I think it’s always important to be proud of the things you do well – either from an inherent skill or years of practice, there is no harm in patting yourself on the back. It’s just as important to acknowledge the things you do not excel at. Come on, we all have them. The things that, no matter how hard we try or how many books we read or YouTube videos we memorize, it’s just never gonna happen.
For me, that thing is gardening. I am an unintentional murderer of all plants – from flowers to shrubs to cacti, all have fallen prey to my horticultural menace. If I’m being honest, I also hate gardening. So, I am destined to live a somewhat plant free existence, unless I am willing to pay someone to landscape (but, seriously. Don’t let me near the watering can or all of their hard work will be for nought). However, while I am crap at tending to real flowers, safe to say that I am pretty darn good at sewing them…..
Skirt Construction
Over the past several years, I’ve been challenging myself with more and more difficult sewing projects. Pattern drafting and applique, recreating a vintage garment or working from a design in my head. And in all of these projects, I’ve learned I like it a little extra (yeah, I know you’re not all that surprised).
So, when this latest yardage of vintage fabric happened upon my sewing table, I saw an opportunity. It’s an absolutely amazing print of flowers blooming in open windows, with vines climbing up the walls of a brick-laden building. It was too cute for words and absolute border print perfection. Now, I could have easily whipped up a simple dirndl skirt. Wide waistband, ruched skirt, and call it a day. But…we have met, right?
I couldn’t help myself, because the minute I saw this print, I knew that it was calling out for a bit of extra appliqué. Those flowers weren’t just going to sit in the background, they would bloom out from the windowsill, bringing the florets within into 3D reality.
True, it would without a doubt be a bit of a fiddly project, but would be so worth it to see that world come to life. And when have I ever shied away from fiddly? Exactly…
I started by finding the perfect mini flowers – I found exactly what I needed at Pretty Die Cuts. They had adorable mini felt flowers in 7 different sizes, which I could layer to my heart’s content. I messaged the lovely owner Sarah to see if I could get them in white, red, and blue to match the color scheme of the skirt and she was so accommodating to get me exactly what I needed. A few messages back and forth, and my order was soon heading my way from jolly ol’ England.
The next part was rather tedious, but involves something that’s become second nature to me, so engrained is it in my motor memory: Appliqué! Working with white, red, and blue thread, plus color-matched beads, I slowly worked my way along the length of the yardage while rewatching Mrs. Maisel (and nope. still not as enamored with Season III).
I used the windowsill scene as a template to follow – it was like paint by numbers using felt flowers. I simply worked my way through each flowerpot, alternating colors and styles. I would thread the needle up in the middle of the printed flower, add the felt bloom and a bead, and thread back down. I played a bit with layering different sized flowers on top of one another to get some extra dimension. And slowly but surely, it came to life.
Once the appliqué was done, the rest was pretty straightforward – I gathered the skirt to my ideal 28″ waist, added a wide 2.5″. waistband, and finished her with a quick blind hem. I think the colors really pop….
Although the appliqué was time consuming, I was really able to knock out the bulk of the work in two evenings (and 1.5 seasons). I was pretty surprised with the sheer number of flowers used, though – 840 in total (!), ranging in size from 0.5 up to 2cm.
The work was definitely worth it – I’m in love with how it turned out. I especially appreciate when you can’t see a detail from a distance, and then are drawn into a whole new world within the closer you get.
Needless to say, I was pretty proud of my gardening skills with this skirt – and can honestly report that none of these blooms have required water or sunlight, and none have dared to wilt under my watch. I guess it is all about knowing your strengths.
When I’m not hard at work tending to my flower boxes, this week has been all about getting back into the mindset of grant writing. I was halfway through one with my collaborators when the madness of COVID-19 hit, and all projects that didn’t involve online teaching came to a screeching halt. Now that the semester is over, I can get back into it. It’s a bit intimidating, to say the least, to write with confidence when you feel so uncertain, but sometimes you have to plan for an uncertain future.
Much like in gardening, you never really know how things will turn out. Things can wilt with your best effort, or bloom seemingly at random. Maybe all we can do sometimes, is take a deep breath, thread the needle, and begin….
xoxo
Outfit Details:
Top: gift (similar)
Skirt: Made by Me; vintage fabric from FB (similar here, here & here)
Necklace: Natalie Joy, no longer available (similar)
gift, Modern Millie’s
Shoes: Steve Madden, thrifted (similar here & here)
Lip Color: Dior Rouge 634
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Any items marked with a “c/o” (courtesy of) a retailer mean I was provided with an item for free in exchange for a review and/or feature on my blog. I always provide my honest opinion of any item I’m reviewing, regardless of whether it was sent to me as a courtesy item or if I purchased it myself. In addition, this post may contain affiliate links. This means that if you click and/or make a purchase through certain links or ads on this site, I may make a commission from that click and/or purchase at no cost to you, which helps with the day-to-day running costs of my blog.