Skirts Of Unusual Fabric

  If you read a lot of blogs, you have probably noticed people using painter's drop-cloths for all sorts of things, from curtains, to tablecloths, to tree skirts. There is one thing, however, that I haven't seen many people use a drop-cloth for: clothing. About a year and a half ago I decided to remedy that, and made myself a skirt using one.

  I made 8 slightly flared panels, French seamed together, added darts for shape, and a buttons with elastic loops on one side. The seams are all top-stitched, and the waist is simple folded over twice and sewn down. Here is a picture showing how the French seams look on the inside and outside:

   No raw edges! I love a completely finished garment. I wasn't completely impressed with the area around the buttons though... I just couldn't figure out a way to smoothly finish the edges. Also, the elastic started pulling out of its casing after a while.

  A few months ago I realized that all of my skirts were starting to look ratty, and since I had quite a bit of drop-cloth left, I made another skirt. This time I French-seamed the front seams completely closed, and instead of adding darts to the front I put buttons on both sides at an angle, so when buttoned the front is still properly fitted.

    I also added some hand-embroidery to the bottom, a simple vine-and-leaf pattern in brown floss.

   I made the mistake of using elastic loops again, so there is some pulling going on, but it isn't as dramatically stretched as on the first skirt. Next time I make this shape of skirt I will probably use fabric loops or do a different kind of button setup. Here is a picture of me wearing the embroidered one:

  Honestly, I love it! The fabric has such a lovely drape to it, it feels like a linen blend. I have noticed that not all drop-cloths are created equal though. I prefer the ones found at Ace Hardware to the ones found at Home Depot, for example. I have another drop-cloth garment in the idea stage, and one that just needs a little bit of tweaking, so hopefully I will have another one to show soon.

 Thanks for stopping by,