Hello everyone!
I started thinking about making a pretty skirt for spring maybe a few months ago. I live in the North (USA)so the weather is just starting to warm up for us(mid April). I just had some snow the other day. Anyway, I'm excited to wear my new skirts soon and I hope maybe you are excited to make one yourself.
These are my photos of how I made my skirts. I'm posting this so that maybe I can inspire or help someone like myself. If you like, or use this post to make your own skirt please feel free to comment below and tell me your thoughts.
Picture Tutorial:
This is an easy project as long as you have some prior sewing skills or knowledge.
You will need:
Fabric: This will depend on your measurements. You can use the papers below to figure it out or if you think you're around my size then you can buy,
about 1 yard of 60" fabric, apparel fabric-(blue and flower skirt)
OR
about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 yard of 45" fabric. (MY black and white skirt)
Elastic, Marking Tools, Thread, Scissors, Freezer paper or Parchment Paper, Pins...
One of the first things you want to do is make a pattern. You don't have to do this but if you do it will be really easy to make more skirts.
I took the time to write up how to make your own pattern and you can also use this to figure out the amount of fabric you will need.
I did the same thing for this skirt.
Now put right sides together and sew down the cut side with 5/8th seam allowance.
I'm just using pinking shears to trim up the seam and prevent fraying. I do not have serger or over locker but if you do you should use it.
Next I used my waist measurement and subtracted around 4 inches or more. I made the mistake the first time of not making the elastic tight enough so you might want to pin it and try it on to make sure it's tight enough.
Just sew down the cut edge around 1/4" should be good. I pressed my seam flat and then sewed next to the seam on both sides so it would lie flat.
You will need to fold the skirt and the elastic so that they are divided into 4 equal quadrants. If you start at the seam and fold it in half you mark the opposite ends, then fold again and mark the other two points. I hope the pictures help...
Now take right sides together and pin the elastic to the skirt at the four points that you made. You do not want to pin all around because you will be stretching the elastic in the middle of these areas so that it will fit the skirt.
It should look something like this.
I put the seams together and started sewing with the elastic down against the machine. This worked well for me but you could try having the elastic on the top if you're having trouble.
I back stitched at the start. If you're worried about the fit you might consider basting and trying on the skirt first. I did not do this for any of my skirts and for my first skirt I had to rip out the stitches (elastic was too big).
This next part is tricky. Take your time and go slow. You can use a 1/4" foot here if you have one.
You want to pull the elastic to the point that the fabric lies flat or lines up with the elastic. Use both hands to guide the fabric. If you really need to you can pull it tight and then put a pin in the middle and then just sew the smaller sections but still stretching the elastic the entire time.
Make sure you back stitch when you get back to where you started.
Look you're almost done!
Now you'll want to hem the bottom of your skirt. If you don't have a serger you can pink the edges like I did or you can fold the hem twice so that you won't have any fraying. I folded mine 1/2". It's a really good idea to iron the fold down before you start sewing so that you're hem looks nice and even. It will also help you as you are sewing around the curve.
I used my 1/4" foot.
TA DA!
I don't have a lot of junk in my trunk (lol), but if you do it will probably change the length of your fabric or how you'll need to hem it. Sorry I have no experience or advice in this area.
Now on to the the 45" fabric. I bought this on a whim (on sale) and I'm glad I did.
I was not able to fit the pattern so that one side was on the fold, so I had to cut out two pieces like this. This is no big deal, you will just have to sew up both sides right sides together.
This time I used my rotary cutter with a pinking blade, it's so nice.
I had plenty of extra fabric so I decided to make pockets. I mean who doesn't love pockets in skirts?
I used an old pattern piece from my first apparel project that I made in high school. I didn't want the pockets to be too big so I made them smaller. After the fact I kind of wish I had just used the bigger pocket pattern. - Oh well they work just fine.
If you don't know how to make pockets or have never made them before I suggest that you search YouTube for an inseam pocket tutorial.
If you don't want to make pockets just sew down both sides, right sides together, with at least a 1/4" seam.
There will be 4 total pocket pieces. You will want to take the time to measure where you want to place the pockets and then match the fabric up to check that all the pieces line up before you sew them.
I folded the fabric in half to check that the pieces matched up perfectly.
You will then sew each piece individually to the side of the fabric. You will sew 4 seams, each pocket to it's own edge alone. I started and stopped just before and after each pocket and I back stitched.
Iron the pockets out like this...
Pin both main pieces together matching all the edges and mark down the sides going around the pocket (blue line) and then back down. If you don't go around the pocket you won't have an open space for your hand.
After you sew down and around it will look like this when you turn the skirt back out. You do both sides like this.
Now you just need to sew on the elastic and hem the skirt. For the hem you can just do what I said above or if you want you can do a more fun decorative stitch like this... (Just make sure you iron before you do)
I love it!
Say hi to Theia my yellow lab.
Look I have pockets!
That's All Folks!
If you want to watch a video on how to make a half circle skirt there are a few on YouTube you can search for yourself but I suggest this one from a really cool girl who makes lots of neat stuff ...
https://youtu.be/7bHhMIzVA5k
