I Wish to Look Like a Picnic

I'm saving for a trip elsewhere, so there are a few addictions that I can't afford to feed. The main addiction that (sadly) makes me craziest if I can't indulge it is buying clothing for myself.

I don't enjoy the act of shopping, but I do like having beautiful things, and when I go full throttle with a savings scheme I usually buckle big time about three months into it and splurge. I think that comparatively I'm not a consumer fiend. I never have the latest Mulberry bag (though somehow every other woman I see on the street seems to have one), I abhor the below-average quality of the on-trend goods in Topshop, so usually go without the offerings from the high street leader, but I always find a way quench my thirst.

However, this is important. So: no more smoking; more packed lunches; no more buying of frivolities. But I can't just turn a blind eye to spring/summer 2011 trends!

And this is what I came up with: I have done little sewing in the past 6 - 8 years, but figure this is a great time to jump back into the creative world. If I can teach myself to knit again (and I did in November last year, though just the basics) then I can learn how to sew again. And what better way than to channel a bit of, say, Dolce and Gabbana into my life? I say D&G simply because I saw an advertisement with 5 beauties walking happily from a picnic scene towards the camera, each wearing a piece of gingham and a smile. And who doesn't love gingham in the summer?!

If you know the right places to go, you can get bargains. I found a metre of red gingham fabric for £1.50, 10 metres of elastic for £1.00 and a reel of white thread for 40 pence. Is my confession to elastic screaming at you as it is me? I thought I would begin gently with an elasticated waist band rather than darts and a zip, so the nod to D&G is really only with the fabric choice and not to the craftmanship.

I set aside my Saturday to dust off the sewing machine, courtesy of a 16th birthday present, and make a skirt. Here are the results!

The tools:

After whipping out the iron to flatten the seams:

Some hand stitching to secure the elastic and to neaten the fabric ends:

The final product:

Hoorah! A new item to add to my wardrobe. I still have half of the fabric left, most of the thread left, and about 9 and 3/4 metres of elastic left, so really the skirt can't have cost more than 85 pence to make. Clearly it's nothing fancy but hopefully, when I don a white t-shirt or blouse with this simple and very feminine skirt, I will look like a picnic.