Jersey Knit Tree Skirt

Wow. Jersey knit where have you been all my life? so easy to sew ( no hems required!), falls very forgivingly (no straight seams here) and is so cool (for the three weeks of Summer in the UK).
I'm always super daunted by sewing clothes and the odd times i have end up being a bit hit and miss. Taking into account how easily bored I get with a project and they tend to be a hodge podge of whatever i thought of originally and every idea that came along the same day.
But since my house groans with soft furnishings it seems the next logical thing. Also- I want to become a more technically proficient seamstress and it seams that this either comes from quilting or garments. Now quilting is unlikely for a while since that much measuring does not appeal. And they're big- which my tiny house will not allow. I need to be able to pack it all away at a moments notice. And my aunt is a super quilter which is intimidating.

So I made a skirt. not too complex. But exactly what I wanted.

The ruffle is my favourite part and was so easy to do- no more gathering by hand for me. I saw a comment on another blog which mentioned just loosely holding the top thread of your sewing machine as you go. The extra tension ruffles perfectly- no more tugging and straining!

Hmmmm. Bum shot.

Oooops! you can see my the toll my lunch had on the skirt. The trees were a cardboard stamp I cut out with a pair of scissors (after spending about an hour with my craft knife- only to have a light bulb moment and remembering that cardboard is most often cut with scissors, quicker and so much easier! I've lost so many crafting hours to dumb time wasters like this....). Then some stamping with diluted white acrylic, then grey and then finally the red tree. I didn't feel like going out to buy fabric paint and since acrylic almost never comes off (i did a tester, just in case) I just used what I had.
Painting on clothes and fabric is a great way to reuse or customise them and I'm hoping to have the inspiration to do more of it. The tutorial for making the skirt was clear and easy so I send many thanks to cluck cluck sew and I am, as always, in love with the internest for giving me so many free resources. Happy painting!