Friday, February 23, 2018

A Bright Wool Wrap Skirt with a Kilt Pin

I bought this wool from my favorite thrift store: 3 yards of soft, pure wool in a gorgeous plaid for $5.  Amazing!

I was a little nervous to cut into it, but you can see that I did in this post.  And I matched the plaid by making sure I laid the bottom of the pattern pieces on the same stripe in the plaid. I decided to line the skirt to make dressing even easier and wearing even more comfortable (I hate when my slip and my skirt/dress don't move in the same way so that I'm conscious of two separate layers - lining eliminates this!). I used a navy lining fabric from JoAnn's and simply made a duplicate skirt.  The waistband facing at the top holds the lining in place, as does my handstitching at both sides.  I left the lining hem free of the skirt hem.


The kilt pin is pretty and also functional when you have kids crawling across your lap randomly.  I'm still debating if I should put belt carriers on the waistline like the pattern calls for.

Thanks to the deep green in this skirt, I'm having a new color crush.  I don't know what it looks like on your monitor, but it's a deep jewel green.  Like cobalt blue is to navy, this deep green is to the 80s hunter green.  It's lively.

I bought this elbow-sleeve sweater at the thrift store for $3 and got it home to realize it was kelly-green. So gauche next to the deep rich colors in the skirt. So I dyed the sweater! 

The sweater in these photos was overdyed with Rit Dark Green #35. I did it the Saturday night before I wore it to church, while Ben and a friend roared through the dishes (nothing broke, just the silverware drawer spilled over the floor, so I took the opportunity to clean the silverware tray while the sweater simmered on the stove).  And the girls shrieked in and out of the kitchen, and I told my husband I was dyeing a sweater, and he said, "I'm impressed, but not surprised."  Isn't he the best?  I flopped the wet sweater on the radiator overnight, and wore it (I confess) smugly to church the next morning.  And these whimsical green gems that I bought from an opera-singer neighbor years ago finally have an outfit!  I still have some wool plaid left:  maybe I can get one of my girls to wear a matching skirt.

11 comments:

Rachel said...

Love this, Margo!!! It's ok to feel smug every once in a while when you have a success like this :) Peter was bemoaning the loss of his sourdough starter (accidental adding of salt...) and I said "You need to tell Margaret--she would feel for you!" Glad to have a friend like you who knows about the thrifty and interesting bits of homemaking!

Maggie Frost said...

Looks like the "Buchanan " plaid Margo. Gorgeous. I am in awe of your giftedness and thrift. And those earrings! Love them. I admire you so much dearest niece.

kyleann33 said...

What a lovely skirt and sweater. And I'm super impressed you dyed the sweater to be just the shade of green you wanted!

Terri said...

It's so beautiful! And I love the earrings too. :-)

e said...

Oh, my gosh, I love thrift store fabric finds! Beautiful fabric at an absolute steal of a price. Nice! The skirt is lovely, so vibrant! (I'm so glad you matched the plaid pattern, such a nice detail.)

Regarding the sweater, in my family we would say: It's a Save! Love your husband's response. And it goes so perfectly with the skirt. It's a wonderful outfit and you look lovely in it.

Smug? How about satisfied and proud? You made a terrific outfit for less than $20. That's a Gold Medal in Thrift right there! You created something beautiful and practical out of minimal expense and wore it the next day. That's an achievement to feel good about. :-)

(Love the earrings, so pretty.)

Juliana said...

Nicely done! I've done a ton of plaid matching this year, and that is exactly my method too! I really like the colors in the skirt and the sweater turned out great!

Lisa said...

I've never dyed anything, and didn't know it entailed cooking on the stove; I thought it was accomplished in the washing machine!
Your outfit is great! But 100% wool - you will have to wash it very carefully, by hand, won't you? Did you try to shrink it first?

Margo said...

Lisa, I have washed wool socks, skirts, and sweaters by soaking them in cold water with dish soap and gently squeezing/rinsing, then laying flat to dry. I have one or two Smartwool things that can be washed regularly, but find that wool to be a little harsher on my skin. I haven't actually washed this wool for this skirt, but I'm not worried.

Becky said...

That fabric is yummy! Is it Pendleton Wool? I have some I scored at a thrift and it took me years to be able to cut into it. I couldn't get my girl to wear anything matching, but I have found another project to use more of the fabric that I'm excited about (as soon as I finish it, I'll let you know!)

Nice job on the skirt and the sweater!

Sarah Barry said...

I laughed out loud at you wearing your sweater smugly to church.

I'm always so impressed when you sew your own clothes. That deep green color sweater is lovely and perfectly compliments the skirt.

Evelyn said...

Those earrings are stunning!! I'm only a little bit jealous! ;-)