Ribbon Trim A-Line Skirt

Wow, it's been all me, me, me around here lately!  I have been working on stuff for the kids too, but blogging about them keeps getting pushed to the bottom of the priority list since it's apparently Spring Contest time out there in sewing blog land.  I'm having fun coming up with things to participate in Project Sewn, and now Skirt Week is underway!  I know I COULD sew a skirt for my daughter for skirt week, but since she won't wear them that seems like a bit of a waste of effort, especially when I LOVE wearing skirts.

Here's my first skirt for skirt week--who knows, maybe I'll get more than one done before the deadline!

I fell in love with this fabric when I found it on the Joann's clearance section for $4/yard.  It's the Alexander Henry Kenyan Tea Leaf in black and brown.  I bought just one yard of it, and barely had enough for this project.  Luckily I had already been planning to do something fun with the hem, so it didn't matter that I couldn't have made the printed part of this skirt any longer even if I wanted to!  When I was in the checkout line, I saw this ribbon (a 3-yard roll for $1) and snatched it up:

More than enough to go around my hem.  The banding at the bottom of the skirt is a lightweight linen-type feel.  It's just doubled and serged to the raw edge of the printed fabric on the wrong side.  I covered the join with the ribbon for a seamless look.  I'm so happy with how it came out!

I would never wear this skirt if it weren't for the pockets.  I just added simple in-seam pockets to my skirt pattern (I based this pattern off of the measurements for the Milkmaid Skirt from Crafterhours, which I have made several times and LOVE, but I wanted inseam pockets and an exposed elastic waistline this time).  A great tutorial for in-seam pockets by Make it Love it can be found here--I like to make mine HUGE, like just short enough so they don't hang out from underneath the hem of the skirt.

I haven't done this kind of simple waistband before, but man, I love it for it's...simplicity.  I just cut a piece of 2" thick elastic a couple of inches shorter than my waist, joined it together in the back, pinned it to the outside of the skirt so that it lined up with the raw edge, and zig-zagged it on there (stretching the elastic as I went--I had pinned them together at the side seams and center front/center back), then flipped up the elastic for a nice finished waistband.

I think this shot shows the elastic waistband a little better than the next one...

This is the obligatory square skirt shot for the Skirt Week contest.

Here's me looking all serious and stuff.  I am totally digging my goodwill belt with this outfit.

To sum up:  here's all the things I like about this skirt.  

Voting for Skirt Week doesn't happen for a few more weeks (June 8th or so), so I'll be sure to post a reminder once you can actually go and help me out with that.  Who knows, maybe by then I will have more skirts for you to vote on!

Edited to add--Oops, fell down on the job on that one!  Voting ends tonight (June 10th), so if you are happening by my page before it's over click the link and vote for #7, the Ribbon Trim Skirt!  Can't believe I was one of the top ten--I am SO FLATTERED!  Seriously great skirts out there in the flickr pool.