image by Anna Maria Horner

Let's do it!  Are you ready to sew yourself (or someone sweet) a skirt?  Quilters fear not.  Skirts are eaaaaaasy!  Way easier than a quilt.  We're going to sew-along together using Anna Maria Horner's free Flirting the Issue skirt pattern.  This skirt has an elasticized waist, so it's easy to fit and zipper-free.  You can make it for any size, from girls to grown-ups.  We'll sew it up the week of Mother's Day, in case you should find yourself in need of a personal treat...

::Materials::  Today!
::Cutting:: May 12th
::First Steps::  May 13th
::Elastic/Hemming:: May 14th
::Link Party:: May 16th

Hope you'll join us!




Materials

Anna Maria and many others have made this pattern in cotton voile.  Voile is a lightweight cotton with silky feel and lovely drape.  I do love my voile skirt.  It's so airy!  Voile can be hard to find, but Pink Chalk Fabrics has a nice selection with many on sale at $9.95 a yard.  That's a great price for voile!  The cotton lawn fabrics in this section would have a similar weight and drape.

Of course there are a lot more options available to us in quilting cotton. I hope to make one version in voile and one in quilting cotton to compare.  Based on remarks by those who have made this pattern, voile is preferred.  Quilting cotton would be less flowy and somewhat more poofy.  The gathering at the waist will be slightly more bulky.  But, I do love my quilting cotton skirts too, so I'm not afraid to try it in quilting cotton.  If quilting cotton makes you more comfortable for your first foray into garment sewing, go with quilting cotton!

The Flirting the Issue pattern requires a lining for skirt construction.  Voile makes a lovely lining.  Pink Chalk has a selection of some voile solids.  Anna Maria's shop also has some Flirting the Issue skirt kits which include voile outer and voile lining.  Lightweight muslin is another option for lining.  I've used it to line both voile and quilting cotton skirts.  I like the soft feel of muslin against my skin. 

How much fabric?  Well, that depends mainly on how long your skirt will be.  1 yard of fabric would make a short skirt up to 17" long, suitable for a girl or a petite woman.  Buy 1 1/4 yard for a medium-length skirt and 1 1/2 yard for a skirt up to 26" long.   You'll need to buy equal amounts of your main fabric and your lining fabric.

my Shopping List

• 1 1/4 yard main fabric
• 1 1/4 yard lining fabric
• about 4 yards of 1/4" elastic (you need 4 times your waist measurement)

Happy shopping, ladies!  We'll get started sewing on Monday, May 12th!