Well, I clearly couldn’t get Dana’s summer skirt tutorial out of my head since I posted about it the other day… so here is my new shirred summer skirt!
I ended up sewing this skirt from two of the second hand bed sheets I picked up from the thrift store not too long ago (the inside is lined with plain white to make the skirt less see-through). So while it’s nice and flowy, it’s also relatively substantial.
You’ll notice I opted for no pockets. No huge explanation behind that, except that I wasn’t so keen on giant pockets and they seemed a bit complicated to sew on. So to the chopping block they went! I rarely have the patience to finish something with those kinds of details anyhow… I just get too excited about being done my project!
Also, verdict: Shirring is way easy, guys. You just buy some elastic thread, wind it loosely around your bobbin (by hand), and sew as usual with normal thread up top. It’s like magic.
….Pssst! I’m participating in:
a stitch in lime 
July 27, 2010 at 2:40 pm
Jana:
The shirring is sure exquisite (no pun really intended). I kept looking at the skirt wondering how you made that out of an old sheet. My girl, you surpass excellence in this. You are learning, doing and you make it all look easy and professional. That’s a beautiful skirt with a humble beginning.
You go girl. ma
July 27, 2010 at 7:49 pm
Oooh. I love it. Shirring though? It looks so pretty and sounds so scary. Is it as hard as I imagine?
July 27, 2010 at 9:56 pm
Thanks! And no, it’s not hard at all — check out the tutorial I used: http://pretty-ditty.blogspot.com/2009/04/smockingshirring-tutorial.html
I’m definitely gonna be making more shirred items in the future 🙂
July 27, 2010 at 8:33 pm
Love the skirt!! I’ll have to remember to look for sheets next time I’m at the thrift store!
Thanks for linking @Creative Itch’s “Sew Cute Tuesday”!
July 27, 2010 at 10:00 pm
No problem 🙂 Yeah sheets (if you can find some nice ones) are a great way to score cheap fabric!
July 29, 2010 at 5:54 pm
Such a great summer skirt. Nice work!
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November 28, 2010 at 6:09 pm
Hey hey, you got mentioned in the round up today at Prudent Baby!
November 28, 2010 at 8:20 pm
I saw that! Neat! Although I think they misappropriated my inspiration for the shirring, but I’ll take it anyway 🙂