Crochet: Little Girls' Skirt

Mid-Autumn through Winter and early Spring, I feel incomplete if I don't do some crocheting or knitting.

If I am not in the middle of a crochet project by Thanksgiving each year, I feel restless... something about the chillness in the air, the shorter daylight hours and limited outdoor activities make this a very Zen-like pursuit for me - a way to stay centered while a zillion things pull me every which way.



I started this project last Winter but never got around to finishing it.

And thanks to a brief spell of flu-ish symptoms that forced me to stay home and not spread the germs at my office, I got to finish it.

I am basically lazy and impatient. Once I start a project with full gusto, I get caught up in life's many demands and end up wanting to finish it as quickly as possible. Which makes me take many inadvisable short-cuts, then try to 'fix' the project as I go along... but so far, they've all turned out fine, even if one-of-a-kind :)

I have no pattern for this - just made it up as I went along - basically started at an approximate waist measurement needed for Ana, and kept increasing at every row until the desired height for the skirt. I kept the tension rather loose which allows for some stretch needed for the waist.

Mostly double crochet (dc), alternating 3 dc and 5 dc with 2 chains in between, staggering it from row to row. I like the airy lacy pattern as it gets done faster, and uses fewer yards of yarn.

I do love textured bobbles and popcorn and seed stitch and clustered stitches for baby afghans as it adds warmth and doesn't have 'holes' where baby fingers can get caught.

Anyway, back to the skirt: when crochet was done, it looked like a skewed dolly afghan - open and almost like a trapezoid seen via magic mirror.

All that was left to do was the lining and waist. I used blue cotton flannel for lining and finishing. Then, sewed up the side seam to make the skirt.

The toughest part of this project was getting Ana to pose for the picture :)