Down By The River.

Look! I have legs. They're short and still totally covered,  but there they are.  I am, apparently, into trying all sorts of new things right now. Or, in this case, I was willing to try something new in order to use the little pieces of corduroy I've been ferreting away. 

Long time readers of this blog already know my extreme fondness for (addiction to) buying fabric at estate sales. They're treasure hunts. I never know what will be available for the picking.  Some sales are better than others. Some sales are loaded with wool and silk. Others... not so much. I bought the corduroy I used to make this skirt at the latter variety. 

I'm fairly certain the former owner of this fabric was a quilter, not a seamstress. So, it makes perfect sense that she would hold on to chopped up pieces of fabric. What doesn't make sense, is me bringing them home.  

Except, if I remember correctly, I filled a heaping laundry basket of fabric and paid $5 for the lot; there was nothing to lose. Plus, I love corduroy. It's nostalgic, in a way. I remember wearing a lot of it as a kid. I also love flannel. Together, these fabrics make for gloriously warm fall attire. 

Surprisingly, I didn't have any flannel in my stash.  Since I knew I wanted to use the corduroy I had available, I grabbed a selection of those fabrics off the shelf and did my best to coordinate each of them with flannels online. It's sometimes tricky to match colors online, but I got lucky. This coral colored corduroy is a perfect match for the roses in the Kensington flannel I bought.  I'm tempted to buy the navy, so I can have multiple outfit possibilities. 

Speaking of multiples... this is another Grainline Studios Archer. If it's not broken, why fix it? 

This whole outfit is a Grainline love child. The skirt pattern I used is the Moss Mini. And, it is mini. I am '5"1.5 tall and cut the longest possible pattern length, to give you an idea. I would have opted for the hem band, but I had less than one, non-continuous yard of this corduroy, which meant I had to cut the pattern flat and use contrast fabric for my pockets and waistband facing in order to make it work. 

 I really wish I had taken 'before' pictures of the corduroy. It looked like old rags with frayed edges and missing chunks. Now that it's sewn into a garment, you'd NEVER know. Actually, it downright looks impressive and expensive. It's the biggest transformation I've ever personally accomplished with fabric and a reminder that things don't have to be new or fancy to be useful. 

This was my first go-round with the Moss Mini. The only change I made was to take a two inch wedge out of the yoke to fit my backside. Because, making my own clothes means not having to deal with gapping waistbands. #winning. I'm still getting used to the style of this skirt. I continue to alternate between pulling it up to sit and my waist, then down to cover my knees- neither of these things is possible or intended with this skirt. 

It felt sad to return to the backyard for blog pictures after so many vacation posts (Paris, my heart aches for you as I continue trying to comprehend the attacks you faced last week), so Mike and I decided to make use of our beautiful scenery and headed down to the river to take advantage of the gorgeous fall we've been having here in Illinois. We've got a great system of walking/biking trails along the Fox River, which includes the Fabyan Villa Museum, a property redesigned by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1907. The property and the private collections of the family are open to the public and remains of the original estate can still be seen.  It's one of our local gems and a great place to take-in fall foliage.