Trusty English Dept. shop assistant Clara has another job--running the non-profit Bikes to Rwanda. On a recent trip to Rwanda, she brought back several lengths of beautiful wax batik African fabric. She asked me to make her a skirt out of one of the pieces (doesn't the print kind of look like ears of corn?). When I asked, "What kind of skirt?", she made wheeling gestures with her hands and said "Pouf! And short! With a waist up to here!"This is the skirt. I designed it without making a pattern, just freehanding the yoke and pleating the fabric as I went, starting at the center and layering two inch deep double box pleats at four and a half inch intervals. It's spooky how quickly it came together, and there was exactly the right amount of fabric. What's better in summer for bike riding, rope jumping, and just generally messing around than an airy little skirt like the Double Box? I plan to make myself one post-haste.
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