Patchwork Skirt

I saw the Summer Swing Skirt tutorial on Moda and knew I had to make one, just in more muted colors. I originally planned on it being black and white, until I came across a bundle of black and white fabrics with some purple and pink mixed in at Wal-Mart. Rather than buying a layer cake (10" x 10" pre-cut squares), which wasn't available there anyways, I got a fat quarter bundle (8 FQ's) and a small jelly roll (24 - 2 1/2" strips). I originally intended to use 4 large squares on my top layer (11" x11") but I was lucky to get 2 - 11" x 10" blocks out of each fat quarter so I went with plan B and needed 5 blocks for the top tier, otherwise I doubt it would have fit my hips very comfortably, if at all. This meant I needed more fabric, so I bought two additional 1/2 yards that complemented the original set, and were on sale at JoAnn's. I think I spent $25 on fabric for this skirt.

In the end,I used 10 different fabrics. The top tier consisted of 5 blocks 11" tall by 10" wide, the second tier has 50 strips 2 1/2" wide by about 19" long, and the bottom tier has 15 blocks 11" tall by 10" wide. I also used some of the excess fabric from one of my 1/2 yard lengths to make a waistband. Each tier was made with 1/4" seams connected the pieces, but I did use a 1/2" seam to connect the tiers to each other (the thought of all that gathering in a 1/4" seam allowance was not very appealing to me).

I used my sewing machine to do most of the gathering for me by using a basting stitch with a very high tension, and then I only had to slightly adjust the gathering to fit. A definite time saver when the gathers don'y need to be perfectly even.

I honestly doubted I would like this skirt part way through the construction, so much so that I almost put it aside. But I pushed on, determined to finish it, since I know that things never look quite right before being finished. When it was done I liked it, but wasn't sure how often I would wear it. Since it was finished and I was going out with my boyfriend for dinner, drinks, and some karaoke that night, I decided that it was as perfect a time as any to wear it. By the end of the night I loved it. Isn't it funny how sometimes an okay item really grows on you by simply wearing it out and about?

Will I wear it again? Absolutely! Will I make another? Not anytime soon. It was definitely more time consuming than most skirts simply because of the patchwork (there are 70+ seams!!!), and patchwork is tricky for me to have it look like something I want to wear - and be seen wearing - in public. But I may make another down the road, after I forget how tedious this one felt to make.