Simple & Sweet Skirt Tutorial

This is my first tutorial, so I hope all my directions are clear. If not, let me know. This skirt is great for a beginner sewer and should fit a six to twelve month old baby. Lets get started.

Here is what you need:

1 fat quarter

3/8 inch elastic ( enough to comfortably go around little one's waist, plus enough to overlap a bit)

7/8 inch bias tape (optional)

coordinating thread

scissors

pinking shears (optional)

safety pin (for threading elastic through waist casing)

pins

iron


Step 1.

Fold your fat quarter in half and cut along the fold, so that you have two pieces of fabric that measure approximately 11 x 18 inches.


Cutting the fabric on the fold.


You should have two pieces of fabric
that measure approx. 11 x 18 inches



Step 2.

With right sides of fabric facing. Sew a 1/2 inch seam on both sides ( you'll be sewing your seam on the sides that measure 11 inches lengthwise). Trim your side seams with pinking shears to prevent fraying and press open. Alternatively, you could also do a french seam, which is what I prefer to do. Here is an excellent tutorial, if you would like to give it a try. After you have sewn both side seams, you should now have a tube.

Line up side seams, right
sides of fabric together


Sewing the side seams.



French seam.


Step 3.

Measure around your baby's waist, plus add enough overlap to sew ends of elastic together. Make casing for elastic to form waistband of skirt. I'm a lazy sewer, so I just eye this. Make about a 1/4 inch fold (you can press this down as you go along) or not, and then fold over again to form casing, pinning as you go. Make sure you make casing large enough so that the elastic will slide through. Sew along edge of seam and leave about a one inch opening to thread elastic through.


Make your 1/4 inch fold.


Fold over again and make
sure casing is large enough
for elastic.



Pin casing seam.


Sew casing closed. Sew
close to seam edge.
Leave an opening to thread elastic through.



Step 4.

Thread elastic through the casing you just made. Here's where the safety pin comes in handy. Once you get the elastic pulled through , sew the ends of the elastic together. I like to take the ends and overlap them, and tuck them up into the casing and stitch over them . Sew opening in seam closed.


Attach a safety pin to
the end of the elastic.



Start threading elastic
through casing.


Once elastic is threaded
through, overlap ends, and
sew together.




I like to overlap the
elastic and tuck it up
in the casing, and sew
vertically, catching the
two ends and securing,
then sew your seam
opening closed.


The finished waistband.



Step 5.

Hem your skirt. You can decide how long or short you want the hem to be. You can do a plain hem or, like me, you can enclose the raw edge using bias tape to finish your hem (here is another excellent tutorial). That's it. You are done!

Fold over raw edges and sew
hem.....


or sew bias tape to raw
edge and create a hem.


Finishing up bias tape hem.


Finished skirt :)

By Debra Collins
http://debrascreativeramblings.blogspot.com/ Pin It