Oh, these early autumn days are so gorgeous. That low, slanting light and the blue, blue sky…it just sends me. I want to photograph everything.
I also want to keep sewing skirts.
Although I’ve exhausted the stash, skirt-fabric-wise. In fact, that one on the right? The beige linen one? That’s my Sound of Music skirt—it’s made from a curtain.
It wasn’t being used as a curtain at the time, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have taken it off the wall to make clothes. I once cut buttons off a shirt in my husband’s closet because I needed them for something else.
Speaking of buttons, I want to show you how I made the button closure.
I threaded a piece of #5 Perle cotton onto a big-eyed needle and ran it through the end of the waistband (which in this case is just a bias edging) and made two loops. I made sure the button I was planning to use would fit—snugly—through the loops, and then I began making little knots around the loops, like this:
When the loop was covered with knots, I fastened off the end by running it into the interior of the skirt, between the curtain linen and the gingham lining, and knotted it. For all I know this is an actual technique (maybe called “buttonhole stitch” or whatever, who knows) and my mama may have taught it to me, I have no idea. I’ve just always done it when I need a loop closure. It’s handy, and I don’t have to go to the store.
This one is a wrap skirt, made using the same pattern. I lined it with (what else) gingham and then sewed a bias edging around the whole thing. Then I added two buttons at the waistband, and hand-sewed two buttonholes to meet them.
Whoops, I’m late for school! Gotta go.
