Starry Sky Skirt - Making Magazine no. 3
Starry Sky Skirt
I am so honored to have been asked to contribute to Making magazine’s third issue, Dots, which is out this spring. For those of you not familiar with Making, it’s a themed print magazine that includes sewing, knitting, handwork, and all sorts of other craft-related articles, patterns, and tutorials all compiled in the most beautiful layout. The magazine is the work of Carrie Bostick Hoge of Madder, who serves as both its editor, designer, and chief photographer. This issue’s theme is “Dots;” issues one and two are Flora and Fauna. All are visually stunning. I love how Making brings together so many areas of of craft together; there are tons of patterns and tutorials alongside articles that include recipes and interviews and stories about makers in such an artistic format.
Making magazine no. 3 dots
Starry Sky Skirt for Making Mag
photo above by Carrie Bostick Hoge / @maddermade
I first became familiar with Carrie’s work through Quince and Co, one of my favorite yarn companies. Carrie designed a number of knitting patterns for Quince that are available in the Quince shop that I’ve admired and purchased over the years. I was so honored to be asked to contribute alongside of so many other talented artists and makers. My friend Anna Graham blogged here about the wallet pattern that she contributed for the issue.
Starry Sky Skirt for Making Mag
photo by Carrie Bostick Hoge / @maddermade
Starry Sky skirt
The project I contributed to the magazine is a tutorial for a simple gathered skirt called the Starry Sky Skirt. A simple gathered skirt is — as my friend Erin said recently when she posted one on Instagram — the “gateway drug to the sewing world,” and it’s certainly a lovely thing to throw together two rectangles of fabric and add a waistband. But although I’m certain many people have written tutorials for the basic gathered skirt before, something I felt was still missing was specific length and width dimensions for gathered skirts for a broader range of humans; not only children’s sizes but also all the way up to adult sizes (including plus). The pattern includes dimensions all the way from a children’s size 1 (12 months) all the way through the nine women’s sizes my patterns currently span, which is to say, from a waist size of 19″ to 45.” The skirt is designed to hit roughly at the knee, and has length built into the hem for extra adjustability and height differences. I love having these dimensions at arm’s length; it takes the guesswork out of making a quick skirt for me, which means it’s an even easier project to whip out in an hour or so, and of course I’ve provided step by step instructions to help even the beginner tackle this project. If you have the magazine I hope you’ll find this useful for making piles of simple skirts for yourself and little ones!
Starry Sky Skirt
The fabric
When Carrie first told me the theme was Dots and shared her inspiration board with me, I was inspired to create a skirt out of dark fabric with lighter dots scattered over it like a starry sky. Initially I thought I might try to figure out a way to stamp a solid blue fabric to get the desired effect, but when Carrie mentioned she had two double gauze fabrics that might work already in her stash, I was really excited. The fabric she sent for me to make the women’s skirt is a now out-of-print Nani Iro double gauze, and it’s absolutely gorgeous, don’t you think? I’ve already received a number of emails asking where to find this fabric, and regrettably I don’t think this particular print is available any longer, but I do recommend checking out Jones and Vandermeer, Miss Matatabi, and Red Beauty Textiles if you want something similar. All of those shops are places that carry a nice selection of Nani Iro and I’ve purchased from all three of them in the past.
Starry Sky Skirt for Making Mag
photo by Carrie Bostick Hoge / @maddermade
I also love the reversible dotted double gauze (above) that Carrie sent; I was able to make two children’s skirts for the shoot, one with the blue on the outside and one with the white (below) on the outside. They made an adorable pair (see top photo).
Starry Sky Skirt for Making Mag
photo by Carrie Bostick Hoge / @maddermade
Making Magazine issue 3 is now available online from the Making shop, as well as many other local yarn and fabric shops. Here in Ann Arbor you can pick up a copy at Spun in Kerrytown.