For quite some time I've wanted to make myself a skirt out of an old crocheted or lace tablecloth, and with this in mind I've searched op-shops for some suitable candidate to chop up. Not only didn't I find any old tablecloths with any sort of beauty at all (plastic daisy print, anyone?) but it started to occur to me that if I was lucky enough to find a genuine old crocheted cloth I couldn't cut it up anyway, the sacrilege would be too great. I would fold it carefully and store it away and just bring out to dress the table for special occasions. They are pretty precious.So when I went to the end-of-year sale at my favourite fabric store I found this knit lace that was patterned with vaguely doily-type embroidery and got a metre.
First I made a lining skirt of 70cm length, because that is how much lining fabric I bought. Then I started arranging and cutting the lace straight onto the lining on Bessie, aiming for a layered effect with an uneven "tablecloth-y" hemline. It looks and sounds kind of random, but it was thought out and I did a fair bit of measuring, planning and pinning before I took the scissors to the lace. I wanted to make best use of the lace, part of my ongoing obsession with minimal wastage. And I'm pleased to say that I used every last square centimetre of fabric with not a single scrap left!
Cost of this skirt: 1m lace, $30 + 70cm lining, $4.90 -15% sale discount + zip, $2.30 = approx $32. And no scraps. Not bad. I'm happy.
I love this final look. Just call me obsessed with lace, if there was a White Lace Anonymous help group I would need to sign up. In honour of the whole "tablecloth" inspiration I set up our outdoor table with some of my antique china for morning tea.
Do you like my "fork" bracelet? It's my son's really, and he got the idea from the movie "Elephant". It's just one of those cheapie single forks you can buy, bent into a loop.Details:
Skirt; own design, white stretch lace
Top; Butterick 4985, sleeves from another pattern, pink nobbly cotton, overdyed using an old red T-shirt
Sandals; Vicenza, from Soletta shoes
Bracelet; bent fork
Very cute skirt. I have a similar bracelet to yours, by the way. A bent fork! I wear mine a lot...well, every day really. I answered your question about the bobo in the comments on my page. Yes, Bobo is not really such a common word outside of Europe, perhaps. Not even here so much. But I read a couple of books where Bobos were mentioned so the word's kind of stuck in my mind.
ReplyDeleteLovely skirt.
ReplyDeleteWOW that is a beautiful skirt and it looks perfect with your blouse. The whole outfit is just so feminine, and your picture/setting/pose is also perfect.
ReplyDelete(I'm thrilled I have that blouse pattern too)
i really loved this skirt, i have to admit i never even imagined comparing the material to a table cloth more comparing it to an elegant medieval dress. I could just see it popping out in frills under a light pink velvet floor length number accompanied by a hairdo that would take 10 hair dresses 10 hours to complete. xx
ReplyDeleteThis photo could be right out of a high class magazine. I think you must have learnt the dying technique from me when you were a teenager.
ReplyDeleteThis whole outfit is just beautiful, very feminine.
ReplyDelete