Bringing Home a Guest Post

A while ago I was invited to participate in the Make for Mom series that the Shaffer Sisters did. I've decided it's time to bring the post home.


I'm very excited to be here! So many wonderful things have been shared, and I know many more are to come!
I'm Maegen, and I blog over at Foster Ramblings. I'm the mother of one crazy almost two-year-old, and someone who has never sewn for herself. I sew all the time for a little girl I do not have, and for my son, Mack, but sewing for myself is something I have always shied away from. I accepted the invitation from the Shaffer Sisters knowing there would be no way out, and that I'd finally have to step up to the challenge of making something for myself.
If you follow me on Instagram, you may remember me mentioning that I had received some happy mail from my mom a few weeks ago. Some John Deer flannel to make jammies for Mack, a darling little boy knit that's been passed down for three generations now (waiting for the perfect project), my all-time favorite movie The Secret Garden, and a few other bits of fabric. Included in the package was about 3 yards of this sheer coraly/peachy white dotted fabric. I saw it and it just screamed SKIRT (or sundress).

I think it turned out pretty adorable. And I love the way it looks with my favorite cardigan. Ignore how awkward I look, I really don't love having my picture taken.

I had originally wanted to make it a high-waisted skirt, to wear over a white t-shirt. But as I got close to finishing it, and tried it on, I realized that I wasn't going to look especially good in something high-waisted, seeing as I have a pretty short torso. And when I realized I had forgotten to taper the band to fit my body I decided to completely scrap that idea, and folded the band in half. I haven't sewn it in place yet, because that will require removing the zipper. Something I will get around to doing, because I made a huge mistake a bought a 9 inch zipper for a skirt which really only needed like a 4 inch zipper. Extra work. But someday I'll get it done, and it will be awesome. And for now I really don't mind wearing the skirt as-is, with the band folded down.

The skirt is very comfortable. I'm still wearing it while I write this. Because the material was so sheer, I bought white fabric for lining. 100% polyester so it flows pretty well and won't wrinkle. For the outer layers of the skirt I simply folded the fabric in half, gathered it, and sewed it on the band. So there are two layers of the peachy fabric, and I really like the way it looks. My biggest secret about the skirt is that I didn't bother to hem the outer fabric, I just left the salvage edge the way it was. It really looks nice, and I was glad to not put forth the extra effort that hemming requires.

As the first thing I've ever made for myself, I'm actually very pleased. And now that I've had some success without a pattern, maybe I'll be brave enough to tackle some of those fantastic costume patterns I've been hoarding, and make myself a civil war era dress (complete with underwear and hoopskirt).

I want to say thanks to the Shaffer Sisters for having me, and for understanding that being a mom gets crazy. So many things happen in our lives that can get in the way of taking time for ourselves. We cut deadlines close, and sometimes (like my sister-in-law) we realize we haven't been to get our hair cut in 15 months! I'd like to encourage all the other mothers out there to go ahead and take the time to make something for yourself. I can be every bit as rewarding as making something for your sweet little one. I'll confess that I have a huge pile of dishes waiting to be washed, clothes sitting unfolded in the dryer, and a bedroom I'd be ashamed to let my mother in. But I took the time to put on make-up and fix my hair today, and I really feel great wearing my cute new outfit.


But I have a confession to make.
After wearing the skirt to church once I decided I really didn't like it all that much. So I spent a few quality hours with a seam ripper, and now I have this beautiful fabric sitting there (it was basically intact. A skirt like that is just a rectangle) just waiting to be made into something. And I think I'll leave it alone for a while.