Seasonal table toppers.

scrappy quilts

I make twirly skirts for my 5 year old daughter. I take strips that are about 5 inches wide and make them increasing lengths - ie. one is 27" long, the next is 32", 37", 42". Then I gather the edge, attach it to the bottom of the one above it and put in an elastic waistband. The more eclectic the selections of fabrics, the more she likes it. Each "row" of the skirt is a different fabric. They look really cute with a plain coloured tank in the summer.

I am learning applique & I make scrap qts I should do some table runners for birthdays & Cxmas Theresse

I find all kinds of uses for them in applique, paper piecing and whatever else I come across on the net... I have a hard time throwing them away LOL

Sounds so cute - can you post a picture of one?

I'm currently using a bunch in a log cabin quilt.

Sure, eeraemore actually just asked me for instructions. Here they are ... let me know if unclear. I'm working from memory and I usually just kind of wing it.

It's really based on your daughter's waist measurements. Pick out 4 or 5 fabrics from your stash that you like and that sort of go together.

Measure your daughter's waist measurement and add 4". So say your daughter's waist measurement is 22" - then your first row will be 26" long. Cut two strips 13" (that's 1/2 of 26 inches) long by maybe 5" wide of one of the fabrics. This strip will be the first "tier" of the skirt plus the waistband. Sew the ends of the strips together, right sides together, to make a circle. The circle will be a little less than 26" around because of your seam allowances.

For the next tier, add 4" to the previous measurement - so the next tier would be 30". Cut two strips 15" (half of 30 inches) long by 4" wide of another fabric. Sew the ends together as above to make a circle. Run a basting stitch along one edge of the circle, pin it to the first circle right sides together, matching the side seam. Pull up the basting thread to gather the larger circle to fit the smaller one. Stitch and finish the edge by pinking or serging.

keep making tiers out of different fabrics, increasing the circumference by 4" each time. Repeat the gathering and attach each tier until the skirt is as long as you like.

Do a narrow hem on the bottom tier.

For the waistband, I just finish the raw edge (pink, serge) and fold it over to the inside of the skirt. If you use 1/2 inch elastic for the waistband, you will need to make sure you fold it over about 5/8". Sew it down almost all the way around, leaving a 2" opening to feed the elastic through. Measure a comfy length of elastic on your daughter's waist, add 1". Thread the elastic through the tube you made at the top of the skirt. Overlap the ends of the elastic and stitch them together with a zig zag. Then close up the hole you inserted the elastic through with a straight stitch.

obviously you can make the skirt longer or shorter by either increasing the width of the rows or by adding more rows. I've actually made myself a skirt this way too, although I used all one colour of fabric and I had to increase the measurements significantly.

If you make the difference in circumference between rows bigger than 4", then you get more "twirl"!

That's cute,I need granddaughters!