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:
Black and Orange Polka Dot Apron
Sewing on a Budget for Search Magazine
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