow, and teach me to sew?

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  2. Can I just say how sad I am that I didn't get to go to the $6.88 store when I was in Dallas! Next time...

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  3. Lovely legs! Who took the pic?
    The sew job is great. Its a very interestingly workable thing to do with a long skirt. Perhaps you can hook me up with an idea for two really long skirts I have.
    One question, will that stitch work for those abundantly blessed in booty department?? Cause .........Stephy got back!

    ;0)

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