I have a pile of projects that need to be finished. But this week I finished someone else’s project. My mother-out-law has entered a stage of life where pain and confusion are her almost-constant companions. She let me know that she had a denim skirt cut out in the chest of drawers. Twice. I talked it over with my beloved and we decided that I would offer to finish it for her.
She was delighted! Happily the skirt was not denim but perhaps chambray. I couldn’t immediately follow the way she had cut it out but decided in the end that she had adjusted the pattern (and it worked very well, by the way).
There was some ribbon apparently intended as the interfacing for the waistband. I was really not sure it was appropriate, but since it was her choice, I adjusted the width of the waistband to fit and went with it.
The feature pockets were a must! I figured them out in the end after some initial puzzlement. Sometimes you just have to follow the instructions and trust them and wait for the penny to drop (for understanding to arrive).
Once the skirt was all but complete, it was an overnight hang prior to hemming as the skirt was cut on the bias. I have not encountered her strategy of weighting the hem with pegs before! A second try-on was out of the question on the day so we chose another skirt with a length she liked and similar fullness, and I matched the hem to it and machine sewed it in hopes of being able to complete the skirt.
I didn’t actually manage to hang it straight to take this picture–and although pronouncing herself delighted she did not try it on. But–whether she ever wears it might not be the main thing as we accompany her through this stage of her life.
Local & Bespoke 