Never one to be deterred, even after my itsy bitsy teeny weeny little black skirt debacle, I decided to give the skirt making thing another go. I had this great, thick T patterned cotton fabric from the remnant bin at Hobby Lobby and decided it would be great for a gathered skirt! I didn’t follow a pattern and just winged it really. Here are the photos from my sewing adventure:
Supplies:
1 yard of fabric
Fusible interfacing
A 6 inch zipper
Coordinating thread
Steps:
- Measure your natural waist and add an inch to the measurement (seam allowances and whatnot). Cut out a band that is that measurement x 5 inch wide (so mine was 32 inch x 5 in). This will be your waistband.
- Use the rest of the fabric to start making gathers. I created smaller pleats that were spaced about 3 inches apart
- Iron the interfacing to the back of the waistband. Sew the waistband to the gathered portion by pinning the right sides together.
- Fold up and iron the seam, so that the gathered portion and waistband are right side up. Fold and iron the waist band in half so that it covers the edge of the gathered portion on the underside.
- Pin the edge of the waistband underneath the gathered portion and sew on the front side to secure the waistband.
- Sew in the zipper. (Ignore how awful my zipper looks- I’m still getting the hang of it and didn’t realize I owned a zipper foot until AFTER I haphazardly put the zipper in).
- Try on your skirt and figure out how long you want it to be. Cut and hem accordingly. I did a double fold slip stitch. Here is a good video that explains all things hem related.
- Voila! Your skirt is finished.
Some Tips and Advice
- Use a zig-zag stitch or a Serger to finish the edges.
- Make your gathers bigger to create a flowier skirt. My gathers were smaller so they were less noticeable and created a tighter fit.
- Be sure to press all of your seams and be conscientious of how you’re pressing your gathers. Consistency is key.
sewmakemyday.wordpress.com 