Pettiskirt Success!

 Sometimes, it's hard to remember my crazy daughter is still only two. Her third birthday is rapidly approaching, and I'm in the midst of making her birthday outfit. I tried the no-sew tutu last year and wasn't very pleased with the results - it was always very static-y and never laid very well. It turned into a big ball of tulle. This year, I decided to go for the real deal and make an actual pettiskirt, using this tutorial as inspiration.

I ended up buying the chiffon rolls which are indicated in the tutorial, which was very convenient, but I didn't have any left over to work on tension! There wasn't any special instruction on tension or sewing in the tutorial, and I had a very hard time! I spent a week on this skirt, and most of it was repeating the same mistake over and over. I even swore off chiffon at one point and decided I need a new machine for my birthday (which still may be true - the machine I use is older than I am). I finally figured out, that for my machine at least, the tension needed to be just less than the mid-point (4 of 10) and that I needed to significantly increase the pressure on the presser foot. Once I figured all that out (by the time the skirt was almost done sadly), it was smooth sailing!

My daughter obviously has a purple obsession (I'm not sure where she gets that from) and loves the skirt. It has great flow and is perfect for all the spinning and twirling that she does!