Last fall, I was approached by a very thoughtful mom who wanted to find a way to repurpose some of her daughters' outgrown handmade clothing.  The girls (and mom) had favourite pieces they just weren't ready to stop wearing. Mom thought it would be crazy, but wondered if we could make a patchwork skirt out of them (she owns several of our twirl skirts). Crazy? no!

Mom and her girls spent fun hours recalling outings and special days as they turned their clothing into squares and hem strips. These were then sent to me.
We decided on the Kaleidoscope™ skirt~ drop waist, two rows of pathces and a patchy hem (measuring 17 FEET on a 5T!) and I set to work.  It was so much fun to see the little stains here and there that spoke of happy days of ice cream and rolling in the grass!  There was plenty of fabric, so I was able to make each skirt completely from the old fabric.
Each girl had several special pieces to be included on her skirt~ a couple of small pockets, an embroidery design and more.
The skirts are done and on their way to North Carolina from Canada.


It was such a fun project.  I often feel my skirts are as much quilts as clothing, so it was a harmonious blending of the patchwork/ memory quilt tradition with a one of a kind garment for each of two very special girls. 

And when they are outgrown?  A few snips and the strips could be used to create a quilt in the end! ♥