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Rebecca
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Maria,
I saw that fabric at Wal Mart as well. There are some pretty patterns in the tiered fabric. It would be fun to make some matching mother daughter skirts from it with the denim top like Michele's daughter's.
I have a simple machine but it seems that I break needles everytime I try to sew something other than sheet fabric. What sized needles should I be using to go through denim?
Michele  ?
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MicheleQ
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Rebecca wrote:
| I have a simple machine but it seems that I break needles everytime I try to sew something other than sheet fabric. What sized needles should I be using to go through denim? Michele ? |
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A denim needle would work well.  Seriously some companies label them that way. I would use a size 16.
God bless!
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Michele Quigley
wife to my prince charming and mom of 10 in Lancaster County, PA USA
http://michelequigley.com
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Rebecca
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MicheleQ wrote:
A denim needle would work well. |
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 Oh, how funny! That shows you the extent of my sewing skills! Two years ago I sewed some rick rack on a sheet and before that I sewed a HIDEOUS bridesmaid dress for a wedding I was in. Oh my, I just realized that was twelve years ago! I finished it at three in the morning and had to wear it the next day. I made it two sizes too big. That was my last attempt!
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MicheleQ
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Elizabeth wrote:
| Now, what do I search for to find that tiered fabric to turn shorts into a skirt? What's it called?? |
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That I don't know. I haven't seen it online but then I haven't searched for it either. BUT, if you want to make the shorts into a skirt thing all you need are two rectangles of fabric like I did for my dd.
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Michele Quigley
wife to my prince charming and mom of 10 in Lancaster County, PA USA
http://michelequigley.com
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ladybugs
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Michele,
I visited your blog and your dd's skirt is darling!
Gives me lots of ideas for old jeans that one daughter won't wear! Thanks!
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Love and God Bless,
Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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Bookswithtea
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I do feel better knowing that others are struggling with the same issues. Maybe I will take a look at Ebay for older Hanna's. I do like their clothes but gosh its hard to pay full price! I usually buy on their 1/2 yr sales. At least I know they will last through 3 girls.
I think I'll keep an eye out for the dresses that might look cute with capris under them. Thats a good idea, one I hadn't considered.
BTW, I've noticed that the LE dresses vary considerably in length, too. We just bought two older ones on consignment that are much longer than the one we bought one season ago from the catalogue. I've noticed the same thing with Hanna's, too. We have one set of playdresses that has a very short skirt to them (almost like a long babydoll with the shorts underneath) and another set, 2 seasons later, where they are well below the knee. Weird...
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~Books
mothering ds'93 dd'97 dd'99 dd'02 ds'05 ds'07 and  due 9/10
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jdostalik
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Jumping in a bit late here...I've been buying Lands' End dresses for 10 years, so I consider myself an expert!
I still love their t-shirt dresses and end up buying a few for each daughter in the spring and fall...but I have noticed that since Sears bought them out 3 or 4 years ago, the quality of the fabric they use has lessened...it is lighter-weight, thinner and not as sturdy. I still have dresses that are 10 years old and there is an obvious difference in the quality when I compare. 
Also, 2 or 3 years ago, they shortened the length of the dresses to just above the knee. If you look in the catalog, most of the models wear their dresses right at the knee. I don't have a problem with dresses that fall just below the knee BUT I prefer dresses that hit mid to lower calf for modesty and because the girls can wear them much longer.
All this long-windedness to say, if you find some old LE dresses on Ebay or in consignment, grab them!
Oh, and I do really like LE. They stopped making these knit dresses beyond a size 8 a few seasons ago but got so many complaints, that they began offering them all the way to size 14 again! That saved my life last winter! 
Hanna Andersson is great--they have a lot more knit style dresses in a variety of styles to choose from than Lands' End--but they are so much more expensive--though the quality of the fabric is superior to LE (in my opinion!)...
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Jennifer in TX
wife to Bill, mom to six here on earth and eight in heaven.
Let the Little Ones Come
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teachingmom
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I also want to thank you all for mentioning the pre-sewn, tiered fabric for making those skirts out of old jeans. I had seen Michele's jean-topped skirt for her dd on her website and wanted to do the same for my older girls here. But I was in the mindset that I needed to wait until we had some old jeans with holes in the knees in order to use those for the tops.
But I had a brainstorm recently. I have an old friend who lives in California and has only one daughter, who is slightly older than my oldest dd. Knowing that I have a houseful of girls, she very generously sends me boxes of hand-me-downs on a regular basis. Her dd must have more clothes than any other child I have ever known because there are always so many things that she has outgrown. The problem is that I have to go through the boxes and limit what we keep because many of the things are innapropriate for our family's dress code. The most recent box included about 4 or 5 very short denim shorts. I was so disappointed because they were in perfect condition, but were useless to us because of the length.
That's when I realized that those shorts would make the perfect tops for Michele's jean-topped skirt idea. The denim shorts are short, but not low-cut at the waist, so I think they will work wonderfully. I don't have much energy at this point in my pregnancy, so the pre-gathered and tiered fabric may enable me to actually put a few of these together before the baby is born.
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BrendaPeter
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Just wanted to recommend a girl's bias skirt pattern. I always like skirts on the bias as they hang so nicely. It's Simplicity 4155.
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Brenda (mom to 6)
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ladybugs
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Michele,
In regards to the jean skirt...
You said all you did was add two rectangles of fabric that you gathered?
What size were the rectangles?
I can sew a straight line but I must say sewing is one area where I freeze up and while I have lots of ideas and want to experiment, I tense and panic.
Help!!!
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Love and God Bless,
Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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MicheleQ
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ladybugs wrote:
Michele,
In regards to the jean skirt...
You said all you did was add two rectangles of fabric that you gathered?
What size were the rectangles?
I can sew a straight line but I must say sewing is one area where I freeze up and while I have lots of ideas and want to experiment, I tense and panic.
Help!!! |
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Maria,
I'd have to go measure it becasue I don't know. I eyeballed it - held fabric up to my dd and figured it was wide and long enough.
Really there's no reason to get tense. Experiment a bit it's only fabric - they'll make more. The best way to learn is just to jump in and try. I got MUCH better in my sewing techniques when I just started taking time to play around with things I wanted to learn. Like praticing putting zippers in scraps of fabric BEFORE I had to do it on a project that was important - and as it almost always is - time sensitive (i.e. every seamstress knows the drill of getting it done "just in time")
Truly though it's not time wasted because it gives you confidence and makes your actual sewing time much more productive and fulfilling.
God bless,
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Michele Quigley
wife to my prince charming and mom of 10 in Lancaster County, PA USA
http://michelequigley.com
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MicheleQ
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OK I measured it. It was just one piece of fabric - a 60 in wide knit sewn together, gathered to fit the width of the cutoff jeans and applied with the seam at the center back.
It's finished length is 18 inches (25 in. measuring from the waistband of the jeans)
God bless!
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Michele Quigley
wife to my prince charming and mom of 10 in Lancaster County, PA USA
http://michelequigley.com
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ladybugs
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MicheleQ wrote:
OK I measured it. It was just one piece of fabric - a 60 in wide knit sewn together, gathered to fit the width of the cutoff jeans and applied with the seam at the center back.
It's finished length is 18 inches (25 in. measuring from the waistband of the jeans)
God bless! |
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Michele,
Thanks for going to the trouble.
I will experiment....cue mad scientist icon! 
I might even post a pic when I'm done.
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Love and God Bless,
Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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Erica Sanchez
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Hi Books,
I have four girls and had wonderful luck finding skirts and dresses this year. It did take several long days going to many stores, but in the end it was worth it. I hate, hate, hate paying full price for anything, and usually don't pay over $10.00 for the kids'clothing, usually much less. I am also a bit picky about style, but a little less picky about quality as most things fade, end up stained, or just out of style after several years anyway. So this is where I shopp(ed):
Ross Dress for Less - It takes a bit of weeding through the truly cheap and tacky styles for our older girls, but I have found cute, cute stuff there. Colorful, modest dresses and skirts, even for my 10 and 9 year old. My biggest find was four matching bright pink with white embroidery tiered style skirts at $7.00 each. Those weren't necessarily needed when I found them, but I couldn't resist! I should post a picture! If you have the time, I think it is good to go there once each season.
Target - Although I have been pretty disappointed with their selection for the older girls, they always have a few cute and modest things each season. The prices, especially if on the sale rack, are great, so I usually grab them.
Old Navy - Takes some weeding through, but their sale rack is hard to beat and you can always find something feminine and modest! I usually pick up plain T-shirts here as they tend to be thicker. They had a great sale on tank tops (with the extra bra part) and we got some for the older girls to wear under most of their clothes, but especially the T-shirts.
Gosh, I can't think of anything else for the girls. I'm fairly shopped out this summer! Shoes were a big buy and I think I was all over for those. So the above are where I found most of the dresses and skirts for the girls.
HTH :)
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Have a beautiful and fun day!
Erica in San Diego
(dh)Cash, Emily, Grace, Nicholas, Isabella, Annie, Luke, Max, Peter, 2 little souls ++, and sweet Rose who is legally ours!
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ladybugs
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| Posted: Sept 03 2006 at 11:48pm | IP Logged
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Ok, I don't have a way to upload my picture to this site but if you want to see the skirt I made a la Michele Q's idea...you can check out my blog.
As a wannabe seamstress I have to tell you this was totally easy to make!
And fun.
I've started another skirt - orange shorts with rainforest material.
No, we're not shy here!
Thank you, Michele!
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Love and God Bless,
Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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ladybugs
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| Posted: Dec 13 2006 at 9:26pm | IP Logged
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Ok, I've made two more modest and fun skirts and just wanted to share my accomplishment.
I am by no means a sew-er (if I didn't put the hypen in there it would look like sewer)!
So feel free to stop over at this link and let me know what you think!
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Love and God Bless,
Maria P
My etsy store - all proceeds go to help my fencing daughters!
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MicheleQ
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ladybugs wrote:
Ok, I've made two more modest and fun skirts and just wanted to share my accomplishment.
I am by no means a sew-er (if I didn't put the hypen in there it would look like sewer)! |
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Which is why I prefer "seamstress" even if it isn't pc (like I care!)
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| So feel free to stop over at this link and let me know what you think! |
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Well done Maria! And you made one pre-coffee?? I AM impressed!
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Michele Quigley
wife to my prince charming and mom of 10 in Lancaster County, PA USA
http://michelequigley.com
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~Rachel~
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GREAT job Maria  They look wonderful!
MICHELE: I am with you on the seamstress title
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~Rachel~
Wife to William
Mum to James 13, Lenore 8
Lighting a Fire
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Modesty and girls revisited
