Save the skirt!

Sera and I have been stuck indoors sick with the flu for the past few days and so, as always when I get bored I've also gotten quite crafty and have started to tackle all those small projects I've been meaning to get to.

One of them was putting away one of her favourite baby skirts into the 'to keep' box in my office. Even though the skirt was a tiny 6 months and had built in diaper covers I was reluctant to pull it from her wardrobe in circulation. 'It's adorable!' My heart sang... 'Its too small!' My logical mind concurred...

Well, I never did get the skirt up into the box. In fact, I now have a new problem... Sera won't take it off!!! We're now going on 38 hours that she's been wearing the skirt non stop and heaven knows what's going to happen when I have to dress her in something else when she goes back to daycare.

Here's why:

I started with the skirt as it was and did some measurements. I realised that if I dismantled it and put it back together in another form it would probably be quite cute and father for another few years. With a seam splitter I carefully removed the waistband and separated the other three layers (the top skirt, underskirt and diaper cover). Then I opened the back seam of the two skirt layers and flattened them out. I cut a new piece of cotton fabric (from a beige sheet which had been downgraded/upgraded to the sewing scraps box) to form the 'base' of the new skirt. I folded over a waistband into this new piece and sewed on the upper skirt to the new top of the skirt that was created. Then I measured down the distance to where i wanted the second ruffle to begin and pinned the slightly gathered underskirt in place. I also sewed on this piece until I had what looked like an opened straight skirt with ruffles. I thread an elastic through the waistband I had created and sewed the skirt closed, first with wrong sides together and trimming the excess and then right sides together for a neat finish.

As an extra bonus I realised that if I simply sewed the waistband I had removed from the first skirt closed again it made a perfect elasticised headband. So now that coordinates too!

I'm very satisfied with the finished skirt and its inspired me to look for other baby clothes I can alter in this way. I'm tempted to rummage through that 'to keep' box with a fresh eye... After all, what am I keeping it for if not to reuse or remember. This kind of project has been wonderful for both!