I love this fabric from Brooks Fabrics in Bountiful, Utah. It’s made by Michael Miller Fabric. I just love it. I decided to make a simple skirt. This is easier than Pajama pants; you don’t sew as much….obviously because it doesn’t have legs. It’s a great project for the beginner sewer. No zippers, no buttons, no curves… and it’s incredibly forgiving. I made one for my daughter and have the tutorial here. I am doing basically the same thing but making one for me!
And you can’t tell me that’s not stupid cute fabric! Find some fabric you love and let’s create something! You will need to grab a few things.
- Iron
- Fabric (I used cotton)
- 1″ wide elastic
- Sewing Machine
- Saftey pin
- Serger and big fatty needle (not necessary)
- Pins (Like my pin cushion? Make your own with my tutorial!)
- Measuring tape
- Scissors
Ok, let’s begin. First I’m going to tell you how big my skirt is. Don’t judge. I wanted my skirt to sit on my hips. I measured my hips exactly where I wanted the skirt to sit. I’m about 34″ around so I kept that in mind and measured how long I wanted my skirt to be. I wanted it to be right to or on my knee. You can make it as short or as long as you want. I prefer my skirts to be lady like but not so long that I’m a nun. So that’s about 19″ from where I wanted my skirt to sit to where I wanted it to end.
Got it? Measure your waist/hips. And how long you want your skirt to be starting at your waist/hips.
Now… double your waist/hip measurement…. you heard me right… so I wanted my fabric to be 68″. (Makes one feel rather large knowing ones own measurements…) Now, add an inch or two to your length (my hip-to-knee measurement). I added even a few extra since it’s much easier to cut off fabric if it’s too long and not as easy to add fabric if it is too short. I’m 5″4′ and I wear a size 2. My fabric was cut to 24″ x 68″. Good?
Ready? It’s not hard. It’s not super time consuming. Let’s start. First, if you are using a serger, serge along the long end that does not have the salvage. The salvage is the part of the fabric that is the factory finished edge. It usually has words on it and isn’t printed. The salvage doesn’t fray. I just leave it as is. So I serged along the edge opposite of my salvage. The long side. If you don’t have a serger fold the edge over about a 1/2″ to 1″ and fold it again. Iron. Pin. Sew.
Fold your fabric over hamburger style with right sides facing. The right side of your fabric is the printed side and the wrong side refers to the back of the fabric. Fold together rights sides it should look square-ish… unless you are quite large and are making a skirt that will show your lady parts. Don’t do that. Be classy.
Pin along the open end opposite of the folded edge. In other words you will be pinning the shorter of the three open edges… unless you are literally proportioned like a Barbie in which case I would suggest immediate medical attention. Make sense? Ok, Pin.
Ok, now that you have pinned it up we are going to serge. If you don’t have a serger sew along the edge about 1/2″ in. Once you are done you can iron your seam open. If you have a serger, after you serge… we need to tuck in those thread ends: take a big fatty needle and thread it with the tail, then push the needle back through the already-serged edge… look at the pictures below. It will make sense.
Ok. Now we are going to make the bottom hem. I wanted my hem to be wide so I folded up a few inches of fabric. You can decided how much or how little you want to fold under. Iron really well. Pin. Sew. I personally like to start and stop on the seams. The goal is to sew around the entire skirt and meet your stitching up when you start and stop. If it doesn’t match up… no worries! No one will know!
Ok, Now lets create the waistband for the elastic. Fold over the fabric wide enough that you will have room to sew and that you will have room to fit your fabric in. About 1 1/2″ or more if you want a little bit more room for error. I just fold my fabric over and hold my elastic on it and make sure there’s room.
Iron. Pin. You need to leave a gap. I mark my gap with purple pins do that I don’t forget. This gap is used to insert the elastic later. I prefer gap to be either in the back or by the seam. It doesn’t really matter since it wont be noticeable. So pick a place… and don’t forget!
The white strip you see above is the salvage. It won’t fray. So we don’t need to hem it under or serge it. Cool, eh? Now sew!
Ok, I sewed all the way around except for my gap. I started with my needle down and my pressure foot down. I back stitched when I started and stopped. Good so far? Great! Grab your elastic. Put it around your waist to the tightness you want it to be and cut it with about an inch extra. Put your safety pin in one end.
Find your gap.
And stick your safety pin in and thread it through the entire waist band of your skirt. Be careful not to pull the other end through the gap.
Now you have the two ends? Safety-pin them together and try on your skirt. This is the best time to change the elastic to make sure you like how it fits.
Now if it’s good we are going to sew the elastic together. I prefer to change my stitch on my machine to a zigzag. If you don’t know how don’t worry about it. If you want to know how look at your machine’s directions or YouTube it. It’s most likely a dial or a switch. Pin your elastic together overlapping just a bit. Double check that your elastic didn’t twist anywhere along your waistband.
Ok. Sew.
Pull your skirt tight so the elastic pulls into your gap.
Sew shut. Remember to start with your needle and pressure foot down. Don’t forget to back stitch when you start and stop. You’re done! You just made yourself a skirt that is awesome and machine washable. You’re amazing. Be proud! And you know how to measure for the skirt so you can make it any size!
Great job… for real. You made it! Enjoy it!
Yay!
A Presto!
Jacqueline
From Bugs to Bows 