Domestic goddess.
Apparently I’m about to add another craft to my arsenal of domestic goddesshood. My daughter wants a long yellow skirt. She moves her hands down her legs to her ankles to show me that it should go “all the way.” She apparently wants to be a princess.
My daughter, as you may know, has PDD-NOS. That stands for Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified. In layman terms, she has some autistic tendencies, but she’s not, like, Rainman autistic (since that seems to be the main frame of reference that people have) so since they’re not sure just where she falls on the autistic spectrum, they slap that ‘not otherwise specified’ on there.
So when she independently tells me she wants something like this, it’s a major accomplishment. In the morning, she wanted a skirt. Then she added it was a long skirt. At noon, she was able to get out that it was a long yellow skirt, and she added the hand motions. Later, she said “Belle and Snow White!” so that clued me in as to what kind of long yellow skirt she was talking about. Furthermore, she wants to be able to wear it out “to the bagel shop”, not just for dress up. When my daughter is able to express something that specific to me, you’re damn right I’m going to move heaven and earth to make it happen.
Unfortunately, there apparently are no long yellow skirts at any kids’ stores near my house. I pre-shopped so I wouldn’t have to drag her all over the mall looking. So now, I have to learn how to make a skirt.
I’ve split shower curtains and made them into drapes, and I made some beanbag-type Christmas gifts for a few friends last year, but I’ve never actually made a garment before. Five-year-olds are not renowned for their patience, so this’ll be an interesting experience tomorrow. I may be able to put her off by just having her pick out the fabric, then buying twice as much as I need and trying to make one tomorrow night while she’s asleep. We’ll see.
Wish me luck.
Simplicity Patterns is your friend. I haven’t gone through lately to see if they have a Belle-style skirt, but definitely check out the pattern books if you can get up to a Jo-Ann’s. Particularly, check out the Halloween pattern selections. There’s usually a good chunk of Disney-theme designs in ’em.
If my mother and I were on better terms and we weren’t up to our armpits in Faire prep, I’d beg her to do it for you. As it stands, though, if you can find a decent, simple enough pattern, you can pull off some pretty good stuff with only basic knowledge.
Simplicity Patterns is your friend. I haven’t gone through lately to see if they have a Belle-style skirt, but definitely check out the pattern books if you can get up to a Jo-Ann’s. Particularly, check out the Halloween pattern selections. There’s usually a good chunk of Disney-theme designs in ’em.
If my mother and I were on better terms and we weren’t up to our armpits in Faire prep, I’d beg her to do it for you. As it stands, though, if you can find a decent, simple enough pattern, you can pull off some pretty good stuff with only basic knowledge.
Thanks, hon, I appreciate the thought! I did find this link, as well as some others, so I think I can probably get by. In spite of her saying she wants to wear it out, I think I can get by with a velcro closure, and I know how big her waist is, so I think I can rig something up.
Last Christmas I finally bought a new sewing machine, to replace my 1960’s model Singer that only did one stitch – badly. Now I’m very glad I did.
Thanks, hon, I appreciate the thought! I did find this link, as well as some others, so I think I can probably get by. In spite of her saying she wants to wear it out, I think I can get by with a velcro closure, and I know how big her waist is, so I think I can rig something up.
Last Christmas I finally bought a new sewing machine, to replace my 1960’s model Singer that only did one stitch – badly. Now I’m very glad I did.
I was randomly reading peoples journals and saw that your daughter has PDD-NOS, I know what that is like, my 4 year old son has that, along with SID Sensory Intergration Dysfunction. I wish you all the best in making the skirt for your daughter.
I was randomly reading peoples journals and saw that your daughter has PDD-NOS, I know what that is like, my 4 year old son has that, along with SID Sensory Intergration Dysfunction. I wish you all the best in making the skirt for your daughter.