2 fat quarters

My friend Carrie took me to a quilt fabric shop the other day and i was overcome!  I don't really make quilts because i find them too time consuming (likely to run out of puff part of the way).  That doesn't mean I'm not in love with all that fabric!

The shop was very surprising!  A quilt fabric shop INSIDE a tile shop (Keith Fagg, Canterbury Rd, Bayswater).  It was all a bit Alice in Wonderland... a shop inside a shop.  Apparently it is a husband/wife set up, and i bet Keith is glad that his wife set up the inside shop as it was very busy!

So what to do?  So many pretty fabrics.  How about a skirt for my 3 year old?  I had some inspiration in my head from the train to crazy blog (scroll right down) .  I loved the idea of using coordinating fabrics in a skirt, one as a frill.  Had to learn how to make a frill.  Found it on the web.  Got to love the internet!

This post is called "2 fat quarters" because that is all it took to make the skirt.  In fact, in terms of quantity of fabric, it only took one! I actually could get two skirts out of the 2 fat quarters: they would be the reverse of each other (a turquoise skirt with a floral frill).  Instead now that i have made this skirt, i might use the rest to make a summer top to match (a bit like a summer dress in two parts).

The shop has a MASSIVE  table of fat quarters (pieces of fabric about 50 x 55 cm - literally a quarter of a metre but instead of getting only 25 cm x width of the fabric (which would be a long thin piece - not so easy to use)  they give you 50 cm x only half the fabric width - a more useful fat shape).

back

This skirt was really easy to make.  It has a flat front (so it sits nicely) with an elastic waist at the back.

Below is what the pattern for the body of the skirt looked like (cut from a piece of A4 paper).  I just measured around her waist, divided by 4 and added a 1 cm seam allowance.  Then i got her to stand as if she was running (legs apart) and measured around her knees so the skirt would not be too tight.  Again i divided by 4 and added 1 cm for the seam allowance.  Measured the length i wanted for the skirt from her waist down and then added 6 cm for the hemming and casing for the elastic.

Then i drew this onto some paper and cut it out.  Folding the fabric right sides together i cut out two of these shapes along the fold.  Then i cut two 10cm strips right across the turquoise fabric for the frill.  I held some thick elastic across the back of her waist and cut it, first adding a couple of centimetres to the length to sew it in.

Below are the pieces i used to make the skirt.





Next i sewed the right sides of the body of the skirt together along the side seams and ironed the seams flat.  Then using the iron, i folded over the top 1 cm (for the raw edge) and then another 2 cms (for the casing) and sewed it down, leaving a gap at the two seams.  Threading the elastic in with a safety pin, i anchored it at the two seams, stretching it to make it work, then sewed the casing shut.

Here is the body of another skirt i made to the same pattern finished to this stage.  I only just realised that i bought exactly the same fabric as on the inspiration blog!!

Now for the frill.  I sewed the two pieces of frill fabric together to make it long enough.  The frill piece needs to be at least twice as long as the hem of the skirt body. Then i sewed the other ends together to make a loop.

Then i hemmed it.

Then i marked the middle of the front of the skirt and the middle of the back with a pin.  Then i did the same with the frill loop.   This helps with matching up the right amount of frill and skirt when you put it together.  The side hems make additional marked points.


I set my machine tension really low (1) and stitch length very long and sewed all along the top edge of the frill, about a 1.5 cm in from the edge.  Then i did it again about 1 cm in from the edge.  Setting the machine tension so low means that the underside of the fabric ends up with a VERY loose bobbin thread and big loops coming through from the top side.  Then i grabbed the bobbin threads and pulled, gathering the fabric.

I gathered until the circle was about the same size as the hem of the skirt.

The frill ready to sew onto the skirt body above.

Uusing the marked spots with the pins, i pinned the frill to the skirt and sewed it on.

I can't seem to get these skirts off her which makes it definitely worth it. :)