Lotte’s Pleated Skirt Instructions

Fabric: homespun or shirt/dress fabric, 1/3 yd (for yoke cut on the bias) or 1/4 yd (for yoke cut on crosswise straight-of-grain. (If you have to piece the skirt, you can hide the seam inside a pleat. Just be sure to match up any stripes or plaids. You can use a different fabric for the yoke if you don't have enough of the skirt fabric.

For Happy Kidz:

1/4” wide elastic, at least 8.5” (longer is better, because you can cut it after insertion.)

Cut a strip of fabric 3.75” wide and 35” long for skirt

Cut another strip of fabric 3.5” wide and 12” long, either on the bias or crosswise straight-of-grain, for yoke.

For Little Kidz:

1/4” wide elastic, at least 7"

Cut a strip of fabric 3.25” wide and 28.5” long for skirt

Cut another strip of fabric 3” wide and 10” long, either on the bias or crosswise straight-of-grain, for yoke.

Turn up long edge of skirt 1/4” and press. Turn up again and press again. Sew close to first fold for hem.

Turn under long edge of yoke 1/4” and press. Turn up again 1/2” and press. Sew close to first fold for elastic casing. Mark elastic at 8 1/2”. Attach safety pin to other end of elastic, insert into casing and bring out the other end. Remove safety pin and sew right along the edge of the elastic where it comes out of the casing. Pull elastic through to the mark and sew again at that point. Cut of excess. Right sides together, sew yoke shorter ends together. Press seam open.

Make pleats as wide or as narrow as you like, keeping in mind that pleats should take up three layers. If you have a plaid fabric, you can use the design as a guide. Right sides together, sew short edges of skirt together for a back seam. Do not press. Pin pleats along the raw edge of skirt, starting with the back seam, arranging the seam so it is on the inside of a pleat. Fold and pin each pleat, all the way around. Check and make sure the top edge of the skirt and the bottom edge of the yoke are close to the same size. The yoke will stretch or contract a bit, even if you have cut it on the crosswise straight of grain. When you are satisfied, pin bottom of pleats to match top. Sew 1/8” in from raw edge along top using a basting stitch. Pin bottom of yoke and top of skirt all the way around, right sides together. Use plenty of pins to ease in any excess yoke fabric, if needed. Finish seam with zigzag or straight stitch, or serge. Top stitch yoke right above skirt all the way around.

This pattern is protected by copyright. Any items made from it may be sold.

Copyright © 2019 by Peggy Stuart

Topping Off

A couple of weeks ago this pattern fell into my cart in the Ravelry store.

First, about the shoes Dolly is wearing with this outfit: Someone on Ravelry saw my black-and-white oxfords and tried to order them from The Doll Clothes Store, which is where I got them, but they were out, so she ordered these pink-and-gray oxfords instead. Then I saw her shoes and wanted those. (We “infected” each other, I guess.) I thought they would be great with a pink-and-gray outfit, so I ordered some, then went stash-diving for yarn in pink and gray. All I had in the sock yarn was the dark gray I used with the ski sweater, so I dove into my massive supply of Palette and came up with Palette in "Cotton Candy," "Fog" and “Ash." 

Realizing that Palette wouldn’t do well in the washer and dryer, and that they could end up there, I decided this outfit should stay with Dolly until Miss Daphne is old enough to keep her doll clothes out of the hamper.

I made a pullover to go with the outfit, because it’s pretty cold here still for short sleeves, and it made me cold just to look at Dolly.

The hat pattern was a free download. Here’s a closeup of the front:

…and here’s the back:

Back to the story of the shoes: When my package came, the long-awaited shoes to go with the pink-and-gray outfit were blue-and-gray instead. I called and talked with the nice people at The Doll Clothes Store, offering to buy the ones they sent (they were $1 cheaper than the pink-and-gray anyway) and they should send me the correct pair. They would pay the postage for the replacement. I figured I could always send the extra shoes to Miss Daphne with the birthday shipment, which would be less trouble than sending them back, and I really didn’t want them to “eat” the shoes by giving them to me. (Filet of sole? Tongue sandwich?) The correct shoes arrived a couple of days later and really complete the outfit, I think.

However, I also had a little surprise in the package. They had included a note with an apology and for free this cute little outfit that Gabi is modeling:

Now…what to do with the blue-and-gray shoes. The skirt and blouse were so much fun to make, I decided to get some machine-washable yarn and remake the outfit in blue and gray to send along with the birthday present. I’ve started the second skirt with that yarn. It was a fun knit the first time, so why not?

In other news, as cold as it is in the house, it still has been unseasonably warm here. We usually can still go snowshoeing during March, but this turned out to be a hike instead.

We had more snow Sunday night, so the trip to practice for The Messiah Project was scary. We will be getting more snow, I’m sure. We can have snow anytime through the first week in July, although the way this year is going, it’s unlikely we will have it that late.

What's on my needles:  “Plaid” doll skirt #2.

What's on my Featherweight: Doll slips. Will start on Regency outfit for Dolly soon. (I actually have the pattern now.)

What's on my iPad/iPhone: Finished To Whisper Her Name by Tamera Alexander AND  A View to Die For by Richard Houston on the Kindle app. Looking through my library to find my next listen/read. Also using the iPad and iPhone to select music on the new Bose, which is working out well. Our hikes are recorded on the Walk for a Dog app, which not only keeps track of your walking with your dogs but donates to whichever charity you select from among their dog-related charities. We're walking/hiking for Friends of Animals.

What's in my wine glass: Fisheye Pinot Noir. Always nice.

What's my tip of the week: If you’re trying to see if you have enough contrast in your quilt fabrics, take a photo and either print it in black and white or switch it to black and white in a photo processing program. (I use Photogene on my phone and my iPad, but there are a number of good programs, such as Photoshop.)

Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals were harmed during the production of this blog post.