Twirly skirts!

Over the last couple of days, I took time to sew some little dress-up skirts for Grace as one of her Christmas presents. She already has one I made her, which she modeled on the blog--and in Wal-mart--when she looked like a strange little fairy (skirt over sweatpants, mittens hanging from her coat sleeves, lots of flitting around).




The first one I made this week was nearly as sheer as the one she already has, so I made another one that she will be encouraged to wear underneath. This was what I finished yesterday:





I used two too-large shirts that I had received through Freecycle, cut them to the size I needed, and used the bottom of the shirts as the bottom of the skirt so part of the job was already done. I cut the skirts as long as would fit Grace now as a long skirt, and used enough elastic to simultaneously fit her well now and fit her well when she's Josiah's size. They will fit her for a few years, if the skirts last that long.



I am still working on sewing some bean bags for Josiah and Grace--a set for each of them. Nothing like working on Christmas gifts up until the last minute...

Want to see what I made last year? A cute dog bed for Josiah's toys. Pure madness on my part.

I used some flag-patterned fabric I've had for a while, very worn (and very thin, easy to sew) maternity jeans, portions of Jason's khaki's that were unrepairable (for the back of the bottom portion, since the flag-patterned fabric is very thin). The denim portion is stuffed with the filling from an old, clean pillow that had been washed way too many times.

Once I got started, I wished that my sewing skills kept pace with my imagination a little better. And I wished that I could sew it on a machine instead of entirely by hand. And I wished that the pattern I had in my head was smaller. But it turned out beautifully.

Bet you've never seen a manatee or a walrus in a pet bed before. :)

On a more serious note, please head over here to read ideas about thoughtful gifts from Shannon's readers at Rocks in My Dryer. And bring a tissue. You will need it.