Twirly

When I first saw those bold colors and pretty flowers on the clearance rack of the local fabric shop, I instantly thought of my middle girl with her bright smile and love of color. I brought home just one yard, not wanting to buy too much without a plan for how I would use it and put it on the shelf. There, as so often happens, it sat waiting for inspiration to strike.

Then one day, over a year later, during the dull days of late autumn, you know the ones, after the leaves have all fallen and the snow stubbornly refuses to make the world sparkle, it hit. I was hoping to come up with a couple more handmade gifts for the holidays, and I was desperate for a little extra color in my crafting when I spotted  the bright fabric near the bottom of the heap. The big, brilliant flowers were begging to be made into something pretty and playful, and it just so happened that my twirly girl's wardrobe was lacking a little twirl.

I love box pleats and knew I wanted to use them to add that twirl. I only had the one yard of fabric so, I decided to add a few panels of the purple, left over from the apron I made my niece last year, to peek out from those pleats. I love the result. Then, I found some black satin blanket binding in my stash and wrapped it around some wide, stiff elastic for a comfortable and soft waistband that wont twist or collapse.

It hits just below the knees, giving plenty of length to comfortably sit, dig, twirl and leap around the sand pit which is precisely where she choose to do this little photo shoot and precisely what she did while I shot.