Crazy Yellow Skirt (2015-2016)

My preference for the color yellow was established early in my sewing adventures and soon led to a bag full of yellow scraps that I didn't want to throw away because of ill-considered thriftiness.  (Not all thriftiness is ill-considered, of course, but I had three trash bags full of scraps in my closet before I realized I wasn't saving; I was hoarding!)  So I fished out the scraps I would use for this project, and then gave the rest away on Freecycle to someone who did crazy quilting. 

HOW I MADE IT

My construction method was simple, but time-consuming.  I started with a cotton skirt lining salvaged from an old dress.  I opened it up at the side seam to make a large flat piece, then started layering my scraps on top, aiming for a dynamic, haphazard look that was nevertheless balanced.  If there was a big piece in one corner, there couldn't just be tiny slivers everywhere else!  So I started with the largest pieces and positioned them, then filled the other spaces with smaller pieces, lapping them over and under until my eye liked the effect.  I pinned, stood back and looked, pinned again, sewed a few seams and re-considered, et cetera. 

Every time a piece overlapped another, I turned the top edge under to hide the ravelly edges, and top-stitched on top of the fold.  I appliqued lace motifs on the larger pieces.  I folded pleats into one of the more boring (but very press-able) fabrics.  I tried to contrast textures as well as colors.  There were a few red poppies in one of the prints, which I tried to position in un-awkward places, though later changes in fit moved them into awkward areas.  *eye-roll*

Because of all the different fibers in one skirt, I haven't washed the skirt yet.  If I have to (but really, it doesn't get dirty in normal wear), I'll hand-wash and iron dry.