Sitting Pretty

I was amused after reading Toni's post about kid-inspired fashion and had to share this brilliant combination that just entered the room, worn by another little gal named Ginger.  Credits::  Hand-knitted leg-warmers compliments of big sister (Grace), gypsy skirt and mod socks from Mini-Boden, tops from Old Navy.  All purchased at different times, for different seasons, but perfectly beautiful, and thoughtfully chosen for this chilly spring morning. 

More pretty things . . .

For ages, I've been thinking about covering up some of our office chairs and finally got motivated.  Finished this one for the sewing room yesterday and was so tickled with it.  This is essentially, a two-piece slip-cover made from a vintage percale sheet.  I'm on the prowl for more of these now;  have lots of chairs to cover, and as I've just discovered, they're perfect for this.  The skirt-bottom is actually the top part of the sheet, so no hemming required.  Used my ruffle-foot attachment (Bernina #16) to gather it all up (love LOVE that thing--saves so much time; remember it only works on light-weight fabrics though).  If you decide to do this, you'll have to do your own measuring, because office-chairs are different shapes and sizes, but I can tell you that a full-size sheet will provide the width needed to go all the way around the seat edge if you plan to sew this as I've done, with the hemmed edge at the bottom.  Leave a 4" space for the back brace; turn under the raw edge, then top-stitch.  I made paper patterns of the seat and back shapes as guides before cutting them out and used a little pink-piping on the back piece to provide color detail.  (Piping also helps reinforce the seams and gave this a nice upholstered look.) I think it turned out pretty sweet despite the fact that there was a large adjustment screw-thing right in the middle of the backside, which accounts for a little pull at the sides, but it's still a major improvement over its former life.