I belong to Group #3 of the SewCraftBlog!!!

Yea! I belong to a sewing blog group as of this morning. I heard about the group from Linda. I'm a big joiner. I love the inspiration, encouragement, learning, and friendships from sewing groups. I already know that there are some awesome sewers in this group and other Sew Craft Blog groups. The groups are open to anyone who sews or crafts and wants to share and learn through blogging. To learn more, go to www.sewcraftblog.blogspot.com

McCall Cotton Skirt

Well, I finished the skirt for the cotton contest. As usual, I finished the contest garment - just not by the deadline! At least my wardrobe doesn't care about the deadline. I no longer get concerned about it - just enjoy the encouragement from others participating in the contest and, of course, the finished garment. Here's the skirt:

I know I have a goofy expression. I was instructing DH on using the camera - guess it wasn't one of my "smiling days".

Project Details:

Pattern: McCall 5193

Fabric: 100% organic cotton from NearSeaNaturals. I absolutely love this fabric which was a joy to sew. It barely winkles, drapes well, and is sooooo comfortable.

Notions: 7" zipper, hook & eye, hem tape

Description: flared skirt, lower calf length has waistband and back zipper

I added 5" to the waist as there is hardly any difference between my hips and waist. Next time I make it I will take away 1" from the skirt gores. There was just too much ease putting on the waistband. I shortened the skirt by 8", 2" at the hip area and 6" at the lower area. I normally have to shorten a skirt anyway but this one hung almost to my ankles. I don't wear calf length skirts unless I wear boots (not a frequent thing in Florida) so I did my usual below the knee length. I reduced the flare just a tad. The design of the skirt is 8 gore but the gore sizes are different. I love gore skirts - the different sizes really gave this one a delightful "swing".

The top is the MyLabel T-Shirt made from rayon lycra knit - another very comfortable, soft fabric. (I could sleep in this outfit.) I got it into my head to add darts to the t-shirt to eliminate the folds around the sleeve. I'm still working on this t-shirt fit. The darts aren't quite right and now it is too tight. My friends think that I'm silly to be concerned about the fit of a t-shirt. Well, I wear them a lot and really want a well-fitted t-shirt. This shirt only takes about an hour to make so I plan to make quite a few of them - just vary the neck and trims so I don't get bored.

I've been sewing every minute I can grab (and some when I "should" be doing other things) so I'll have more finished garments to show in the weeks ahead.