Sometimes you have to look at a project and wonder, why did it take me so long to do that?! Case in point: this skirt.
As I mentioned before, I'm participating in The Craft Sessions' Stash Less prompts, which got me looking at what I already had on hand and doing some project planning around it. This project was so easy to sew and I'm so in love with the final result that I'm kicking myself for not sewing it ages ago.
So how long was the journey to this skirt being made? Thanks to the near never-ending archive that is my Gmail account/this blog, I can pretty much tell you down to the day!
The outer fabric I purchased in October 2010 for $5, from, get this, someone else's stash. So, in truth, this fabric had quite the journey before it even came to me. I fell in love with the print immediately, so even though I only spent $5 on it, it felt too precious to cut into.
But it's a pretty light-weight/slightly see-through fabric, so I needed to find an appropriate lining before I could sew it, right? Nope!
I've had some absolutely gorgeous silk charmeuse since at least September 2011, which I must have had for a while, because I already referred to it as being in my stash at that point. I did have a small moment of regret, when I had cut it up as the lining and was sewing it together, when I remembered that it had been intended for a slip I had the pattern traced out for, but I think I'll still get a nice camisole out of the leftovers, so no foul there.
I had all the fabric then, so I was just waiting for the perfect pattern, right? Wrong. I've had Colette Patterns' Zinnia in my possession since September 2013.
Okay, so granted in September 2013, I had a 6-month-old and wasn't doing a ton of sewing that wasn't baby-related, but still, from time of original fabric purchase to finished project we're looking at five and half years, or two and half if you count when I found a good pattern match.
And the Zinnia pattern was a perfect fit. It was simple enough to show off the fabric, it had pleats (which I find infinitely more flattering than gathers) and it was lined and though maybe not perfect, I had a zipper and button on hand that would work and no other notions needed.
As for the finished product? I adore it. I'm still in love with the print, the lining feels divine, it's swingy, and the fit is good. It also looks pretty swell with my Prairie Wife Cardigan too. This skirt makes me feel like I should hop on the back of a Vespa and be chic and charming in Rome. Definitely worth the wait.
Wherein I talk about body image, mental health and making your own clothes, one year later...