I had a little time this past month to tuck into my fabric stash and came up with a few patchwork ideas to use up some of my favorite pieces, odds & ends, and crocheted adornments.
I started a crazy-patchwork quilt first, something for my husband and I to look back on with the "ohhh, remember that concert" and "oh that fabric is from...". A great memory quilt, if you will. I'm not rushing thru it, but piecing it together with a slow progress so that I'm sure it turns out "just right".
So in the meantime I got to thinking on the bright colorful pieces of fabrics that I have kept. The cheery owls, scraps of pretty flowers...and all those fun things inside my basket.
Searching "patchwork" came up with the basic tote bags, quilts, placemats...and oh, skirts! Yet, the skirts were too basic for what I had in mind. So I took up with the patchwork skirt idea, and added some major flair to it!
I am sooo happy with how it turned out!
Lots of colors and very twirl-worthy!
I have a basket that I keep so many of my favorite
buttons, sequins & beads, crochet trims and flowers...all the little
things that I knew I was keeping for something special.
Evening time spent making lots of hooked flowers and trims paid off...with such a fun way to showcase some of my favorites!
And patches created out of some fun fabrics, adorned with sequins and beads to really make them pop!
Now...how did I do it? I will have to be more exact in the measurements with the next skirt, so for now you get the "gist" of what I did. There are many tutorial's online for patchwork skirts if you need a more in-depth and detailed step-by-step process!
Ronna's Patchwork Skirt:
For the squares I cut out pieces 5"w & 7"t, with some smaller pieces in width but still the 7"t.
I took the waist measurement- in this case was 29" and added 4" to it for some gathering which made it = 33".
So for the waistband I cut out a piece approx 6"wide and 33" long. Sew it into a band (like you do for your waistbands) leaving an opening for the elastic to be inserted.
Next I began sewing the rectangles together into rows. Starting with the first row, adding to it until it was about 5" wider than the waistband. I then top-stitched between each rectangle, knowing it would be annoying to attempt so after all sewn together! Then I gathered the top of that first row and attached it to the waistband. (Sew this as you would any skirt/pants etc) Then from there I just kept adding another 2 rectangles or so to each row to give it some gather/twirlyness! Repeating the gathering the top of the row and adding it to the bottom of the previously attached row. Press & top stitch etc. For the hem-band I pieced together fabrics in lengths, making sure that it was 7" tall once all pieced together. This was so that I could fold it under, giving the underside a bit of a prettier look instead of the underside of fabric.
Back to finish the waistband. Instead of the basic elastic waist, I took a piece of elastic 8" long and to each end I added a piece of hooked yarn (For this I did a row of sc, with 2 colors for some added pop & thickness.). Insert like elastic/ribbon thru the waistband and then finish the waistband hem.
Next was the fun part! Adding all the patches, trims, ribbons, sequins & beads, buttons, and crocheted flowers!
