The Orange Tablecloth Skirt 🍂

 

This $5 Salvation Army thrift tablecloth was an impulse buy several months ago due to it's rust color and tone on tone leaf design. I knew it was too big for my oval table and wouldn't match my red dining room. However, I also knew this fabric would be adorable as a charming fall skirt!

Rather than simply gathering the rectangle, I laid out my tried and true all in one pattern based on Butterick 6196 as seen in my 5 Skirts, 1 Pattern Video. This scrap paper copy of each piece allows for maximum swoosh without any Cut 2s or On the Folds. This fabric was delicate around the embroidered leaves and some directions frayed worse than others so I didn't want to make any more cuts or seams than necessary. This probably should be lined but I didn't have any matching fabric of the same weight, and obviously I'd rather save my blacks and oranges for more fun frocks. I spent a day finishing the seams all the way around the skirt – some with the usual turn unders and others with supporting bond tape. After doing the hem once and disliking the stitching, I folded it up again with more hem tape. I already have one floor length Shiny Orange Skirt so this hobbit tea length is perfect.

Saving my black binding, I instead used a giant roll of white bias tape from an old goodwill grab bag to reinforce the waistband. Some of the gathering encased in the waistband and the back seam feel a little bulky, but there's enough pleated flounce in this pattern that's actually now too big for me. Going from my earlier scrap paper measurements, I had to make the waistband a few inches shorter in length as well as move the button over a few inches. Top stitching on the waistband may have been problematic with a heavier material, but a tight running back stitch helped smooth everything. This project also felt like I went in a different order than I usually do with these skirts, but it all came together fairly quickly in four days despite requiring more hand stitching. With a pattern you know, each use becomes easier even with tender frayed spots on cheap material obviously not intended for apparel use. Then again, after having had trouble with my machine during the Cheapest Elsa Costume, I knew there was no way these fraying ends were going thru my machine.

I've entered my everything autumnity orange phase and a grab bag orange thread cone called “Brique” came thru beautifully here. Of course this skirt probably cannot go in the washer or dryer. Even if I line it in the future this also wouldn't survive regular wear. Hand button holes have never been my best work and getting my button through this buttonhole for the first time was the most painful part of this project! With a black petticoat underneath, this can be a fun fall festival frock, and I enjoyed the sewing practice – feeling the stitching routine even with secondhand, delicate supplies that could be challenging. Thanks to the fabric being so long and my being short, there's yet more of this tablecloth for a matching project! This skirt makes me happy, and again, my mantra of seeing not what something is but what it could be proved whimsical. My husband mistakenly said I was wearing a curtain and I had to correct him, “It was a tablecloth!” ☺️

Follow Kbatz Krafts on Blue Sky for more upcycle adventures or browse our Facebook and Instagram for project photos. Visit the Kbatz Krafts Archive for previous sewing mayhem including:

Reversible Red Skirt

Another Halloween Dress

Black and Orange Polka Dot Apron

Sewing on a Budget for Search Magazine

Final Joann Haul! 🛒👋🏻

 

As Joann nears its end, the inspired Kristin Battestella aka Kbatz hits up not 1, but 2 Joann stores in this final sewing spree complete with measuring tools, fancy trims, buttons, ribbon, and of course, fabric. Thank you for Watching!

Visit our Sewing and Thrifting Playlist for all our Haul Videos or follow Kbatz Krafts on Blue Sky for more pictures and updates. Previous project photos can still be found on Facebook and Instagram.

Peruse the Kbatz Krafts Archive for more sewing and crafting adventures including:  

Bling Binge

Glam to Drab Lampshades

Christmas Princess Costume 

DIY at Search Magazine

Cheapest Elsa Costume Ever

 

Once my four year old niece became obsessed with Frozen, inspiration struck thanks to discolored blue sheets and sheer white curtains from My Parents' Attic. Could I make the cheapest, most hideous Elsa costume ever?

Yes.

Instead of the tunic pattern used previously for her Pastel Costumes, I pulled a thrifted McCall's 6154 kid's pattern from my costume drawer. The blue sheets would be this tube dress with a boat neck perfect for attaching the sheer curtain cape – although I wouldn't need the pattern's extra cowl collar or ruffled hem. The pattern called for a front on the fold, however the blue sheets had already been partially cut for other mock ups where I didn't care that they were faded and bleached. Now working around the bad spots, I had to cut two so the best blue coloring was the front of the dress. Briefly I wondered if any extra triangle gore panels would be needed for maximum swish, but upon looking at more Elsa pictures, I decided to use the center front seam as a slit instead. This pattern is actually my niece's current size and I may have cut it a little long, but any bigger and there would not have been enough sheets! One can likewise see the back two pieces and the sleeves don't quite color match the front, but who's going to be looking under the cape amirite?

What should have been a quick weekend project with cutting, pressing, and basting in a day took a little longer because my sewing machine was being difficult. I don't know if it was the thin sheets, the older blue grab bag thread, lack of use the past few months, dust, or a tension issue – maybe a bit of everything – but I ended up going back and reinforcing some loose seams by hand before hand stitching the sleeves. The shoulder corners with the boat neck style seemed awkward in the child size but the under arm wrap around cape attachment would hide that! Despite being her size, this seemed big for my niece so I also pleated the back for additional flounce. Of course, this could always be undone if she begins to outgrow it. A blue sequin panel from the Dollar Store was a perfectly cheap way to glitz up the front a la Elsa. It was cumbersome to stitch with my handy invisible thread, too; perhaps the most time consuming part of this monstrosity other than the sewing machine jams. Some blue Dollar Store gem stickers trail along the front seam as well, but a few have already fallen off, lol.

I debated folding the curtain for layered flounce, but it wasn't as sheer. It was also much too long so I cut the rod pocket and large hem before redoing them in smaller, less bulky half inch widths. The entire curtain width was then pleated from the center front and under the arms with larger pleats in the back for full dramatic effect. It's still longer than the dress but it's free to sash shay! Although my running back stitch along the cape top was neat, I trimmed the entire boat neck with a silver metallic ribbon also originally from the Dollar Store. It's just a fun bit of sparkle that ties it all together! Although I found blue bias tape from a grab bag in my ribbon drawer that I could use on the slit and the hem, a simple turn up with hem tape will suffice as her height changes. It's sheets, so why waste quality trim? As I suspected, the off the shoulder boat neck also meant the cuffs were too long, so they were turned under with the remaining silver ribbon for a final panache.

This was great sewing practice, and this sound construction can be done in a larger size with better materials and real shiny fabric. Is this Elsa costume perfect? Heck no! The seams are ridiculous, the fabric free. My niece will probably lose interest in Frozen before she grows out of it! However for $4 bling and two days of what if and can do, this isn't that bad at all. Certainly you can tell it's sheets. This is much more a nightgown or dress up rather than a wear to an event costume. Fortunately, it's blue and it swishes. If we put on our toddler thinking caps, that's all that really matters.

Follow Kbatz Krafts on Facebook and Instagram for more project photos or join me on Blue Sky! Persuse more Sewing and Thrifting in our YouTube playlist or browse our complete Kbatz Krafts Archive including:

Christmas Princess Costume

Cardboard Castle

Holiday Handprints

Joann's Fabric Haul Round 3! 🛒

 

Kristin Battestella aka Kbatz scores fabrics and jewelry findings on another excursion to a third Joann's Liquidation sale with discounts now between 40 and 70%! Because you can never have enough black or orange fabric, amirite?

Thank you for watching!

For more sewing project photos, jewelry making, and thrift haul videos, follow Kbatz Krafts on Facebook, Instagram, and Blue Sky! Browse our Kbatz Krafts Archive or peruse more including: Sewing on a Budget for Search Magazine Glam to Drab Lampshades Halloween T-Shirt Pillows Damask Blanket