I love the varied and unpredictable thought process behind a sewing idea. This one went like this ... I stumbled across this gorgeous spotty light-weight purple corduroy during winter. I loved it the moment I saw it, and although I had no idea what I was going to make with it, it was meant to be ... I mean, it was on sale and basically jumped right off the shelf and into my arms. And I loved the unusual colour combination that really worked. So I grabbed a metre and started pondering. I was thinking about a little pinafore, or maybe even some skinny-jeans for one of my girls. Then one day I found this long-sleeve T-shirt for $3 in Target, and it was the PERFECT colour to match my spotty cord. I decided then and there that this fabric would become a skirt with a matching appliqued top.
So I pulled out my tape-measure and decided to go with my go-to skirt design. I sewed up the
Elephant Skirt and this fabric came together like a dream for this design. I left out the binding just to change it up a little, and seeing as I was feeling particularly lazy, I also left out the pockets. Also, as it was winter I made sure the skirt was a little longer, just for some extra warmth. Hannah has worn this outfit mostly with some cream-coloured tights and her beloved black boots.
For the matching top, I traced around a small espresso cup onto a piece of cardboard to make a template, then cut out 5 matching circles. I used some iron-on adhesive to hold these babies in place on the shirt (and to help with avoiding too much fraying of the edges) and sewed around the edges of each circle using a small zig-zag stitch. I then used a tiny scrap of fabric to make a self-covered button, and sewed this into the middle. Done! I love how the button bobbles around as Hannah walks and gives the shirt a 3D look.
Now in true What's Mummy Up To style, I can never stop at one when I try a new project and it goes to plan, so I decided to make another for my 3-year-old niece's birthday.
This time I used a lovely heavier-weight cotton fabric from my stash which I loved for it's red, pink and mint-green colour-scheme. I coupled it with a pale pink T-shirt, and I think this one came out great too. What do you think? The birthday girl seemed pretty happy and the combo got lots of lovely comments from people, so that's good enough for me!
