Friday, March 14, 2014

Annika's New Skirt

Last weekend, Eric's mom gave Annika a cute sweater that she had made. It is a cotton tank sweater that will be perfect once we get into some warmer weather. When she gave the sweater to Annika, Eric's mom pointed out that one option was to sew a skirt to the sweater and create a dress. Annika loved that idea, and I thought it would be a fun project.

I found an adorable fabric that complimented the neutral tone of the sweater beautifully. After getting home, I realized it also went well with one of Annika's t-shirts. That's when I had my ah-ha moment... I could make a skirt and then Annika could wear it with a variety of tops. Bingo! I'd seen an easy-to-make skirt tutorial online and knew I could fairly painlessly succeed at making Annika a wearable skirt.

Last night was the night. I measure Annika, pulled out my serger and sewing machine (newly back from the service shop), and planned to hit the ground running. As soon as Annika saw the machines, she wanted to jump in and help. That would have been grand, except she had homework to do. So, I used helping me as a carrot to encourage her to focus on her schoolwork. It worked like a charm! As soon as she was done, she hopped on my lap and started helping me feed the fabric through the serger. She loves being part of my projects... especially when they're for her! :)

She's a great sewing helper... she keeps her hands back at a safe distance from the moving parts, enjoys removing the pins (when I use them) when it is time, and likes to snip the thread when I reach the end of a seam. The only difficulty to sewing with her is she likes to sit on my lap for a front row view of the sewing action. Have you ever sewn with a head in front of your face and arm that move around??? Not easy, but still worthwhile. I had fun working on the skirt with her and knowing she had a hand in making it makes the skirt that much more special.

With a little more practice, I think I could whip these skirts out quite quickly. Our girl will be quite the fashion statement this summer, let me tell you!

Anniks striking her modeling pose

Annika's skirt: up close and personal

No comments: