White Summer Skirt

When I saw this white fabric at an estate sale, I thought it was cute (although it also slightly reminded me of a tablecloth). The fabric was taped up, so I wasn’t sure how much yardage there was, but I happily bought it for $2. When I got home and measured it, I found it was a 45 inch fabric with two yards. I thought there was probably enough fabric that I could make a skirt with it.

I decided a pleated skirt would work well with the fabric’s horizontal woven pattern, and chose this 1950s skirt pattern as a reference. I’ve used this skirt pattern before (with some adjustments), so I knew it was a simple skirt to make. And I didn’t have any major issues with this skirt (beside some slippage of the pleats when basting, which was annoying).

The main addition I made was adding a lining to the skirt since I thought the white fabric had some transparency issues. I selected some cheap off-white broadcloth from my fabric stash for my lining. I used a simple A-line skirt shape from another pattern as my basic pattern (disregarding the darts and shortening the length); the main point I had to keep in mind was the lining’s circumference had to match the skirt’s circumference. The lining tacked on some additional hours, but I think it was well worth it.

The original pattern called for more length in the skirt, but with the limited amount of fabric I had, I had to shorten it (which I think worked out fine). Also, instead of the prettier hem using bias tape the pattern specified, I decided on doing a narrow hem out of necessity.

If I had more fabric, I would have liked to have used the woven pattern horizontally across the waistband, but sadly, this was not to be. Overall I’m happy with my skirt. It is a bit large, but it’s not a huge issue. I think this skirt cost about $7 in total; $2 for white fabric, $3 for lining fabric, $1 for thread and $1 for the zipper and eyes and hooks. And I think it’s a really great skirt for summer.

Two Cashmere Sweaters

Recently I went thrift shopping, and as I was going through the racks, I noticed an unusual number of cashmere sweaters—as though one woman (with expensive taste) had gone through her closet and done some spring cleaning. I’ve never owned any cashmere sweaters before (and doubt I would ever buy any full-priced), but was happy to get two sweaters for $8 each.

The first is a short-sleeved, off-white and cable-knit sweater from Saks Fifth Avenue. Truthfully, I’m not really into cable-knits. [Pause.] I like them on other people. I don’t think I’ve ever owned any sweater with a cable pattern. But I thought the fit was pretty good, the color would go well with just about anything, it was cashmere and cozy, and for the price, I thought, “Why not?”

The second sweater is from Milly and I like it a lot. It’s a short cardigan that feels very 1950s. I love the cut of the sweater. I think the crystal buttons that go down the front are adorable. I appreciate the attention to design—like the little eyelets along the sweater edges. I don’t generally wear a lot of green, but I do like jewel tones and like this deep green color. So I’m quite happy with my sweater purchases and still have a little bit of time to wear them before spring hits.

Altered: Sleeveless Bias Tape Top

I picked a blouse to do my first alteration from the mountain of clothing I got at the last estate sale I went to. I chose this white blouse that I had no desire to wear as-is; it was too large on me and had a slouchy high neck that I didn’t like. Since I wasn’t attached to this blouse (in any way) and had bought it for 50 cents, I didn’t feel bad cutting it up (because usually a part of me will worry that I’ll “ruin” a garment in some way if I try to alter it).

When I looked at this blouse I saw some potential. I liked the lapped front that covered the buttons. I also thought that the polyester material it was made from wasn’t bad. I thought about different altering possibilities and decided to use black satin bias tape (that I’d made a lot of some time ago) to finish my edges.

So first I cut off the sleeves and took out the shoulder pads. Then I cut around the neckline, along the base of the high neck neckline. I cut the sides open and sewed them in and then I finished all my edges with my bias tape. It wasn’t hard (although it did take me longer than I anticipated). But I think the result is pretty good. It’s a very simple black and white top that will work well with a lot of my skirts.