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Friday, April 13, 2012

The Garment Formerly Known as Tablecloth Skirt


In early February, Rhonda (of Rhonda's Creative Life) posted a picture of a piece of fabric that a friend had gifted to her. This friend had purchased the fabric in Africa — it was a cotton jacquard that had been tie dyed with indigo and kola nut dyes. I drooled all over it, and Rhonda generously gifted it to me.



The first thing to do was to follow the instructions on the handwritten label and give the fabric a vinegar soak to set the dye. I used the bathtub and an entire bottle of white vinegar to give the fabric two soakings. What surprised me was that the water turned quite brown, both times — I had expected the indigo blue to bleed, but it was the kola nut brown. After two soakings, each followed by a thorough rinsing, I machine washed and dried the fabric. Afterward, I thought the fabric looked very much the same as before, the blues and browns didn't visibly change, so it truly was "extra" dye remaining in the fabric.

Rhonda approved of my idea of sewing the fabric into my tablecloth skirt. In fact, several weeks ago she asked me to write a guest post on her blog about the skirt for Fabulous Free Pattern Friday, which was posted today.

For this version of the skirt, I cut the center square a bit larger, so the resulting rectangles are a bit more narrow. The larger the center square, the fuller the skirt and the larger the hemline. The corners are less pronounced.

I am really going to enjoy wearing this version of the skirt, so many thanks again for this thoughtful gift, Rhonda! Again, check out Rhonda's blog for my guest post with details on how to sew the garment-formerly-known-as-the-tablecloth-skirt. (Too many people assume that this skirt is made from a tablecloth, so I do regret that name.)

More Pictures




23 comments:

  1. Oh, wow! I love this! I want this!

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  2. Oh, I love this one. Fabulous!

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  3. Ooooh, ooooh, my favorite! The fabric is super well-suited to the pattern.

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  4. Beautiful, shams! A friend sent me a piece of fabric from Africa when she was in the Peace Corps in the 60's. I didn't know to set the dyes and the dress colors changed over the years I wore it. I loved the dress!

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  5. DROOL! Love that fabric, and what a great action shot!

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  6. Such a gorgeous skirt! Love natural dyes though they do sometimes change with washing and sunlight. Always an adventure.

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  7. Thanks, everyone! I hope the dyes stay put, but only time will tell. Luckily I don't have to wash my skirts all that often!

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  8. Rhonda is so sweet the skirt turn out so fun. Love it xx

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  9. Beautiful fabric! I live in skirts-I'll have to try that pattern.

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  10. It is a beautiful skirt and it looks lovely on you!

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  11. Fabulous, Shams. Love the action shots too.

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  12. Oh my gosh! that fabric is gorgeous in that skirt. I know you will love every minute wearing it.

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  13. Adorable, Shams. That fabric is fantastic and such a lovely gift.

    Karendee

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  14. Hey Shams, love the colors on you. Very cool fabric, beautiful gift.

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  15. Gorgeous fabric and love the skirt! I've got another one in the hopper too and can't wait to get going on it.

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  16. Another beautie!!! You have a great eye for fabric and what to create with it...

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  17. Fantastic and beautiful. Just love it.
    When I washed my cloth from Africa my machines were coated with brown inside. Of course that was mud cloth and I learned that the mud is used as the resist. Lots of residual mud in that fabric.

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  18. Love the hand dyed fabric. Great colors for you, and fab with that blue Teagarden top!

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  19. The BESTEST gfkatts yet! You look positively glam in this version! Must must MUST make one up (I'm starting to drool at the prospect of getting back into the sewing room...it must be time....)

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  20. You are a hit!!!, and you should be. The skirt is so wonderful on you. You make me smile, the best gift you could give me.

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  21. I really love the fabric you created!

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  22. What a cute skirt. It looks wonderful on you! I love Rhonda's blog too!

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