Guest Blogger-Fara Bitter

Okay here at the TTG site we are going to start having a guest blogger once a month highlighting people we know in our lives or ones we have met online. 

I (Teresa) have invited Fara to be our FIRST GUEST BLOGGER!!!!!! I only just recently met this super uber talented lady at our daughters dance practices. Yes i know a random place to start talking to someone about a blog, but i am a little strange. Well some how i mentioned cupcakes and how i kind of LOVE them and then it went to the new blog I have with friends and..... Well as we are talking i think ohhhhhh we need a guest blogger and Fara would be great. You should see all her daughters super cute bows to match all the fun outfits they have. I swear I have never seen them wear the same bow/flower twice.  Fara agreed to be our guest and then I learned she has NEVER blogged before so this is her very very first one so leave her lots of fun comments :) 

Girls Ruffle Repurposed Skirt

Hello everyone at Talented Terrace Girls. My name is Fara Bitter. I have been asked to be a guest blogger by TTG and I am so excited to be here. Thanks for the invite Talented Terrace Girls. I live in Washington Terrace with my husband and four kids. Their ages range from 9-1 years old. I love to sew, make crafts, take pictures of my family, read a good book and decorate my home. I also am a doula and teach childbirth classes.

 Today I am going to share with you how I make skirts for my girls ages 6 and 9 from Women’s Skirts.  

One finished skirt and one unfinished skirt.

I bought this skirt at Kohls for $1.98. I found it on the clearance rack. Super cute right! Well it would look better on my girls than on me. I bought two so I could make matching skirts for my girls. One of the Skirts was a large and the other an extra large. It doesn’t’ matter if it is an extra large or an XXX large, as long as it will have plenty of fabric to fit around your child and you can modify the length easily. The skirts I usually choose for this project are Women’s short skirts, which are about 17-20 inches long. That measurement really depends on the Childs age and heights. I like the finished skirt to land around the knee, preferably a little below so that it will last a while.

Turn the skirt inside out. Next measure your child’s waist and around the widest part of their thighs. You can add an inch or two to your measurement to plan for growth and you don’t want to make the skirt skin tight then add a ½  inch for the seam. I used this measuring for my daughter and the skirt was too big, this skirt is made of very stretchy material, so I had to take it in. I took it in by having her try the skirt on, then pinning the top of the waist where the seam should go, then added ½ in for seam allowance. When you have determined your measurement, lay the skirt down and carefully  pull the other side of the skirt over to your measurement and draw a line a long the natural  lay of the other seam. I did that to ensure that both sides lay the same and that worked for me. As you can see the skirt flares out a bit at the bottom and I wanted to make sure both sides flared out the same. This system is simple and works for me. If  you have a different way to do it, that is ok too.

 Draw a line where you want your seam to go and pin.

Take the sewing machine and sew along your drawn line. Then take all the pins out and try the skirt on your child inside out. I do this to make sure that I don’t cut off the extra fabric then realize the skirt is too small. The skirt was a too big and so I sewed it a few inches smaller, then tried it on her again. This way it was just an inch or so big around the waist, which I was satisfied with.  I can just use a bobby pin it to make it fit tighter if needed. She will eventually grow into it, and it will fit perfectly.

Then when you are done cut away the extra fabric. I don’t have a surger as you can see. Then flip the skirt right side out and you have a super cute skirt that only cost $2 and normally they cost $14.00. This skirt was a perfect length and the bottom seam was already finished so all you need to do is sew one seam and you are done!!   

Here is my sweet daughter modeling off her new skirt!! 

 I made a skirt for my daughters doll with the left over fabric! Now they have twin skirts!

Here is another skirt I made. I bought this one at Old Navy for $1.50. It isn’t stretchy, and has a zipper and I was able to convert it easily. Again, one seam and my girl had another cute ruffled skirt. It turned out so cute too!! Good Luck and Happy Sewing!!