Cosmic Burst Patchwork Skirt

Happy March everyone! I can't believe we are nearing Spring. I'm going to go ahead and say it - I think we officially cheated winter here in Chicago. And I'm pretty darn happy about it!

A few weeks ago I was lucky enough to receive some fabric squares from FreeSpirit designer Mark Cesarik of his uncoming line, Cosmic Burst. I knew right away they would be perfect for a patchwork skirt for my daughter. I don't sew a ton of clothing, but when you have a little girl who wants to wear dresses and skirts everyday, you learn a few basics. I really love the Lazy Day skirt pattern from Oliver + S (free on their blog). All you need is about 1/3 to 1/2 yard of fabric and some elastic. I've made it several times, but this was the first time I decided to go patchwork with it.

I separated the fabric squares into thirds and sewed them together in long strips, about 42" long. Then I sewed those strips together, staggered a bit for a scrappier look. There are a lot of seams and I didn't want them fraying all over the place in the wash, so I did serge them and then also top stitched the rows down so the seams wouldn't bother her. You could also use your zigzag stitch to finish the seams to help prevent fraying.

As you can see, it has passed the "hop and spin" test. My daughter didn't want to take it off after we took these pictures, so I predict we will be getting a lot of use out of this skirt.

Cosmic Burst will be available mid April 2012.