...just...just sew *something*...

The truth is, I'm constantly sewing, especially on the weekends.  It's doll clothes, though, and I'm never sure if I want to post about that here, or if this is my non-doll sewing place.  The doll stuff does go on Flickr and Instagram (although not everything they wear was made by me--I try to mention it in the captions when it is me-made.)  This last weekend was...kinda weird (resulting in a new washing machine that's supposed to be delivered today), but not weird enough to eliminate all the sewing, and I sewed something not-doll size!

I'd decided I wanted to make a skirt, and to make a skirt that fits my actual waist right now, and I wanted to use a pattern instead of making the usual free-form "rectangles gathered to an elastic casing" skirt.  I'd also decided I wanted to start using the bits of wax print I've thrifted over the years (ignoring the wax prints I cut for a tunic mumble mumble months ago that're still patiently waiting to be sewn together.)  But, since I hadn't used most of the skirt patterns before (and I have very few in the correct size, as most of my patterns are bought for the shirt pieces), I had the odd-for-me idea that I should make a test first (I feel like the term "wearable muslin" is too fancy for the way I make stuff.)  But I still wanted to use the wax prints.  Just...not the really nice wax prints.

No matter how I angled things, I couldn't get the skirt pattern I wanted to try first to fit on the not-so-nice wax prints.

So.

I gave up and made this

It's two rectangles gathered to an elastic casing.

But!

It has pockets!

(pockets borrowed from another pattern I was thinking of using, but that skirt is cut on the bias, and...wax prints aren't meant for being cut on the bias.)

 And not a bit has been ironed.  My lack of ironing has been encouraged by the fact that my stereo receiver, which is on constantly, is very old and probably needs a new transformer and stops playing sounds and instead starts physically buzzing loudly whenever there's a bit of a voltage drop, which...the iron causes more than a bit of a voltage drop whenever the element is heating.  So that's my current excuse for not ironing things.

As rumpled as the skirt is overall, I did get the hem fairly crisp, thanks--as always--to copious amounts of top stitching.

There's a strip of the same cloth, folded in half and stitched to the right side of the skirt before being flipped to the inside and top stitched near the edge, with the second line of stitching near the folded edge of the facing strip.  This cloth is really lightweight, so this finish adds some body without adding much bulk.  Using the strips of cloth this way also allowed me to use all but scraps (from around the curves of the pockets) of this cloth, which is a good thing.  Actually using my cloth is a good thing.  I should try to do that more often.  (And I should try not to buy more grab bags of cloth from the thrift store, especially on half-off day when I can easily convince myself to go ahead and buy three bed-in-a-bag-size bags of random cloth.  I really should stop doing that.  But there was a lot of great cloth in those bags!  That maybe I'll use someday!  For more than just doll clothes!)

I am happy that I finally used this print

It makes me think of books, viewed from the ends.  It's aggressively cheerful--I was a bit miffed that none of my pink threads were this pink, but the red outlines allowed me to use the brand-new spool of red Saba tex 40 I somewhat randomly added to my last order from Wawak.

Things work out.