What do you do on a Saturday afternoon when your dramatic daughter decides that she has nothing to wear to church that evening?
Send her to your fabric cabinet and tell her to pick out some fabric!
Now, I'm not much for patterns when it comes to making clothes so here's no-pattern skirt tutorial that takes all of an hour or so to complete. Here's what you need:
- 1/2 yard - 1 yard of your main fabric. I was able to get two skirts out of a yard for my size 6/7 daughter.
- A 4" x 44" scrap of fabric for the bottom of the skirt
- Approx 20" of 1/2" wide woven elastic {the amount will vary depending on the waist size}
- Coordinating thread
- Scissors
- Sewing machine
- Hand sewing needle
- Iron/ironing board
Step 2: With right sides together {RST}, fold the fabric selvage to selvage and pin. This will be your one seam... no need to zig zag or serge the seam either because the selvages are still part of the seam!
Step 3: Stitch the two selvage ends together with a 1/2" seam allowance. Stop sewing 1" from the top of your skirt. Press your seam open.
Step 4: With your seam in the middle and facing you {wrong side of fabric still facing out} fold the raw edge down 1/2" and press. Stitch this fold down.
Step 5: Return your skirt to the ironing board and fold the top down 1" and press.
Stitch this fold down. You have now made the waistband of your skirt!
Step 6: Take the 4" x 44" scrap of coordinating fabric and fold in half length ways. Press.
Open and use the "seam" made from pressing as your guide and fold both sides in towards the seam and press.
Step 7: Now with RST, take the two selvage ends of your scrap and stitch together using a 1/2" seam allowance. Press seam open. You now have the band of the bottom of your skirt ready to attach!
Step 8: With your skirt still inside out, take your band and carefully line the seam in the middle of the band with the raw edge of the bottom of your skirt. Using the edge of your presser foot as a guide, stitch the band in place to the wrong side of the skirt.
Step 9: Turn your skirt right side out and turn the band up and pin. Topstitch the band to the front of your skirt and now you are almost done!
I did two rows of decorative zig zag stitching for the topstitching...
Step 10: Put a safety pin through the end of your elastic and through one waistband opening, work the pin and elastic all the way through to the other opening in the waistband. Either try the skirt on your daughter or use measurements to determine how much the skirt needs to be gathered using the elastic. Once you know this, stitch the elastic ends together and then take a few tiny machine stitches on the waistband of the skirt {these won't show} to hold the elastic in place. Blindstitch the waistband opening closed, trim any loose threads, and you are done!
One happy daughter + Drama-free outfit selection for church = One really happy mom!
I am by no means a seamstress so if I've left something out or if you have any questions, please let me know!
Happy Fabric Tuesday!