Red Syrah Maxi Skirt

Last year I bought Pattern Parcel #6, which I have used 2 of the patterns already. I probably will make all of the patterns out of this parcel, which surprises me. This was a great pattern parcel! I made the Bronte top (see here) and also the Julia cardigan (see here). So this was a good pattern set. Today I will do #3, the Syrah skirt from Baste and Gather. I know I have made maxi skirts before but I thought I would try another pattern.

So Syrah skirt it is. I used this thin, red knit. I used it to make my boyfriend a shirt (which you will see soon). It is a gorgeous color of crimson! I added 3 inches to the hem since I am tall. I opted for a simple even hem, then a simple waste band- the foldover, and a lining. It was a really easy sew even though I got a little confused with the wasteband but then it clicked. The fit is perfect. I did not hem but left it raw as my experience with this fabric it does not sew with a twin needle- yeah it is that thin. So I wanted to have it hang nicely, so we left it raw.

I love the lining with it, I thought i would not like it but turns out I did. I like having that extra layer and it isn't too tight so I like that. I paired it with a simple top I made awhile back (see here). It fits great!

The band for the waist. Fits well and no muffin top. ;)

I really hate taking after photos, seriously. But I would recommend this pattern!

Cheers,
Lauren

Maxi dress to skirt, #36

Mom found a dress for me. Thanks mom! But when I put it on. Something was off.

The top was too big and didn't hug my chest area, it constantly fell down. Then too short. Boo!

I cut the dress in half. I will convert the top to a swimsuit later. The bottom part I made a casing and added elastic. Poof now I have a maxi skirt and I will wear it.

It totally makes me want to twirl and spin in circles...

Recap! Easy refashion! 

Cheers,
Lauren

Oh yeah, striped maxi skirt

I am back in town. Tired. Confused on the day and time and trying to get back to reality. I had this blue and green striped knit fabric in my stash forever (came from that lady!) and didn't know what I was going to do with it. Then I realized it was thin, didn't have a lot of stretch and was slightly see through. I also had a lot of this fabric. I couldn't help myself with this easy sew deciding to use up the fabric for a maxi skirt.. Because it really is that easy, especially since I worked out the sizes. I have made this skirt before see my chevron skirt.

Since it was see through- I have a layer underneath the skirt. This was perfect for traveling. It was a bit chilly when I left so this was great to stay warm with the slight chill.

Yup on the phone taking pics. Hey I didn't have a lot of time. As you can see the fabric pulls back, which was odd, but I could live with it.

Paired with a jacket and I was ready to go. Actually when I left I paired the skirt with my pink faux leather jacket. It was super cute!

Ok who is ready to leave for travel. 

Yeah used a lot of this fabric. Which is good. I may try to make an easy top or else I will turn it into boy bibs, which it is hard to always have good fabric for boys. Ok I have a lot to catch up with, meh.

Cheers,
Lauren

Pink/Purple Tie Dye Maxi Dress Refashion

I had this dress for a bit but for some reason it never worked. I wore it once and then it shrunk some and it was a weird length. Then I found myself pulling up the top. It was just too frustrating to wear.

So hard to see the bottom oddly, ok whatever. I took a pair of scissors to the top part of the dress. Here is the top from the bottom, separated. Weird huh?

Time to make it a maxi skirt. I serged the top portion of the skirt b/c I hate unfinished edges. 

Fold over, sew-creating a casing. Feed through some elastic. Adjust to fit. 

Connect the elastic together- however your heart feels content to sew it.... (LOL!)

Done! A maxi skirt that fits. I need to mess around with styling. No more anyone seeing my weird feet and ankles!

Got to love easy refashions!

xoxoxo,
Lauren

Chevron Maxi Skirt

As promised, another maxi skirt! Love this brown chevron material-such a fabulous knit!

Again I used this pattern again ...

From Elle Apparel

First I had to get the pattern to be even.

I let the edge of the bottom layer to curl up and allow me to make sure the fabric was even. This was harder than I thought- this little trick helped me.

Also if you notice the pattern repeated every 8 ish inches. This is really important b/c you have to make sure you have enough. Luckily I had more than I needed!

Here is after the first found of cutting. I added an inch in the length and made the waistband smaller since the blue lace maxi was just a hair too big. 

Now to make the other piece and have the side match. Oh! This was a challenge. So I laid the top over the full layer of fabric (i.e. no folding in half here!). And I got everything to match up. If you look close enough you can see the first piece- yes it is hard. 

Here is the waistband. Again did the same thing with trying to match up. 

I sewed everything together but I should have went with my gut and how I cut it. It is just a fraction off on the sides but overall the skirt looks great and fits a little bit better!!!

It is a super fun skirt. I can't wait to wear it and play with different tops! :) Yay!! There may be another skirt in the works. It all depends, let's see!

xoxoxo,
Lauren

Blue lace maxi skirt

Yes I am having maxi skirt madness but they are so nice for the lab and the long commute every day. Here is my first one where I drafted the pattern myself. This is periwinkle blue stretch lace with a blue stretch cotton flannel like (for lack of a better description) liner underneath.

I made the pattern using the instructions of the maxi skirt pattern from Elle Apparel

Here is me trying to cut it one night after work... Got to curve up the bottom part to make the skirt even, which blew my mind! But it worked!

Repeat with the lace. Use the liner as a pattern.

Here is an up close before I put it on. It was really easy to make. Directions were easy to follow. The lining sort of messed with my head but I got it to work. 

On! Love it! Can't wait to wear it to work! 

Very happy with this pattern and the outcome! Will definitely use it again! Stay tuned for another try with this skirt!

xoxoxo,
Lauren

Pink Maxi Skirt

FYI this is a big skirt! I saw this pattern from McCalls and thought it would be fun to make!

I cut my normal size for patterns (12) and I had gotten this great inexpensive pink t-shirt material. I did not realize it was not wide enough (or it shrunk in the wash!!!) and it has a lot of stretch. The fabric also grabbed so I had to cut piece by piece singly-no cutting on the fold! It was impossible to square up! I gave up!

So I was a few inches sort :( Like almost 6). Instead of going to the store and buying more I cheated and sewed and extendor. I did not know how I was going to like the actual skirt. 

The instructions were easy to follow. The skirt is heavy and stretchy. I may need to make some modifications later. And wow it is full. I need to shorten since I did not hem the bottom. Oh yeah I used my walking foot to sew the entire skirt-which is a pain and took me longer but the seams look so nice. 

Like the model. LOL I could do a high kick in this skirt. 

It is hard to say if I had a less stretchy fabric if cutting a smaller size would have worked better. The skirt did appear to grow after I sewed it. I do love it. I added a yellow short sleeved cardigan and wore it out shopping on sunday. Oddly I got a few compliments. I washed and dried it again-maybe it will shrink? LOL But I do recommend the skirt pattern. I felt very feminine in it. Love the pink color!!! :)

xoxoxo,
Lauren