Rainbow Patchwork Skirt

[Crafty Intentions]

Hello!



I hope you enjoy photos of my floor-length patchwork skirt.  This took me at least 5 months to make.  There are 10 tiers of 4x4 inch square patches.  Each successive tier is 1.5 times as long as the next one.  The bottom one I ruffled a little bit more than the previous tiers and has a total of 520 squares.  The waist is a "drawstring" where the "string" is a 1.5 inch belt that can be pulled tight around ANY size waist up to 50 inches. 



These photos are NOT me.  These are photos of a good friend of mine who volunteered to model this skirt for me.  Isn't she sooo preeetty?



The order of the colors is as follows:

Waist: White
Tier 1: Lilac
Tier 2: Purple
Tier 3: Pink
Tier 4: Orange
Tier 5: Yellow
Tier 6: Light Green
Tier 7: Dark Green
Tier 8: Light Blue
Tier 9: Dark Blue
Tier 10: Blue-Green



I cut out ALL of the squares first. Then I (machine) straight stitched all of the individual rows together. Then I ruffled all of the rows. Then I sewed each row to the next. Then I straight stitched vertically to sew the skirt into a circle. Then I added the waist, and sewed the waist belt/draw string.



I won't go into details, but I was showing some people this skirt and their first reaction was to ridicule it. It hurt very much, and I've felt bittersweet about my accomplishment ever since.  This is the first skirt I've ever made from scratch.  I have decorated skirts before and created built-in petticoats, but this is different and I was so proud of this until it was mocked by people I love.  I'm not sure how I feel about it now.  I'm torn between pride, awe at what I did, and shame because - was it worth it? Is it actually as cool as I thought it was? Did I just spend an inordinate amount of time on something completely impracticle? *sigh*



I post these photos as a declaration that I worked hard and finished something intricate.  I believe it to be beautiful and I am proud.



Thank you for looking. I really appreciate it.




UPDATE:

It's hard to express to you all, the uplifting yet heavy sort of joy I've been experiencing as you have come here to comment.  It's been a heady sort of wonder. 

I still feel the sting of the criticism.  I am not the type of person to sit there and allow someone to speak cruel or undeserved criticism to someone - let alone allow someone to do so to myself, without giving some sort of snarky or sassy response.  But I did just sit there. And I find it hard to forgive myself, and I find it hard to feel at ease with these people.  I am beginning to let it go. 

I have found your responses (and I have read ALL of them and will continue to do so) overwhelmingly kind and touching.  This thread has been both encouraging and bolstering.  I feel surrounded by hundreds of kindred spirits in a crafty sisterhood.  I am inspired to do more work of this nature and will be posting new topics on new skirts in the near future - I promise. 

I wish I could give every single one of you a hug - as you have done the same, emotionally, for me.

Thank you. And I wish you all Deliriously Happy Crafting.

UPDATE:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IT'S ON CRAFTZINE!!!!

http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2008/07/rainbow_skirt.html

[panul]

Don't let scoffers tarnish your labor of love! That skirt is fantastic, and such a huge amount of work! And, frankly, does everything in this world have to be practical? I believe there is room in the world for the strictly beautiful.
Keep at it, and congratulations on completing this gorgeous project.

[apalone]

Beautiful!  You can tell there was a lot of work that went into the skirt.  And, yes, she is pretteeeeey!  

[mamarose22]

Frankly, I think it is beautiful.  A real piece of art.  Also it looks lovely on you.  Be proud of it.

[Theperilouspopsicle]

that is AMAZING. i simply adore how full and colorful it is!


 im sorry to hear about your loved ones dissaproval--but if its something you enjoy whats wrong spending time doing it? i for one sew lots of impractical costumes so i definetly know how you feel. i think it was worth the time and effort though.

[limegreenjelly]

loving the patchwork, i would love to do something like this and well done for completing the patchworking ^^ 

[Ligeia]

This is beautiful. Beautiful. Don't listen to people who laugh. What do they know? This is possibly the most gorgeous patchwork skirt I've ever seen! I may have to copy you. Maybe more than once. So thank you for making the list of colors. It would have taken me hours. *sheepish grin* This is a beautiful skirt, keep it up!

[Shinylipgloss]

That is gorgeous!  Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.  It was totally worth your time.  I'd wear it!   

[LinzSerena]

I think the skirt is absolutely beautiful. I would wear it anywhere (I <3 long skirts). Don't let the negative comments get to you... My family pokes fun at just about every craft item I make. People who don't make things by hand just don't get it...
If you enjoyed working on it (which you must have in order to dedicate 5 months), then that's all that matters. It was a fun project to do and as it turns out, you ended up with a gorgeous skirt - Great job!

[AeonGoddess]

I can't believe you would doubt yourself, or the value of your accomplishment! Any seamstress would gasp at the amount of labor and skill that went into making that skirt. You know what my favorite thing about it is? How formal it looks! I never thought that a patchwork skirt could look so... well, classy. Especially the pictures of your model sitting in it... she looks as though she could be at a ball waiting to be asked to dance.

It's a work of art. Don't let the naysayers get you down. There will always be people in your life who may not understand that sometimes just accomplishing a goal and making something from nothing (you made a gorgeous garment from little squares of fabric! That's like magic!) is an end in itself. Next time they give you grief about something you're proud of, just smile to yourself because you know a joy of creation they can't understand.