I NEVER dreamed it would take me 2 days to make this table skirt to go around out new sound system at church…but it DID. Needless to say, I didn’t get anything else done today. I packed up my sewing machine early this morning and made a little “sewing center” in the back of the church. I stayed there till we left at 8:15 this evening. It was a LONG day but I got it finished, so I’m dreadfully sorry that this is all I have to share. I hope you can find some kind of inspiration in my pictures.
I started with a piece of burgundy cotton fabric 6 yards long. Along the top edge, I stitched a casing and ran elastic through it since the wood frame that I was adding this to was angled in a few areas.
Because of the shape I was adding this skirt to, I couldn’t just stitch my velcro on the back side the whole length of the fabric. I had to do it in 2 inch sections so the skirt would have a little give and stretch where it needed to.
This took quite a while to do. Threads were EVERYWHERE!!
My hubby used his staple gun to attach the other side of the velcro along the top edge of the wood frame that HE built! (He was a very busy guy today too!) I should have shown what he did…
Next I had to match up the velcro on my skirt to the velcro on the table… trying to get it stretched out evenly was a trick, but after many attempts I was satisfied with it. I had bought some gimp trim and sewed it on by hand. Again, because the skirt needed to be free to stretch, I couldn’t just take it over to my machine and stitch it in place…it had to have some give and play to it… But this is what the trim looked like after I stitched it all on…
After I got the trim all stitched on, there was NO WAY I was taking it off, so I scooted my machine over to the skirt and planned to hem it by moving the machine around and stitching it as I came to that section of the skirt. It was harder than it looks because of the one section that dips down. I had to make some little clips on the backside to have it hang evenly to the floor.
Then my next big idea was to save the church $18.00 and only spend 46 pennies! How, by making my own weights to hold the skirt in place. They make drapery weights and you can buy chain to run along the hem on the inside and it makes your drapes or “skirt” in this case, hang better. Well, I did buy some gold chain at Lowe’s for $6.00 for 6 feet. I would have needed at least 3 of them…
So I decided to tape pennies to a long piece of yarn… then run it through my hem casing.
The trouble was, the tape kept catching on my fabric and it took forever to feed it through. Fortunately my hubby had a set of skinny rods that we could screw together and pull the pennies through, but it still took a very long time to do. I was about ready to tear open those packages of brass beading and use it. But I didn’t and was so relieved when I got that last penny through.
I used my streamer and got most of the wrinkles out, so here is my “Table Skirt Presentation!” (That’s just water on the floor from my steamer)
I know this wasn’t terribly interesting, but I hope you enjoyed it at least a little bit! If I didn’t do this, you’d have probably had my first
“no show” for my blog post tomorrow.
See you tomorrow,
Blessings, Jeanne
That looks wonderful Jeanne! Just looking at it, you wouldn’t think it took so much innovation and dedication to finish! That seems to be the way a so called “simple” thing turns out to be quite the experience! I love the way you put pennies at the bottom for weights! I certainly hope your church appreciates you for all that you do for them!
Hi Linda,
You are SO right… sometimes someone will call me with a “seeminly simple” alteration to do. Perhaps it’s just sewing a few sequins back on the bodice of a wedding gown or maybe it’s hem a pair of pants, but invariably it turns out the the waist needed to be taken in before the sequins are sewn on, or the pants have cuffs or a zipper at the hem or a split at the hem for decoration… anyway, sometimes something that should take 30 minutes takes 3 hours.
I can see lots of pennies being used now by ladies to weigh down their drapes!!
Yes, my church is very much appreciative of me and my hubby and it’s nice!
Thanks Linda,
Blessings, Jeanne
I am always impressed with how thorough you are when you take on a project. The tips you offer can be adapted to other projects fellow seamstresses may encounter. Beautifully done! I, too, hope the church members appreciate your time and dedication.
How surprised I was to find the Blog on making petticoats just when I was about to start my first one! Finally finished the dress and will start the petticoat today. I’m sure your tips will make it a much easier project and I’ll avoid frustration of working with tulle. Thanks again for your daily Blog.
Hi Susette,
Thanks for liking my table skirt… sorry it wasn’t a doll dress to admire!
I hope my tutorial helps you with your slip and it goes together like a dream!
Thanks for reading each day!
Blessings, Jeanne
I think it is a great post. This blog is to show what you do, not only about your doll clothes. 🙂 I think the skirt looks great. 🙂
Thanks so much Christine,
I guess my posts don’t ALL have to be about doll clothes but I like it when they are.
I also talked to my daughter about the question you asked about the necklace wire she used. She uses all different kinds and sizes but a common one she uses for dolls is Beadalon, in #7. That means it has 7 micro strands of wire wrapped together. I hope this helps you some…
Thanks Christine,
Blessings, Jeanne
Thank you very much for getting back to me. Yes, it helps a lot. 🙂
Beautiful, Jeanne. Looking at the last photo with the angles at the top I’m thinking the hemming must not have been ANY fun at all. And I must ask you, if you had to do it again, would you take $18 out of your pocket to pay for the chain instead of using pennies? You didn’t have a very wide hem to work with and, like you said, all the corners on all those pieces of tape…..and all that sitting on the floor! Couldn’t do it. We really need a photo of you sitting on the floor sewing the hem. 🙂
Hi Jevne,
Thanks for thinking it was beautiful… As far as the brass chain… I was seriously considering using it, but knew it was such a savings if I could just get those pennies through the casing…
It’s funny, I was at a “hospitality dinner” for the International students at our church this afternoon and one little girls mom had read my blog post before church so she knew there were pennies in the hem… she was trying to find them… but could only feel them. I thought that was funny…
Actually I found a small coffee table in one of the rooms and sat my sewing machine on the top of it, and sat in a chair and scooted my way around the bottom of the skirt. I had to move the table and chair as I worked my way around the skirt.
Although at one time I did sprawl out on the floor when my back was about to break…
Just glad I got it done…
Blessings, Jeanne
Jeanne you are a gift to the members of your church. You do so much for them yet I’d bet you feel they are a gift to you. You bring joy into the lives of others!
That being the secret to a happy life!
Hi Jeannie,
Yes, it is a two way street…they bless me and hopefully my gifts bless them in small ways. When I was steaming it last night before we left, it was dark and I was tired, and was almost ready to say, “Oh forget it, it’s okay the way it is.” But today when I saw the sound people around the new sound system and the new table skirt, I was so honored to have been a small part of what makes them happy! The new sound system by the way, was Wonderful!
Blessings, Jeanne
I think it looks fabulous! I could just picture you scooting your machine around the skirt perimeter sewing the hem. That’s a pretty funny image, but hey, whatever works!
Hi Carolyn,
I’m just glad my hubby and I were there most of the time by ourselves, because a few times I was stretched out on the floor…resting my aching back! I saw things on the ceiling that I’ve never noticed before!
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
That looks so nice …especially with the trim added. I love your penny idea too!
Good work girl!
Hope you won’t have to launder it !
Hi Kathie,
If it needs to be laundered, it will get the beaded chain I think… and hand washed at that…don’t want anything shrinking…
Thanks so much,
Blessings, Jeanne
It really is fun to see what else you’re up to. You are a very versatile and creative seamstress, Jeanne. (I would have been lost in all that fabric.) Your table skirt looks perfect!
Bless you for giving so much of your time to your church. I am glad they appreciate you and your husband’s hard work and talents.