Easter is right around the corner and I couldn't resist whipping up a cute little bunny DIY. My niece is a big fan of Miffy the bunny and of anything purse-like, so of course, a little bunny coin purse was in order. Filled with candy or other treasures and shaped like an adorable bunny, what could be better? As a gift to all of you, I've created a PDF pattern of the bunny shape so you'll be able to make your own!
DIY Pleated Chambray Maxi Skirt
I've been wanting to make a maxi skirt for a few months now. I go to get dressed in the morning and imagine my outfit based around a maxi skirt and then realize that I don't have one! I wanted it to be a neutral, casual fabric that I could wear most any day. I had about a yard and half of chambray left over from these shorts that was perfect for this. The fabric is lightweight and has great drape.
I used my standard pleated skirt formula to calculate the pieces I needed to cut. Get the printable template here. One change I made was that I just used one big piece of fabric for the skirt so that there is just one side seam where the zipper is placed. I made four pleats at the center front and the center back much like this inspiration outfit.
The length and the chambray gives it a little bit of a prairie look, like I stepped out of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers but I love it anyway and expect to be getting a lot of wear out of it.
Here, I went very country and styled the skirt with a refashioned plaid shirt, leather sandals (similar here and here) and straw hat (similar here). Most of the time, I'll probably forgo the plaid shirt and wear a simple tank top or tee. How would you style this this skirt?
Related:
DIY Outfit – Paisley Maxi Dress
How to DIY a Paisley Maxi Dress
Step 1: The inspiration dress is by Marchesa Voyage. The design of this dress is classic boho style, from the design to the fabric. It's made of cotton voile with fabric covered buttons and a delicate dotted trim. It's also pretty spendy but you can make it yourself for a fraction of the cost (yay!).
Step 2: The design of this dress is almost identical to McCall's M5316 which is unfortunately now out of print. I actually made this dress a number of years ago (see my post here). If you are unable to find a copy of the pattern, McCall's M6700 is fairly similar. The big difference is that it doesn't have the front button placket. To match our inspiration dress, you can skip the drawstring casings at the waist and just do a tie belt trimmed with mini ball fringe.
Step 3: For the fabric, I found a very similar blue cotton paisley from Michael Levine. You'll also need some cover button kit and ball fringe. I love the look of the fringe at the shoulders and on the tie. It really makes the dress extra special.