Sparkly Toddler Skirt

A few months ago I was in one of the big-box stores (okay, Joann's) and my daughter saw some sparkly blue fabric. Maybe a week or so later, we went back to buy some. I was thinking skirt. Actually, I don't know WHAT I was thinking, because I've sewn with this fashion fabric type stuff before, and it wasn't fun. But she really, really liked it, and I really like her, so I decided I would figure out the skirt part. A tiered, ruffly skirt, I thought. Sure! I bought some plain blue satiny stuff for the underlayer, since the sparkly stuff was so sheer. I could totally do this!

And the fabric sat in the corner for weeks and weeks. Periodically I would shoot a guilty glance its way. The sparkly fabric the girl loved, hidden in a bag. Still.

Then I thought, well, maybe... a superhero cape? That would be easier, right?

What was holding me back? Two things. First, I was wary of the way this sort of fabric unravels when you breathe on it. Second, I've never done gathers before, and I didn't think it would be smart to have my first attempt be on slippery fabric. When I saw the recent MADE tutorial for an easy skirt, I decided I could adjust my expectations for this skirt, because my daughter is two. All the pressure was coming from me.

And of course, she loved it so much that as soon as it was done she had to put it on over her pajamas! (I have no really good photos. Maybe if I'd duct taped her in place...)

I varied somewhat from the MADE tutorial. Both my layers are the same length, because really, here, we're interested in the sparkly. Not having a serger and being so worried about those edges, I made sure to bury them all, so for the side seams in both layers I used flat seams. This isn't the most delicate seam for such light fabric, I'm sure, but it enclosed the raw edge.

For the casing, I sewed the skirts together at the top, then zigzagged the raw edges--although I'm not sure that didn't just make things worse. The sparkly fabric actually frayed much less than the plain satiny stuff, which shed fuzz everywhere. Those edges are enclosed inside the casing; I just hope they're stable enough.

And that's it, pretty much. When my daughter woke up the next morning, I adjusted the elastic to fit and then sewed it all shut, which is when she insisted on putting it on over her pajamas. And because I was originally thinking tiers, I have enough fabric to make her a superhero cape, too (I'm thinking in the plain blue, with a floating layer of sparkles).

Here's an action shot of her later in the day, wearing her skirt as she helps her dad tape off the edges in her new room, which will soon be painted purple. It's a good running skirt. And a good lesson for the sewing mama--there's no need to make things more complicated than they have to be. The girl wanted a sparkly skirt, and the girl has a sparkly skirt. Success!