the blue blog archives: you can make a girl a twirly skirt, but you can't make her twirl

Wee one's twirly skirt (pattern on ravelry.com here) screams out "twirl me!" It's got rounds of increases, ripples of fabric, and tiers of color just begging to be spun around and around. Look at how big and round it is when you lay it out flat!

Unfortunately, wee one wasn't in a twirling mood today. The skirt fits her great and the 4T length is perfect for her but the sheer size of the flounces means she's got to work up some real speed to get a good twirl going. And today wasn't a high gear sort of day, if you know what I mean.

posted by alison at 5:17 pm | in summer knits

Comments

What a happy face! Perfect picture for a dreary day! Thanks!

Posted by: Bonney at April 6, 2009 5:21 PM

Aw, how cute is that! I love the one where she is standing on the center of the skirt.

Posted by: Kim at April 6, 2009 5:22 PM

The skirt looks great and she has such a wonderful joyous smile. Looks like a great success on all fronts.

Posted by: Seanna Lea at April 6, 2009 5:32 PM

I've been reading your blog for a while and holy moly! Wee One looks so much like her brothers!!
The skirt looks fantastic on :)

Posted by: Lindsay at April 6, 2009 6:43 PM

The skirt is so pretty. And Wee One looks great in it!

Posted by: Jaime at April 6, 2009 8:30 PM

Hold on... when did Wee One grow up so much? She used to be so teeny, and now she's starting to look like a full grown person!

Posted by: Laura at April 6, 2009 8:38 PM

The skirt looks gorgeous on wee one. My girls love a twirly skirt!

Posted by: Ingrid at April 7, 2009 1:06 AM

Lovely spring garment, and obviously Wee One is all set for shoping with the kids.

Posted by: karin at April 7, 2009 3:35 AM

I live in St. Louis where we just got another blast of winter. I think I need to go to the fabric store and look for twirly skirt patterns and some twirly-licious springtimey fabric. As a very wise woman once said to me when I expressed some guilt over a small self-indulgence with some craft items, "What happens at Hobby Lobby stays at Hobby Lobby!"

Posted by: Libby H at April 7, 2009 6:23 AM

Wee One looks so pleased with her new skirt! I love the picture of the skirt laid out with Wee one in the middle. I'm very tempted to make one for my granddaughter!

Posted by: Geri at April 7, 2009 6:37 AM

love it.

Posted by: Orli at April 7, 2009 7:17 AM

Adorable skirt and totally worth all the work, don't you think?

Posted by: Jane at April 7, 2009 7:52 AM

I have been plotting a similar dress for my daughter, who now will really only wear garments that twirl. Think that I will knit this instead.

Beautiful work, as usual. Daughter so beautiful. Glad you have a little girl to knit for now!

Posted by: elisabeth at April 7, 2009 11:55 AM

Doesn't she suddenly look really grown-up in that last photo? She's not so much of a toddler anymore.
Love the skirt, I sewed something similar for my daughter with a stripy knitted sweater to match when she was about three. Now that she's ten, she wouldn't even contemplate wearing something like this ;-)

Posted by: Cybèle de Jong at April 7, 2009 5:26 PM

How adorable!! I wish I had a little girl to knit this for!

Posted by: Jolynn at April 7, 2009 6:26 PM

To answer Donna's question, yes, I knit the twirly skirt in the round. I just doubled the stitches to be cast on for each side and joined and knit every round. There are some eyelet holes on the front for the drawstring to be pulled through which you can work in in the round (I left them out on mine because I used elastic in the waist). As far as I'm concerned, not only is there no reason not to do the skirt in the round, there's no reason to knit it in two pieces and seam! :)

Posted by: ALISON at April 7, 2009 9:12 PM

Wee one and the skirt look lovely.

Posted by: Karoline at April 8, 2009 11:10 AM

thanks for showing it.

I am motivated to knit up one for my niece -- if she's willing to wear it, that is. :)

Posted by: emy at April 17, 2009 12:22 AM