Another of Sham's Tablecloth Skirts!

Finished another of Sham's fabulous Tablecloth Skirts, my Summer rendition. Do I mention that I should have smoothed out the skirt a bit before clicking the camera now or when I am done? Guess you get it now.


Pattern:

http://communingwithfabric.blogspot.com/2011/11/self-drafted-tablecloth-skirt-with.html
 The design and pattern are courtesy of the generous and oh, so inspirational Shams over at Communing With Fabric.   She brilliantly figured out how to copy a designer original and inspired many of us to make one too. She even has a gallery of tablecloth skirts.  I really would like to make this out of a sheer next. You'd think I had enough but I love the design and it can be whipped out in a few hours.





 Fabric:

This is a cotton with a bit of spandex included picked up in Joann's clearance  a few months back. If you ever had kids who wore Oshkosh overalls back in the eighties, this is the fabric, just a little stretch added. That stretch did make it miserable to iron. I also decided to use a green blend to run a flat piping to accentuate the odd lantern shape. I think the skirt would have been rather drab without it.

Construction: 

That flat piping did pose a bit of a challenge at the corners but it all worked out well enough. By the fourth corner I think I knew what I was doing.  I did do something different, for me anyway that I would like to share.

I had limited time to make this and found I was out of regular white thread. I did have a huge industrial type spool of lightweight embroidery thread that I use in the bobbin for heirloom work. I gave it a yank. It didn't break so I forged forward. But this stuff was wimpy. How would I make a decent topstitched hem with such wimpy thread? I have seen others do this but this was a first for me. I used my "triple stitch" to topstitch the skirt hem.  This is the stitch that goes over itself three times so it gives a much thicker looking finish. I LOVE IT! Here are a couple of examples for you. Makes a great topstitch, doesn't it? And this was with lightweight thread! I will definitely using this technique again.

Another  construction tip: I recently received an order from Nancy's Notions. Enclosed was a free Klasse needle to try, a bit of lagniappe. Wow, do I love this needle!  My machine just hums with it, like a happy kitten. I will definitely be buying some of these. NAYY, just happy.

Also, I cut different dimensions this time. I am only five feet tall after all, but looking at all the iterations of this skirt in the gallery I decided I wanted to try one with the "points" a bit higher. My inner rectangle is 32 square. the outer rectangles are 17 by 32. I am amazed at how even the hemline is which I thought was unusual. I also staystitched the waist then clipped about every inch before attaching the waistband. This helped it have no ripples unlike my last attempt which seemed to require a lot of fiddling to get the waistband on properly.
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 This is one of the narrower window boxes that I filled with the wool doublecloth. Plants are all doing wonderfully and the moisture level is just right.

You know I am passionate about sewing. You may have figured out I feel pretty much the same about gardening. But here's the big dif: Gardening is my husband's passion too! It is something we are thrilled to share. We put our heads together,talk design,plant our brains out, shop together for plants, break our back moving stones,etc....It truly is a passion we share equally and it is such a delight to be working with someone you love on something you both love to do. You are both exhausted, proud, and shopped out by day end equally.  I know couples who never find a shared passion. We are blessed. You can see why this time of year, my priority becomes sharing this pastime with my hubby and putting my sewing on the back burner. I hope you are blessed with something you are able to passionately share with  your partner. It really makes life great......Bunny