"Just Shoot Me" Skirt

I'm wondering if there are little "Fringers" out there in third world countries that clothing manufacturers pay minuscule wages to make fringe on designer outfits. I ponder that question as there is probably no one in the overly-entitled free world who would actually chose to fringe the hem of a linen skirt. I'm beginning to thing that making fringe is God's way of punishing me for trying to copy a designer skirt. I should back up a minute...

I bought this delightful little white linen skirt almost 10 years ago from a well known designer line.  I wore it to my 40th high school reunion and I remember thinking I looked pretty cool for a 58 year old.  I loved that skirt, but as the years passed, my middle age spread demanded that the skirt be moved the back of the closet...for years it languished in between a beaded bodysuit that cost me $400 and a power red Neiman Marcus suit, neither of which I could get into. This year's weight loss from eating healthy enabled me to pull it from the back of the closet and wear it again.

I still love this skirt! It has a handkerchief hemline and it's fringed - very feminine! So I'm thinking "why not try to re-create this skirt, Laurel", since they have never made a black one (rationalization!).  Such a skirt would be a great addition to my Paris wardrobe this Fall.

I admit that I am a quasi-copier when it comes to sewing for myself, but I rationalize my behavior by making a few modifications to the design when I am creating my pattern, just so that it won't be a complete copy. (Let's be real - good design hangs around and is modified/copied/altered/imitated by everyone!) I kept the same lines of the skirt in theory, but adding the fringe at the bottom was a non-negotiable feature - it's what made the skirt so beautiful. I bought some fabulous black linen from Stonemountain and set out to make my version of the fringed skirt.

Putting it together was the easy part - linen is so easy to sew. It's when I started the fringe at the hemline that I began to seriously doubt that I would be able to finish it. Fringing wool and other loosely woven fabrics is relatively straightforward.  I made a Marci Tilton jacket that I fringed, and a shawl with long fringe.  Both were a breeze compared to the hell of fringing a tightly woven linen.

So very tedious, this hemline...my fingers ached from all the thread pulling and tugging. I tried several methods before I just gutted it up and started snipping, pulling, and separating. It took forever.

But the result was worth the agony. 

Wherever in the world they are paying people to fringe garments, I can assure you, they are not paying them enough. I teased Suzan/FabricLady than I loved her, but not enough to make her one of these skirts.

Oh, and for all you Colette fans, I think she still needs more downsizing...though these skirts fit me, I couldn't get them zipped all the way on Colette. Of course she isn't squishy like me at the waist...she planks regularly.

Laurel. Made in the USA.