oh man, you guys. i just got back into town after being at a work conference for 3 days, the first time i’ve ever been away overnight by myself since having kids. it was so hard. coming home to my trooper of a husband and my two little sweeties just made my heart swell. i want to sneak back up to Em’s room and snuggle her in her sleep, creepozoid-style…or pluck O out of bed and rock him like when he was a newborn. i missed them SO much and being home feels so good. luckily, work travel will be pretty rare.
before i left, i finished up this new ballet skirt for Em to wear to class, because we’d lost her petal skirt somewhere in the house and she won’t go to ballet without one. i actually tried to make it with fold over elastic first which looked cute, but in just one wear a bunch of the fabric detached from the FOE. so i redid the waistband with some satin blanket binding, threading 1/2″ elastic through the casing.
the fabric itself is a pink ombré chiffon that Em picked out at mill end. mill end is actually where my mom used to shop for fabric when she sewed for us as kids, and i remember going there with her when i was in grade school. i hadn’t shopped there since i started sewing, though – i figured out the last time i was there was 1992! the feel and smell was really familiar, so it was pretty cool going there again and continuing the tradition. their apparel fabric selection is HUGE!
the chiffon is beautiful and twirls wonderfully, but is definitely more delicate than the georgette. it has already snagged a bit. oh well…these skirts are so easy to make! the key element to working with this type of fancy fabric is a fine needle (i use a size 10). cut the curves from the ends of a long rectangle, hem it with a baby hem (i learned how here), gather the top, overlap the curved edges, and add the waistband (like this type of thing). insert elastic and you’re done!
of course as soon as i finished the new one we found the old one behind the couch. here are her three ballet skirts, all in a row in order of completion:
and one more i have to share of my little mama…
frankie the tap dancing elephant. 🙂
skirt as top 
So cute! Little ballerinas are just the sweetest things ever. I’m waiting on some tulle and satin ribbon to arrive so I can make tutus for Christmas. I was considering the tie on method of making them but now I’m not sure….
LOVE that first pic! Look at her tippie toes! So precious 🙂
yay, welcome home! that chiffon is so cool, and she’s awfully cute in her new skirt. pretty impressive on her toes, too!
These skirts are just so adorable and that top picture is beautiful! I’ve always been so scared to branch out into other types of fabrics…perhaps I should just get over it.
And welcome home!!
such a sweet skirt! i just finished the oliver + s tutu… one for my girl and one for her baby doll for christmas. love the flower you added to yours.
thanks! the baby doll tutu idea is great! hm…
love the dancing pics:) she’s amassing quite a collection of ballerina outfits. we used to haunt mill end too when i was little. there’s one on the west side too but it’s not as fun as the one on the east side..
Oh, my gosh, I love that! She’s such a sweet little ballerina! My mom owns 2 dance studios and I teach tap at one of them! 🙂 I love your skirts, too!
thanks! that’s really neat that you teach dance. em’s in pre-ballet/pre-tap class but prefers the ballet portion. 🙂 dance store skirts are so outrageously expensive when you can sew!
DArling stuff! LOVE the coat and the skirt is so cute!