Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Duck, duck, goose


When I was in Otaki last week, I found a flock of white ducks, the nice kind that stand up really straight and have long, skinny beaks. The kind that look like the duck from the wonderful book Duck, Death and the Tulip. I tried to show them to Mr Millicent Crow that evening, but they had disappeared. On our way home, we heard quacking from a completely different field and found the white ducks and a whole lot of ducklings jumping around trying to reach the grass seed at the tops of stalks. Which is quite a boring story, but I was very happy to find them again.

Just like I was happy today to find this skirt in the op shop, which is covered in what look like the very same kind of ducks. Although the op shop woman said "oh, you're buying the goose skirt."

So this skirt has a few problems. It's a particularly gaudy shade of fluoro pinky orange (which doesn't really show up in the photos, it looks much more tasteful in them). The ducks, or geese, have beaks and feet which are a rather insipid shade of teal. The waistband is only big enough to go around my leg, but there's plenty of fabric in the rest of the skirt.

But aren't the ducks cute?

I'm wondering what to do with it. I'm thinking about taking the waistband off, painstakingly unpicking it and turning it into an A-line skirt. Or taking the waistband off and running a piece of elastic through the top and turning it into an elastic-waisted skirt. Or making it into one of those bags that you keep plastic bags in. Or cutting out the ducks, backing them with interfacing and making them into patches...

Any ideas? What would you do with such a fabulous but weird garment? I'm hoping you won't say "take it back to the op shop!"

2 comments:

  1. Patches! I think maybe I agree with the op shop lady and they're geese? But maybe it's just the internet talking. Also I think that an elastic waisted fluro goose skirt might be a little bit Captian Insane-o.

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  2. What great colourful images. The duck/goose skirt is wonderful. I think you could get away with an A line skirt. I hope you are pleased with the decision you make!

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