A new skirt for me and projects from the past

I've made a new skirt this week that I'm quite proud of!

I didn't use a pattern for this skirt, just modeled it off one of my favorite skirts. I used linen-look fabric, put a zipper in the back, and even used interfacing in the waistband so it wouldn't look all slouchy while wearing it. This actually used to be a full length cape that I used as part of my Red Riding Hood Halloween costume in 2012. Repurposing for the win! This fabric is perfect for pleated skirts, the linen-look fabric is so wrinkle resistant and it's perfectly weighted and flowy and ugh, linen-look, I love you. I managed to make this skirt look a little fuller by adding another hidden pleat tucked behind each visible pleat. So fancy right? While I'm at it, here's a few of the skirts I've made in the past that I never showed off:

I made this yellow linen skirt last spring. I used genuine linen so it wrinkles like crazy unfortunately.

This skirt I made in the summer of 2011 when I was living in Concord and I was too poor for fancy clothes so I used up my fabric stash. This was actually a fabulous skirt for summer. It was a light fabric and so flowy! I just gathered it and made a nice wide waistband. I don't know why, but I love wide waist bands. For some silly reason, I have since gotten rid of this skirt. Ah well.

I also wanted to share my hand made vintage inspired bikini that I made at the end of last summer!

I also mostly free-handed this creation with a little pattern help for the top. I used parts of a pattern from either the book Famous Frocks or Sewing Vintage Modern (I'm way too lazy to go digging through my pattern collection right now). I just needed a little guidance for getting the cup construction right. I tore apart a regular bra to help with the construction for the top; I just pulled out the underwire and cut the cups to the right shape for the top, stitched them in between the decorative fabric and voila! Support! For the bottoms, I just traced a pair of my comfiest boyshorts onto newspaper for a pattern and went with it. This is literally the comfiest bathing suit I've ever owned. I don't feel like I'm gonna fall out the top, and the high-waisted bottoms give me such a curvy looking silhouette, which is quite a boost for my confidence in the summer. I'm so self-concious.

And just for fun, here's the final result of my pastel hair journey!

 I did one more gentle bleaching and my hair is finally light enough to call pastel. I'm in love with it, but the maintenance is unbelievable. Pastels fade so quickly. I'll have to start thinking about a summer hair color before I know it. I'd love to do a warm color for summer, but we"ll see. 

Message to any readers out there: would anyone like to see tutorials on how to make any kind of clothing this year? Leave a comment with ideas for me! Since I'm on a learning curve myself with perfecting my talents, I'd love to share any knowledge I have with my readers. I appreciate any and all input!