I made a new skirt recently. It used to be a dress, which I bought at Goodwill because it was breastfeeding-friendly. However, the fit was never perfect, and since then I’ve made another dress I like better. The fabric, however, was a lovely washed-out blue chambray, and the shape of the skirt was just right.

So I cut off the skirt and converted the shirring at the waist into a gathered, elasticated waistband. Yes, ELASTIC. I thought I would never embrace an elastic waist, but I’ve succumbed. I think it suits my lifestyle at the moment, when I guess I schlump around more than I used to – I don’t spend my day at a desk any longer. I also wonder if all my insides are loosey-goosey after pregnancy. Does that happen? It seems like my waistline changes a lot through the day, making a skirt that fits well in the morning too tight by the evening.

I used the bodice of the dress to make belt loops and the big patch pockets. I was copying a skirt I made while I was pregnant, which was my fallback at the time. It was comfortable, easy to move in, cool in the heat, went with any t-shirt, and it felt sturdy enough to do work in. I wore it a lot, for example, when I was unpacking after we moved. Do you remember it from Me-Made-May last year?

So the new version has similar pockets and is designed for a similar purpose: something comfortable to wear on hot days, which goes with anything and therefore doesn’t need too much thought.

The pockets are, of course, practical. I put them in all my dresses and skirts, and I miss them when they’re absent. They are useful, for example, for stashing clothespins.

I did some ‘styling’ of this shot, with props (clothespins and my rigged-up clothesline). My photography and modelling skills still have room for improvement!