Mother-Daughter Skirts

Oh yes, I did. I sewed us matching skirts.

(Apparently we often stand the exact same way. I had no idea.)

For the first seven years of my mama-ing existence, I was a boy mama. I thought I was a dyed-in-the-wool boy mama and that was that, and then pretty much as soon as I got pregnant with the third I knew she was a girl. I've come around to being a girl mama pretty well, don't you think?

When I saw that Purl Soho was having a Memorial Day sale, I decided to get some fabric for skirts for me and G, and it was actually my idea to get enough of G's choice so we could have matching skirts. I sat her on my lap and asked her what she liked, and she chose this cute flower print on a blue background. (The sale is still going on, but I can't find this fabric there anymore; it must have sold out? Here it is on the Robert Kaufman website.)

I made G's skirt using the simple skirt tutorial at MADE. Actually, I read the tutorial on the computer, took some measurements, and went downstairs to sew without consulting the computer again. It's that simple. (Just a note, I tacked down the seam allowance at the top 1 1/2" before making the casing; the tutorial doesn't say to do it, but it helps keep the elastic from snagging.) I whipped it up Saturday night while G was asleep, then fit the elastic and sewed the gap in the casing on Sunday morning.

Then I made mine, using the directions in Sew What! Skirts (borrowed from the library) for drafting an A-line, elastic-waist skirt. I went on faith while I was making it, because it looked like a lot of width at the bottom. Even as I was adjusting the elastic, I thought maybe it wouldn't hang on me right. But I think hemming it did the trick, and it drapes just fine. I could have gone smaller in the waist (the book has you use the hip measurement plus some ease; I probably could cut down on the ease a bit) but it doesn't look too big, I don't think. I'm mulling over trying a skirt with a zipper next... I don't know, though. The elastic waist is awfully easy. I bought another cotton print for me, and some voile, and I have enough of this blue flower print to make G a pair of easy elastic-waist pants, too. (Although she's told me she expects a matching skirt for each one I make for myself.)

We love our new skirts. And this girl mama thing, it's pretty fun!