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| Beignet skirt with oak leaf applique |
Have you ever been so intimidated by a project that you put it aside for days/weeks/months? This was one of those projects for me. I started with beautiful dreams of romantic embroidery and charming woolen appliqued silhouettes. However, when I started trying to do embroidery on my machine - I hit a wall. It was much more difficult than I anticipated. I was also intimidated by the buttons. I've sewn buttonholes before, but this skirt has 11! I knew it would try my patience.
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| This is what a dizzying amount of buttonholes looks like. |
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| I used vintage Czech glass buttons from my trip to Czech Village. |
Intimidation and irrational fears are not your friend when you are learning new skills. Although your mind may tell you that if you stop working on a project - you can't mess it up, keep in mind that you also can't finish a project you aren't working on. This seems obvious, but I have to remind myself sometimes. The best medicine I've found for intimidating tasks, is charging head-on and taking no prisoners. That is exactly what I did with my embroidery and buttonhole concerns. I made myself finish them, and although the outcome wasn't perfect, I'm still pleased. Not everything has to be perfect. Even with imperfections - this skirt turned out super cute! Now I'm less afraid of buttonholes too!
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| Melissa - Buttonhole Champion - Ready to take on the world |
The skirt is made out of wool fabric with cotton lining. The oak leaves are cut out of wool and the buttons are vintage Czech glass buttons. I used the Colette Patterns
Beignet pattern. Josh and I celebrated the finished skirt with a trip to Galena, IL and a photo shoot. Galena has a historic downtown area with fun boutiques, beautiful old buildings, and several great restaurants and coffee shops.
We stopped for coffee at one of these local shops - yum! Josh, my photographer / fiance-extraordinaire liked the coffee too.
It was another lovely day in Galena. I'm soo happy this skirt is finally done, I felt so guilty looking at it without buttonholes for months. Now I just need to finish my Colette Violet blouse. How many projects do you all have waiting to be finished?
What a pretty skirt! I like the way it turned - great jobs conquering the buttonholes! I have about 5 projects in various levels of completion.. some are some small side projects I wanted to fit in between two of the larger projects (and that is not counting the three UFO's I am not ready to look at again yet). Maybe it is time I opened one of those and conquered!
ReplyDeleteThanks! It is totally time :D
ReplyDeleteIt looks great! Everything is all smooth and even looking. And you should totally do a Victory Pattern. Your jacket is so fun and cute, where did you get it?
ReplyDeleteThanks! I got it on sale at Anthropologie last year - the brand is Daughters of the Liberation :)
ReplyDeleteI am still trying to finish my shorts. I think I might have a go at it this weekend. However, I might rip some of the seams and redo to fix the pucker I have going on in front. If this is a success, I'll be sure to post the finished product! Miss you!
ReplyDeleteRemember when you wore them out half-finished and told Maria and Anour that they were done? Haha. I can't wait to see them though, the fabric is so cute!
ReplyDeleteMiss you too! We need to chat again soon!