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Simple skirt tutorial:
Materials needed - two patterns of cloth (either jersey or some other light weight fabric), elastic, ruler, scissors, sewing machine.
I sort of attempted to take my measurements and I ended up needing 1 yard of the primary fabric- the blue cloth- and a little less than half a yard of the secondary fabric- the gray and white cloth. The secondary fabric was scrap from another project so I didn't really get a good measurement. I wrapped the elastic around my waist and gave myself an extra inch for the waistband measurement.
1. Lay out your primary fabric and cut it into a round object. I did this by getting some thread and used it to trace a circle on my cloth (like a round pattern). Then I cut around the thread. I ended up with this. (I was aiming for circle but it totally ended up being an oval...but, don't fret, oval totally worked! It made the skirt look layered and asymmetrical.)
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4. I mentioned earlier that I did not measure very well at all and I was using scraps for the trim on the skirt. Because of that, I did not have enough of the secondary material. *gasp!* I panicked at first, but then I just turned it into a slit. If you have this problem, follow the next two steps to make a slit. Lay out the skirt to find where you're short on secondary fabric.
5. Cut a little triangle (a very acute angle) about 4-6 inches up your skirt. Pin and hem in where you cut. The slit will blend right in with your skirt and no one will know it was a mistake ; )
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6. Now for the hardest parts... Fold your skirt in half and lay your elastic in the center. Cut a half circle where your center is. Unfold the skirt to reveal a circle in the center.
7. Fold in an inch of the fabric into the center of the circle you just cut. Disclaimer: This will make total sense to those of you who've sewn pants or skirts before. For those of you who haven't, I'll do my best to explain.
When you're sewing in a waistband, you need to fold and sew a little lip (about 1-2 inches) into the inside of your cloth (like, where the waistband should go).
I always pin it along the inside edge before I sew. So, you'll have an inch of fabric pinned all around EXCEPT for about an inch at one end of the circle.
Sew this lip to the inside of your skirt EXCEPT for about an inch at one end of the circle. Sew along the inside edge only. You're basically making a little tube around the circle you cut out in step #6.
Don't worry if it looks like a mess... mine did. The only case where looking messy would be a problem is if you wanted to tuck in your shirt. Sewing clothes isn't something I've completely mastered so I will wear my skirt with a longer shirt to cover the waistband section.
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8. Pin a safety pin onto your elastic and push it through the lip you just sewed around your skirt. My mom used to forego the safety pin and poke it through with a chop stick but I never got that to work. Once you have the safety pin placed in the lip, you can guide it through rest of the circle, pulling the elastic through with it.
9. When the elastic is all the way through, remove the safety pin and sew the two ends of elastic together. Then sew up the remaining part of the lip. Do not sew the elastic to the lip or to any part of your skirt.
10. Put on your skirt and spin around! Finished product should look like this -
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This is only the third piece of clothing I've ever made so sorry if the instructions seem a little fuzzy. Feel free to comment or ask questions. I would love the feedback! I wore my skirt to work the next day and my co-worker couldn't believe I made it! Not too shabby for making it up as I got without any concrete measurements. If I were to make another skirt, I would buy a waistband and just sew it to the skirt instead of making my own with elastic. I wanted to do it old school this time around but I don't think it was worth it. I've seen thick elastic in all colors at Hancock's. You just have the clerk measure around your middle and that takes care of steps #6-9. That's reduces it to a skirt in five easy-peasy steps!! Why do we even buy clothes anymore? LOL
I sort of attempted to take my measurements and I ended up needing 1 yard of the primary fabric- the blue cloth- and a little less than half a yard of the secondary fabric- the gray and white cloth. The secondary fabric was scrap from another project so I didn't really get a good measurement. I wrapped the elastic around my waist and gave myself an extra inch for the waistband measurement.
1. Lay out your primary fabric and cut it into a round object. I did this by getting some thread and used it to trace a circle on my cloth (like a round pattern). Then I cut around the thread. I ended up with this. (I was aiming for circle but it totally ended up being an oval...but, don't fret, oval totally worked! It made the skirt look layered and asymmetrical.)
2. Lay out your secondary fabric and cut it into three equal strips. As such...
3. Pin the strips around your circle like a border. Then sew the pieces on and remove the pins. Now, your skirt should look like the third picture below.
6. Now for the hardest parts... Fold your skirt in half and lay your elastic in the center. Cut a half circle where your center is. Unfold the skirt to reveal a circle in the center.
7. Fold in an inch of the fabric into the center of the circle you just cut. Disclaimer: This will make total sense to those of you who've sewn pants or skirts before. For those of you who haven't, I'll do my best to explain.
When you're sewing in a waistband, you need to fold and sew a little lip (about 1-2 inches) into the inside of your cloth (like, where the waistband should go).
I always pin it along the inside edge before I sew. So, you'll have an inch of fabric pinned all around EXCEPT for about an inch at one end of the circle.
Sew this lip to the inside of your skirt EXCEPT for about an inch at one end of the circle. Sew along the inside edge only. You're basically making a little tube around the circle you cut out in step #6.
Don't worry if it looks like a mess... mine did. The only case where looking messy would be a problem is if you wanted to tuck in your shirt. Sewing clothes isn't something I've completely mastered so I will wear my skirt with a longer shirt to cover the waistband section.
8. Pin a safety pin onto your elastic and push it through the lip you just sewed around your skirt. My mom used to forego the safety pin and poke it through with a chop stick but I never got that to work. Once you have the safety pin placed in the lip, you can guide it through rest of the circle, pulling the elastic through with it.
9. When the elastic is all the way through, remove the safety pin and sew the two ends of elastic together. Then sew up the remaining part of the lip. Do not sew the elastic to the lip or to any part of your skirt.
10. Put on your skirt and spin around! Finished product should look like this -
This is only the third piece of clothing I've ever made so sorry if the instructions seem a little fuzzy. Feel free to comment or ask questions. I would love the feedback! I wore my skirt to work the next day and my co-worker couldn't believe I made it! Not too shabby for making it up as I got without any concrete measurements. If I were to make another skirt, I would buy a waistband and just sew it to the skirt instead of making my own with elastic. I wanted to do it old school this time around but I don't think it was worth it. I've seen thick elastic in all colors at Hancock's. You just have the clerk measure around your middle and that takes care of steps #6-9. That's reduces it to a skirt in five easy-peasy steps!! Why do we even buy clothes anymore? LOL
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