The Refashioners Challenge Plus Giveaway!!!

A couple of months ago, fellow Essex-girl and refashioning genius Miss P had an awesome idea to encourage would-be refashioners and spread some inspiration. Her plan was to invite a clutch of sewing bloggers (any idea of the correct collective noun?!) to tackle a mystery secondhand garment selected and sent by Miss P herself. The refashioners were to remake their item, document the process and write a report. I was lucky enough to have been asked, along with some other talented sewer/bloggers Tilly, Casey, Karen, Dixie and Miss P herself. Well, I kind of roped Miss P in actually. I didn't think it was fair that she should be left out of all the sewing fun simply because she wasn't able to send herself a mystery package!

Well, when my garment arrived I was more than a little shocked to find a kilt! A ladies kilt-style skirt to be precise. It was a seriously hefty garment, with seams that were almost impossible to unpick. It took me quite a while to figure out how to approach the garment to turn into something more attractive and wearable. I felt a little pressure as I knew my refashion was going to be plastered across Miss P's lovely blog, plus I knew the point of this project was to provide inspiration for refashioners, not leave them questioning if remaking garments is worth the hassle.

So as you can see, the original garment was a fairly unflattering below-knee buckle fastened skirt. You can read a full description of the process this garment went through here. The final result:

I wanted to stamp a little of my personal style on the garment, which was an extra challenge as this garment isn't something I would be drawn to in a charity shop. My natural reaction was to make something with a bit of a vintage feel. I'm a big fan of wiggle-inducing pencil skirts, so I thought it'd be fun to aim for that but to encorporate the pleats into a fish tail effect which fans out in a cheeky way when the wearer walks. It's easy to forget that garments are actually often worn on a moving body rather than by someone only standing still, so it's nice to make something which is enhanced by movement.

Now, when I started this refashion I had a few reservations about how it would turn out. But I feel happier with the result that I could have hoped for. It's still recognisable as a kilt-style skirt, but it's received an injection of sexy sassiness that'll make it so much more fun to wear. I just don't think I'm the one to wear it. I have totally bonded with this garment, despite our initial unfamiliarity. Our 'journey' has brought us close, but I just don't have the lifestyle where I could see myself getting hardly any use from it. As I have stated before, I have enough skirts already that aren't getting worn. Also, I live in a little one bed flat with my boyfriend and I really need to keep my quantity of possessions in check because we are already somewhat engulfed. Plus I don't want to see my hard work gather dust.

The logical move is to offer it up in a giveaway! I'm not really sure what size you would say it is, but it fits me well and I'm a 30" waist and 40" hips. So if you've got the junk to fit this trunk and can promise me it will see the light of day with vague regularity, then I suggest you leave me a comment telling me why you should own this skirt. This giveaway will close at midnight GMT on Sunday 18th September, after which I will choose a winner and email them for their address and post it to them. REMEMBER: if you are going to make the effort to enter this giveaway, then leave an email address for me to contact you. I do not have the time or inclination to hunt through cyber-space trying to track down someone's contact deets. GOOD LUCK!!!!