When I first started sewing I was lured by the pretty designs and bright colours of quilting cotton. I bought a ton of the stuff, so much so that the bulk of my stash is made up of it. I soon discovered that the flowy blouses and drapey garments I wanted to make did not suit quilting cotton’s somewhat stiff hand and since I’m not a hard core quilter, these lovely prints have been wilting in my stash for a couple of years. When the time came to start packing my stash for our move back to Ontario I decided it was time to bring these fabrics out to play: sure they are not best suited for drapey blouses, but skirts and everyday summer dresses? Oh yeah, bring it on!
Pat on back: look at that perfectly camouflaged front pocket. Also, the grain in this photo makes it look like I haven’t shaved in weeks, but I promise you that is not the case.
The combination of blue and yellow in this print makes me think of bright summer clothes so there was no doubt in my mind that it should be turned into a skirt. This is Amy Butler’s Barcelona A-Line Skirt, a pattern that was also acquired in my early sewing days but only saw the light of day a couple of weeks ago. The skirt sits comfortably well below the waist at the midriff area and I might add that being short-waisted this is my preferred placement for a skirt. This is a very straight forward pattern, so much so that it doesn’t even have darts for shaping. The instructions are pretty clear and they include a detailed explanation for an invisible zipper insertion and a lining – a perfect project for a beginner sewist.
(L to R): (1) Oh, look at my pretty skirt; (2) What’s that I see?; (3) Gasp! The print does not match at the sides, but I don’t think I care too much!
The Details:
- Pattern: Barcelona A-Line Skirt by Amy Butler
- Fabric: 1.30 metres of quilting cotton from the “Berkeley” collection by Alice Kennedy for Timeless Treasures; 1 metre white cotton voile for the lining.
- Time in the Stash: 28 months and 10 months respectively.
- Modifications: Added a front patch pocket.
- Stashbusting Tally: Committed to using 15 pieces of fabric from the stash; 14 used to date; 1 left to go. I’m thinking I’ll have to up the ante and maybe change the challenge to a certain amount of metres… food for thought.
The print is also slightly askew at the back seam, but if I walk real fast no one will notice, right?
If I had a do-over, I would change two things: (1) In my haste I failed to stay-stitch the waist and this has resulted in some stretching in that area; and (2) Try as I might, I failed to match the print at the side and back seams. These things bug me, but not so much to stop me from wearing this garment. In fact, I wore it three times in a two week period. It’s comfy, bright and screams “summer” to me. Moreover, it’s warmed me to the idea of bringing those quilting cottons out to play more often.
What about you: do you ever use quilting cotton when sewing clothes? If so, what sorts of garments do you make with them?
