Oct 7

Oct 7 everyday love

Maggie Kempner

women's apparel

sometimes aunt maggie needs to sew for herself. now in general i prefer to sew for kids over adults for a few reasons:

kids clothing doesn't have to fit precisely (it's more drawstrings and elastic waistbands, less darts and zippers). because this part is easier, i can focus my energy on trying new and different techniques, patterns, and fabrics.

i'm not really a clothes girl, seriously if i could pull off that whole steve jobs uniform thing i would.

adult clothing takes a lot more fabric and time, which is tough for me to commit to. maybe i should explore that in therapy.

i love my nieces but don't get to see them everyday. however they know i've made a good portion of their wardrobes so i like to imagine they think about me, on some level, once or twice a week when they wear what i've made them.

all this is to say, if i'm sewing for myself it is usually for a good reason. and the everyday skirt from liesl & co is a very good reason.

first love

i first made the everyday skirt pattern last summer with some black kona cotton (originally from gather here) that had been sitting in my stash left over from a washi dress.

it was love at first stitch. i could write a five paragraph essay on why this pattern is amazing, but it would boil down to this: flat front waistband, pockets, gathered elastic back, and very comfortable.

sorry for the quality of the picture, i did not know then i would be blogging it one day.

cobalt

i picked 2 yards of this cobalt eyelet for $15 back in boston, with every intention of using it to make the girls something. two years and a cross country move later it was still just sitting there. so as part of my stash busting initiative (and because i hate going shopping) i decided to make myself something from it this past winter.

the best part? when i texted my sister she responded "we have 3 feet of snow and you have bare legs." #iwin

tangrams

this skirt actually came to be because of maya's lorax tunic. from the second sammie said the birthday theme was the lorax i knew exactly the fabric i wanted: the orange truffala tree print i had seen around for months. of course once i started looking for it wasn't in any of the local stores.

i went to the internet to order some and while there i decided to to start researching canvas as i was thinking about making fitz a bed (and make him a bed i did, details on that later). once i saw this lion print from the cotton + steel august collection i knew my lil' guy had to have it.

i mean how can you not love that face, and that fabric.

by that point my total was $26.96, and i realized it would be be cheaper to order more fabric and get free shipping (they do that for all orders over $35) than if i paid for shipping and got less fabric.

so when you think about it, buying more fabric was the fiscally responsible thing to do.

when i saw this tangram print from the cotton + steel moonlight collection i remembered how much i liked it in gail's library dress and added some to my cart. a few weeks later this skirt was born.

so there you have it, my love for the everyday skirt pattern expressed three times over. also in all three photos i am wearing jcrew cece ballet flats, and jcrew jackie cardigans. what can i say, i know what i like and i like what i know.