Last weekend Clare was busy out socialising, my husband was at the gym, and Stella and I were home.  Just the two of us.  She quickly seized the opportunity – “Mummy, can I sew something”?  And this time, I said yes! So often she asks when I am in the middle of things or am unable to supervise her properly – and for a seven year old, supervision is a good idea. I quickly located my copy of the Lucy La La skirt, and Stella rummaged through the cupboard to choose suitable fabric.

I laid out the pieces, explaining grain line to Stella as I went, and pinned them in place. Stella did the cutting out. Then we decided to give the overlocker a try. After doing a number of practice overlocked seams she decided that she’d rather construct her skirt on the sewing machine. So after a little more practice, that’s exactly what she did.

In the end I did the pinning and ironing, and Stella did all the sewing. (I did finish the edges on the overlocker for her too). She used straight stitches for the seams and finished the hem edge with a zig zag. The waist is a simple channel with elastic threaded through. She was extremely diligent at removing pins before she got to each one.

This was a great pattern to use for a first skirt – simple elastic waist, but a few seams to do and a bit of style with the slightly flared, flippy skirt. The fabric was also a good choice – it’s a twill with a slightly textured weave that made it very stable and straightforward to handle.

Stella is very proud of her skirt making and plans to take her skirt in to school for “sharing” time and to take it to Brownies as badge evidence.

I am very proud of her too! She showed real determination and patience, unpicking seams that went wonky without getting frustrated, and being prepared to practice techniques before embarking on the actual garment. I have a feeling that she might be more likely to take after me in the sewing department than her older sister. The most difficult thing about the process was for me to find the patience and self-restraint to just hold back and let her do things for herself, all the while knowing that I could have finished the skirt in about half an hour. It took closer to three hours for Stella to do it – but was absolutely worth it!