My first skirt!

Last night I completed my first shirring project.  For those who don't know- shirring is a technique where you place elastic thread in your bobbin to create a smocked or gathered look.  Who doesn't love elastic anyways?

Like this:

You basically sew several straight lines, normally somewhere between 8 and 12 with normal thread on top and the elastic thread in your bobbin.  The fabric will just continue to gather and gather the more lines you sew.  This is called shirring.  Finally, you hit the shirring with the steam from your iron and it just shrinks up like magic.  

Great tutorial on shirring here.

How sweet is this little skirt?  It took me a while, being my first time shirring and all, but I think it turned out alright. This one's a gift, but now that I've got the technique down you'll probably see miss Aubrey wearing nothing but stretchy, elastic, shirred garments.  

I love the ruffle!

Great tutorial on sewing and attaching ruffles here.  I tried attaching a ruffle NOT using these instructions and it was a total pain in the neck.  Then I used these instructions and it was easy breezy!

Good luck!