doing my best not to bore you with more swingset skirts, fall edition

Well these were supposed to be for fall, but fall just keeps on not coming. It’s been in the 80s, hence the flip flops and sleevelessness in this post. Not quite how I envisioned these skirts being worn, but I can hardly complain – the weather is beautiful, and it can’t possibly last much longer.

By now it’s probably pretty obvious that I love the Oliver + S Swingset skirt pattern. Last week I retired some of the first ones I made (two years ago to the day for that last one, and a sunny day at that!) – those size 3s still fit in the waist, but the length has become completely indecent. It’s been time for a new crop of size 5 Swingsets for awhile now, and when Cotton + Steel came out, I knew there were a few good skirt prints in the mix. And then Tara made these two skirts with their brilliant chambray waistbands, which gave me the idea to modify the Swingset pattern.

It’s easy to do, and the modification I made applies to all sizes of the skirt, since the waistband’s finished width (1.25 inches) doesn’t vary between sizes. So I’ll give you my numbers just in case there’s any interest. Just create a new waistband pattern piece (it’ll be 2.25 inches wide after you add a 1/2 inch seam allowance at both the top and bottom), then shorten the skirt pattern piece at the top by 1.75 inches (1.25 inches for the waistband, plus a 1/2 inch seam allowance). The lines are on a curve, so you can use a ruler to draw a series of dots your given distance away from the curve, then cut on the dots.

Then sew your two new pieces together and follow the normal directions to finish constructing the skirt. Pinning and sewing on a curve like that is a little tricky (hence all those pins), but mine fit back together just fine, no clipping necessary.

I feel like I picked two of the most obvious Cotton + Steel prints – there are many more subtle but just as awesome choices in this huge collection, but I like skirts in bold prints like these. Plus what girl doesn’t want a skirt covered in horses. Anyway, LiMa Sews is carrying all five collections if anyone is in the market for some Cotton + Steel.

The Arrows (from Melody Miller’s Mustang collection) skirt is lined with Kaufman’s Cambridge lawn (left over from this dress)

and the Mustangs (from the same collection) are lined with an aqua Cotton Couture. I prefer the lawn as a lining, but Cotton Couture is the next best thing – it has a nice smooth texture and lighter feel than a lot of other solids. The chambray is by Andover, in Navy.

So…my love for the Swingset skirt continues. The pattern only goes up to size 5, but I’ll be lengthening these babies for years to come.

And finally, here’s Oscar, tromping around in his Sketchbook shorts and his new boots. It’s crazy how happy a pair of rubber boots can make an almost two year old. He’s super proud of that Hello Kitty tattoo, btw.