Making Skirts
I’ve looked at stores to see if I could just buy skirts because I felt that option would be much easier, but they are all so colorful, short, frilly, lacy at the store… Everything but what I’m looking for: straight, long, and simple. In all honesty, making a long, straight, simple skirt is VERY easy, and will end up saving you a lot of money in the long run, especially if you buy your fabric on clearance (or better yet, try to find fabric at a garage sale. One year my husband bought me a huge box of fabric from a garage sale - years later I am STILL trying to work my way through it).
Gather your fabric, a measuring tape, cutting board, marking pen, paper for the pattern and marker, sewing machine, thread and elastic… Let’s make a simple, long skirt!
Make your pattern
1. Measure the WIDEST part of your hip and add 8 inches. You want the widest part of your hip - around the point of your hip and around your bottom. Not where your waistline would be.
2. Measure the LENGTH of the skirt you want to make (your hem). Add 3 inches.
3. Lay out some paper - tape a few pieces of paper together to start your pattern.
4. Divide the number of inches from #1 by Four. This is the width and waistline for the top of your pattern. Using your measuring tape, measure out the inches at the top of your paper you taped together.
5. Now drop your tape vertical down your paper from the end of your waist - measure out the length now and draw a line from your waist to your hem. Mark your fold line along one side - this will be the side that you line up against the fold in your fabric. It will be helpful to mark “Cut Two” on your pattern because you will need two patterns cut to make your skirt.
6. Line your pattern up on the fold of your fabric. Trace or go right to cutting the pattern. Cut two.
Now, it’s time to sew it together.
1. Once cut out, pin your skirt front and back together, so that it looks inside out. You want the OUTSIDE of the skirt touching together, and pin the edges.
2. Using a 5/8in. seam allowance, straight stitch the sides together.
3. Now finish your seams by zig-zagging the edges. You can also just serge them together if you own a serger.
4. Fold in the top of your skirt 1/4 in. It is helpful to iron down your seams before you sew, to keep them in place. Straight stitch down the middle of your seam. Remember you have two layers of fabric - only do one layer of fabric at a time (don’t sew them both together!) and also remember that the inside of your skirt is the side you want the edges of your seams to show - so be sure to fold UP and not UNDER when you are sewing on this layer.
5. Fold the top again about 1.5 inches and pin. This is where your elastic will go and you are creating a casing for it. I suggest laying string as you pin, and once everything is pinned and sewn down, you can tie your elastic to the string and pull the elastic through the casing. Once pinned, straight stitch around the waistline leaving enough space between your stitch and the fold, so your elastic can move freely. Leave an opening.
6. Measure your waistline and cut elastic the same size. Thread this through (helpful to tie to string and pull right through). Stitch the elastic together.
7. Try your skirt on to be sure it fits well. If it’s a good fit, stitch the opening closed.
8. Now it’s time to work on the hem. It’s really helpful to have someone there to help you with this - or a full length mirror. If you have someone there to help you, put the skirt on and have your helper mark where you want the hem. Then take the skirt off, fold up the hem and stich 1/4in., and again to the length you want your hem at and straight stitch it. If you don’t have someone there to help, sew your hem 1/4in., and take your skirt up to the length of hem you think you’ll want. Hem it, and look at it in the mirror. Make adjustments until you get the length you want, then straight stitch your hem.
All Done!
