The Inspiration & the interpretation

(originally published November 2, 2007)

I got so carried away with the doily skirt that I forgot I had another skirt refashion that I finished about a month ago! I was reminded yesterday when Shari posted her thrifted buttons on Flickr, and was wondering what to do with them.

This skirt is not thrifted, but refound in my closet (love that). I was looking through the Boden catalog (love) a couple of months ago and saw this cute skirt:

 

Oh, swoon! Button embellished! I have buttons! A whole jar of them! Then I remembered an old Ann Taylor Loft denim skirt somewhere in my closet that I hadn't worn in years (I don't know why - it was pretty cute without embellishment). I decided to put my own stamp on it, reinvent it, and wear it again.

I gathered my notions and inspiration...

And stared and stared until I figured out my plan of action.

I used two different sized embroidery hoops to visualize the placement of my buttons,

and then made chalk marks directly on the skirt.

I didn't go too crazy - I wanted to keep it simple.

I started laying out the various-sized vintage MOP buttons to make sure they would fit - and then decided to just wing it.

It seemed easier to do the outline in buttons first, and then fill it in. I discovered this after the first circle!

Even with strategic button planning and placement, there were gaps. I had a remedy for this.

I filled in the spaces with French Knots - fear not the French Knot! Janet has a great tutorial! Then I added a running stitch from the button-clusters to the hem...

It's very simple - and SUCH an easy project! Really, no real sewing skills are required here. You are just putting on buttons. A whole lot of them! I love my new {old} skirt!