Hike in a Skirt

Over this past winter, I attended a lecture on hiking in winter.  The lecturer stated she always hikes in a skirt. Even in the winter. She just wears a base layer or two under the skirt.  I was intrigued with the idea of wearing a skirt but didn’t want to spend the money on something I might not like.  I had a pair of hiking paints that I was planning on shortening, so I refashioned it into a skirt instead.

The pant has some holes near the hem, so refashioning them was a given.  First was removing all the inseam stitches, which took while.

Once the seam was removed, I laid the pants flat, aligning the outer seams. Using my rotary cutter, I cut off the legs.  Then straightened the remaining leg, cutting off the crotch arch.  Using the cut off leg sections, I filled in the area between the legs.  First marking the cutoff leg to fit the area, then adding a seam allowance.

I hemmed the new skirt using a multi-step zigzag.  And wa-la, I have a skirt.  I have worn it a few times while hiking. I love it.  It makes peeing in the woods much easier.

I’m such a fashion plate while hiking. Comfort is the name of the game. Me before heading up the Smarts Mountain.

The only issue is modesty.  I have since made a pair of shorts/underwear to wear under my skirt. I will show you those in a future post.

What do you think? Would you hike in a skirt?

C

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Sport’s Not Happy

But I am!

Last year I made snow suits for my dogs. When hiking in the winter, the wind can be an issue for dogs.  So I made snow suits using a laminated polar fleece.  They were great.  They slip on over there heads covering all their legs, while leaving the all important opening in the rear.  They were not as pleased with them as I was.

This year, the night before our first winter hike, I could not find Sports suit. Being bright green, it would be difficult not to see them.  Both my husband and I looked everywhere.  I have the feeling it got thrown out in a bag while cleaning my sewing room. Augh!!

This is the pattern I used. Unfortunately, it’s no longer available.

I could make another one. But I did not have enough fabric left. I searched the internet, called the fabric store where the fabric was purchased, with no luck.  What I found on-line was too expensive.  The fabric store no longer had any left. I did purchase it two years ago.

What’s a girl to do?

I have been following a few blogs about refashioning old clothing. Looking through my closet, I didn’t have anything I was willing to sacrifice.  I went to my local Salvation Army store and found a jacket that, in combination with the fabric I had, would work perfectly.  Only $10.  Hooray!

The cuff were the most difficult. You need to stretch the cuff to fit the bottom of the sleeve.

So, I set out cutting the fabric and jacket. I had to piece some of the fabric to make it large enough to cut various pattern pieces.  Thus the stripe across the back. The original suit for Sport was a bit snug, so I made this one a bit bigger.  I think he looks great. But he’s not too happy. Once outside on the trails, he will not care at all.

 

I’m thrilled with the results!  We are ready for the next hike!

C

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