Elastic Rocks!

I own this skirt that I have had for years and years and years. Anyone who has seen me on my daily school runs will know that I wear it so often it’s almost like a uniform. It came from Cath Kidston. I don’t really buy her things often as they can be a little bit too floral for me (in a Cath Kidston kind of way) but I loved this barkcloth fabric so much that I bought the skirt in beige, black and a dress version too! Something I originally hated about it was the elasticated waist, which then turned out to be the thing that I love! As long as I wear it with fitted t-shirts and little 50’s style cropped cardigans (which I own a  lot of) you can’t see the elastic but gosh, is it comfy.So when my poor skirts began to fade and die, I thought the answer was to make some of my own (as CK don’t make them anymore).The fabric is all Outback Wife by Elaine Gold, which I first saw on Jane’s Blog. Gosh, all of that collection is amazing and now, sadly almost all gone. I think I hunted down the last bits here in the UK.I added some rather jazzy gold elastic and pockets (which the original skirt also has).Mistakes? Yes. I put more fabric in than the original and that was a mistake, it’s almost a bit too full and hints at 5-year-old going to a kids party when I wear it but then I’ve never cared much about how I appear so I wear it anyway. Also, with so much fabric it bulks up a bit too much on the elastic waist and so the elastic is a bit stretched and might need to be re-done in the long run.

I’ve still got the other skirts to make so I’ll learn from these mistakes and it was nice to sew something for myself, for a change, a very rare thing these days.