DIY GAP Poplin Midi Skirt - 7QT Style

Have you seen this skirt at GAP?

It hits just below the knee which is my sweet spot.

It's all cotton and it comes in cute colors.

It's $59.99.

Wha?

So I made one my ownself for under $10 and I'm here today to tell you how you can do this too.

1. Assemble your ingredients.

Go to Wal Mart (or Hobby Lobby or Joann's etc.) and get 2 yards of cotton fabric in the color of your choosing. I chose Prussian Blue. The fabric was $5.97 for 2 yards pre-tax.

Grab a pack of 1 inch wide no-roll elastic for the waist ($1.77) and a spool of coordinating thread if you don't already have some.

Wash, dry, and press your fabric. With an iron, Sara. With an iron.

2. Cut your fabric.

Fold the fabric in half and cut two rectangles. My rectangles were 28 inches wide and at least 30 inches long. That gave me plenty of length to make the waist band and figure out a cute wide hem.

Those measurements are good for a GAP small. If you want to make a custom size, take your hip measurement and add 16 inches or more if you want a fuller skirt. If you're tall, cut longer rectangles. Two yards should be enough for everybody. Divide by 2 because one rectangle is the front and one is the back. But you knew that.

3. Sides.

I did my own version of a French seam on the sides. That's a fancy term for saying I sewed the rectangles together up the sides with a scant quarter inch seam allowance. (Apparently I was supposed to trim the seams to 1/8". Oops.)

Then I turned the giant tube inside out and ironed the seams.

Next, I sewed the sides again with a slightly more generous half inch seam allowance. This way, the side seams will never fray, and look super neat and tidy.

It helps that my fabric looks the same front and back.

4. The waistband.

 Choose the top edge. Iron a half inch fold all the way around.

Next, fold over that edge and iron a generous inch and a quarter all the way around. We are making a tunnel for the elastic to go through.

Sew this edge down but leave a couple of inches open to fit the elastic in like so.

Use the biggest safety pin you can find, pin it through one end of the elastic and feed the elastic through the tunnel.

When you've worked it all the way through, try on the skirt and adjust the gathers to your liking.

Stitch the ends of the elastic together and clip off the excess.

Stitch down the rest of the seam to conceal the rest of the elastic.

I did sew through the whole waist band at the side seams for a vertical inch or so, just to keep the gathers even.

5. The hem.

This may or may not be the same picture from up above.

Decide what length you want. Get a second opinion. Lucy helped me settle on 23 inches.  I cut the whole skirt length to 25 inches, and repeated the tunnel steps I used on the waistband. Half inch, then inch and a half hem. Ran it through the sewing machine one more time and done!

6. Commence awkward backyard photo shoot.

7. Caveats.

The Gap skirt has pockets. Carry a purse or wear a fanny pack or pay $60 for pockets.

The thin cotton fabric needs a slip. On it, Mom. FYI, the Gap skirt needs a slip too.

My apologies for the photo quality of this post, or lack thereof. I can only master one piece of machinery at a time. This time I beat the sewing machine into submission but let the camera be the boss. No time for photo editing or this post would never see the light of day like many I have in my drafts folder.

Susan and Lucy have fabric ready and waiting to be transformed. Lucy's is red, and Susan's is seersucker. Way to choose the wrench, Susan.

Linking up with This Ain't the Lyceum for Friday Quick Takes and you know I'll be back on Wednesday. I never miss the first Wednesday of the month because WHAT WE'RE READING WEDNESDAY!

"I'll be back!"

7QT: Rinks Rule!

1. We have a winner!

Would Susan Kolosionek come on down! You have won the Blackberry Sage Dragon Soap from RobinsOwn (that I bought because Robin doesn't know me from Adam) and the teal soap dish (from TJ Maxx).

2. Have you seen this Reese Witherspoon movie, The Good Lie? 

So good.

Reese is not really the star of this film, but she is the headliner. The Good Lie, for those of you who live under a rock or in a cave as I do, is about three of the Lost Boys of Sudan, their journey to Kenya, and eventually to America.

There is one not great scene, the first scene with Reese. The movie is rated PG-13. I think the rating is spot on, though I did let my 12 year old watch it.

So good.

The Good Lie reminded me of the incredible children's novel I read and reviewed about the Lost Boys of Sudan by Linda Sue Park called A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story.

Edmund doesn't know it yet, but he's reading A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story in the near future.

3. Big skating party here yesterday. 

A (young, hip) seminarian-deacon came over as well as a dozen or so friends and family.

He said he couldn't skate, but he was skating backwards and whipping around the rink like nobody's business. I did hear that he can't stop though.

The little girls and I stayed in the warmth and made blueberry muffins.

It was picture perfect.

The rink definitely puts a positive spin on winter. Edmund uses the rink every chance he gets for recess and has neighbor kids or cousins over most days after school.

We've accumulated an enormous stash of skates so we can provide for just about any size, including Lucy's entire skating party of fifteen teens. We had enough hockey sticks for them all too.

I bet we have your size if you'd like to come visit!

Exercise, endorphins, and sunshine are just a few of the benefits. My kids are all good skaters now. Jill will get her first pair next year.

4. Some people have pools, some people have rinks.

Heather at Mama Knows Honeychild asked on my IG picture if it's difficult to build a rink.

Yes, Heather. It is difficult to build a rink, but if you live North of Arendelle, it's worth it.

First you need plywood and 4 by somethings to build your boards (sides). Wood is not cheap. We store our boards in our crawl space during the off season.

The boards go up Thanksgiving weekend or as close to it as we can get.

We buy a liner from Nice Rink in Wisconsin.  Patrick, or one of our rink building relatives with a large vehicle, will make the trek to the factory and pick up the liners for a few of us.

The liner alone costs about $400.  Ours is the biggest backyard rink we've seen, so it's the most expensive too.  Can't re-use the liner, because come spring, the sides are shredded and it's gross.

Then there's the water. We run a hose from our basement laundry sink to the rink for about 72 hours. It's a big rink. The deep areas fill first and the shallow areas fill last. The deepest part of our rink is 11-12 inches deep. We get billed for the water and the sewage/waste-water too, even though we put the water in the public drain. The water costs are about $200, much less for a smaller rink.

The next part is up to Mother Nature.  Zero degrees (Fahrenheit) for 24 hours makes 3 inches of ice. If the temps are above zero, but below 32, it takes longer. On average, our rink freezes in about 4 days. It won't be solid yet, but it will be skate-able.

Anytime we have a day above freezing, the rink starts to melt. It's too slushy to skate on, but a short thaw can re-surface it nicely.

Otherwise, Patrick re-surfaces the rink himself with a homemade device called a rink rake.

5. Other Important Rink Facts

Snow can ruin your rink, especially slushy, wet snow. If that slushy, wet snow freezes on your rink, the texture will be like a gravel road.

We never had a snowblower until we had to shovel our entire backyard.

Many people ask if the rink ruins the grass.

No. A thick heavy block of ice on top of the grass does nothing to it.

6. Pa! The Chinook Is Blowing!

When and if spring comes, the ice begins to thaw beyond all hope of recovery. We use an electric pump to pump the water to the curb so as not to flood our neighbors' yards.

Then we cut up the liner into manageable pieces and throw it away. This must be done as soon as possible because a heavy piece of wet plastic on a warm(ish) day will kill your grass.

Then the boards come down and go in the crawl space until next winter.

Patrick always gets sad when this happens, but SPRING!

7. Don't forget! This Wednesday is the March What We're Reading Wednesday Link-Up!

I'm late to the link-up party with Kelly and the Krew for 7QT Friday.

WWRW. 3/4/15. Must. Not. Forget.

7QT: January Oddments

1.

Get ready for February 4th! This Wednesday the WWRW link-up is making a comeback! 

2.  Our library is offering the Hoopla app!

What's the hoopla? Hoopla is a free app that lets me download movies, television shows, audiobooks, and music right to my iPhone for FREEEEEEEEE!!!!

Jill has been watching Max & Ruby cartoons, which are not available on Netflix or on Amazon Prime (without paying extra) for FREEEEEEEE!

And I've been downloading music left and right. Specifically all the classical music that is recommended by the Little Saints Preschool Program we're using. More on that another day.

This week's pre-school theme is At the Zoo, and we've been listening to Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals while she dances each animal's part. For FREEEEEEEEEE!

Someday you might read Wee Gillis by Munro Leaf to a three year-old, and she'll want to know what bagpipes are. With Hoopla, you can download William Boyle's Bagpipe Virtuoso compilation in a flash and for FREEEEE! (Confession: I love the pipes.)

Libraries are the best.

3.  Grey Skies bringing you down?

Try eating peanut butter and banana sandwiches and listening to the Elvis Presley Pandora station.

You may call it inspired, I'm calling it history class.

4.  Knitting shizzle.

My 3 teen girls and their handmade swag.

I knit while I watch tv. I've been making mittens, and the bonnet I over-grammed on the Instagram. I usually get my patterns from books.

For the mitts, I used Vintage Knit Gloves and Mittens: 25 Patterns for Timeless Fashions by Kathryn Fulton.

Why is that hat green? Because I used leftover yarn from the matching sweater.  Why did I make a green baby sweater for my baby girl? Because I made the sweater before I knew the baby was a girl.

For both the bonnet and sweater, I used Vintage Knits for Modern Babies by Hadley Fierlinger. Can you tell I prefer the vintage patterns?

Jill really wants Elsa gloves, but I think she'll be getting Elsa mittens instead. #disappointed

5. What have we been watching?  Maybe this should be it's own link-up. WHWBW. Waddya think?

Our regularly scheduled programming includes:

Wallander

Pros: KENNETH BRANAGH! Gorgeous Swedish landscapes.

Cons: Dark and twisted crime.  My idea of Sweden is a now a mash-up of  Flicka, Ricka, Dicka books, Ikea, and serial killers/sex traffickers. Also troublesome, BBC=1.5 hour long shows. Mama gets tired.

All Creatures Great & Small

Pros: Netflix has really cleaned up the sound of this 1970s show. We are huge Herriot book fans here, and the television show does not disappoint.  I love Robert Hardy as Siegfried Farnon. I loved Robert Hardy as Professor Slugworth. I love Robert Hardy.

And Helen. I love her too. I covet her clothes. The midi skirts, the berets, sigh. I understand that she gets re-cast in the later seasons, but SHHH! I'm not there yet!

Bonus: This show is only an hour!

Cons: Could be totally acceptable for the entire family, if the entire family happens to be okay with footage of dudes with their arms up inside a cow's hoo-hah. (Remember my purse description?) Did these actors really DO that?  Did they use stunt animals too?  It is a puzzlement.

Foyle's War, Series 1

Pros: Police detective show set in Hastings, England during WWII. WWII is my preferred historical period. Gentle, quiet, yet brilliant Detective Inspector Foyle is often under-estimated, but always gets the criminal with some blinding stroke of genius.

Cons: Stupid 90 minute shows...too long...got work in the morning.

6. Netflix and Amazon Prime movies that have struck our fancy are...

The Castle

If you like Napoleon Dynamite and Aussie accents, this is the film for you. It could be a family film, IF there weren't a few Eff bombs dropping. My 18 year old recommended it and we've been quoting it ever since. (No, we're not quoting the eff words.) Decent message too.

The Hundred-Foot Journey

Everyone enjoyed it EXCEPT the 12 year old who may have said, "PLEASE let me watch another movie so that wasn't the last movie I've seen!" There's no accounting for taste. It is a teensy bit violent in the beginning, what with the mother getting trapped in a burning building set on fire by terrorists and dying. Other than that it's a clean movie with great acting and FOOD!

WHYBW?

7.  This Sunday starts the Seven Sundays of St. Joseph. (Thanks for the heads up, Mom!)

The Seven Sunday of St. Joseph is a seven day novena that takes place once a week, every Sunday (duh) until the feast of St. Joseph. Each Sunday, there are readings and prayers that focus on the different sorrow and joys from St. Joseph's life.

Selling a house? (Cari? Dwija?) Buying a house? Trying to make peace with the house you're in? Or just love St. Jose? It's only seven days! We can do this!

The hard part will be remembering every Sunday, because as I explained to my mother, I suck at novenas.

I always miss a day and have to double up once or thrice.  I even signed up for the Pray More Novenas emails, and every now and then Satan sends one to my spam box! But my mom says, "There's no time in Heaven."

Phew. Because picturing the OCD angel with a clipboard ticking off the boxes on my incomplete and/or tardy novenas wasn't encouraging at all.

So Seven Quick Takes in January, done. Boom. Pow. Linking up with the new hostess of the weekend fun, Kelly at This Ain't the Lyceum.

Don't forget to link up your book reviews on Wednesday. I'm bringing WWRW baaaack!

7QT: TGIO!

1.  You know you married the right guy when he busts out his electric guitar to learn the Strawberry Shortcake (Berry Bitty Adventures) theme song.

I cannot even describe the awesomeness.  We had one berry good jam.

2.  I'd like him to learn the theme for Franklin next.  We changed the words to "Hey, it's Polly!"  Maybe Edmund could learn how to play a jaw harp?

3.  Speaking of theme songs, I may have mentioned once or a dozen times that I came up with lyrics for the theme to Monarch of the Glen.

Love that sexy sax.

Problem:  Since they keep changing who the Laird is, I have to change the words fairly often.

4.  My wonder son Peter, who is in Pennsylvania this weekend for a national collegiate level golf tournament, penned words to the theme close to everyone's hearts, Downton Abbey.

"Dog is walking.
Open shutters now.
Bells are ringinging.
The mail is here, the kettle's warm.
Measuring the places.
Petals falling.
Lamps are on.
DUST, dust the chandelier."

5.  YES!  I used up 5 takes on theme songs! #winning

Time for a gratuitous baby pic.

6.

Last night, Lucy and I watched Sense and Sensibility with *swoon* Alan Rickman.

Lucy commented that it was remarkably like the movie, Scents and Sensibility on Netflix.

no words. #fail

7.  I beg to disagree with Mr. T.S. Eliot.  September is the cruelest month.  Maybe October.  There were snow flurries this morning.

Polly will not abide car seats or naps longer than five minutes.

I hear a baby crying in my head when I go to sleep at night.

This season of life is dang hard.  So many people with so many needs.

Sorry blog readers, but I blew off WWRW this week.  I chose to shower, walk the whole brood the whole way to the library, and stop at the playground on the way home.  I let Edmund and Jill play as long as they wanted.

I'd like to promise it won't happen again, but most days are difficult days.  Not a lot of reading is happening and even less blogging.

It's just going to have to be that way for awhile.  I know you'll understand.

Any bloggers wanna take a turn guest hosting WWRW?  Shoot me an email.  Or just leave a comment.

My troubles aren't really troubles.  All these people in my life to love are treasures.  I get that.  But here's to a day when I go to the bathroom and nobody talks to me through the door!

 

Linking up with Jen. A day late.  That's how it's gotta be.