Sunday, March 31, 2013

Super Easy Skirt Tutorial

We are heading into spring around here *as soon as the snow stops* and my girls are in need of some warmer weather clothes. Both my little ladies are all about skirts and dresses and I'm all about how easy they are to sew up in an evening.

My girls love Cars. I originally used this material to make a jumper for my oldest when she was 2. I was looking through my stash and realized that I still had over half a yard of this material so I asked my youngest if she'd like a Cars skirt and she lit up with an immediate YES!

What you need for your skirt is:

 * Fabric (1 yard should be plenty)
 * 1/2 or 3/4 inch elastic ( I used 3/4)
 * The waist measurement and length for your little one

Start with a rectangle that is 2 times your waist measurement plus 1 inch for seam allowance by the length you want the skirt to be plus 3 inches for the elastic casing and hem.

Abby's measurements were:
 - Waist 21.5 inches
 - Length 10 inches

So the rectangle I cut was 43" x 13" You will need to cut the elastic 1 inch shorter than your child's waist measurement as well. Simple enough right?

The next step is to fold your fabric in half with the right sides together. Make sure that your 2 short sides match up. Sew up the side with 1/2 inch seam allowance and surge to finish. (If you don't have a serger you can skip that step or trim close to your stitched line with pinking shears for a finished look that won't frey)

While your skirt is still right sides together fold the bottom up 1/2 inch and press then fold it another 1/2 inch and press. This will be the finished bottom of your skirt. Stitch close to the folded edge.

Next you will be making the casing for your elastic on the top. Serge across the top of the skirt then fold down the top 1 inch and sew as close to the edge as possible. Make sure to leave a 2-3 inch gap in the back to insert the elastic. (If you don't have a serger just fold the edge down 1/4 inch and press then 1 inch and press and stitch as close to the edge as possible. This will create the same finished look that won't frey.)

The trick to adding elastic is safety pins. Attach a safety pin to one end of the elastic and feed it through the opening in the tube you just created. If you are worried about losing the other end of the elastic in the casing you can secure it to the skirt with a second safety pin while you are feeding the elastic. Once you have your elastic all the way through you will want to overlap the 2 ends about an inch and either hand stitch them together or sew them a few times on your machine.
The last step is closing up the opening in your casing and you're done.

This is a super easy skirt that you can make in an evening and your little one will be excited to wear. If you use this tutorial to make a skirt I would love for you to leave a link to your finished skirt or post it on my Facebook Page.

4 comments:

  1. I don't usually make clothes but this looks easy enough that I might actually try. I love that your girls like Cars. Thanks for the great tutorial.

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    1. Oh yay! I hope you do. Can't wait to see how it turn out!

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  2. Very cute! It is great that even girls love Cars! I'd love for you to check out our Pattern Party! Those with free patterns and templates to share are invited to link up. http://getyourcraptogether.blogspot.com/search/label/Pattern%20Party

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. I'll definitely hop over.

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