I’m happy to say that I finally put together a tutorial for that skirt I made a few months ago! Actually, this version is slightly different but with the same basic look, so I’ll leave it up to you which way you’d like to do it.
Here’s what you need:
- main fabric
- contrast fabric
- waist-band elastic (I used 3/4” no-roll elastic) measured to your child’s waist
Note: Your main and contrast fabrics should be the same weight and they will need to measure the same length from selvage to selvage.
To determine the amount of fabric you need. First decide how long you want the finished skirt. I chose 9 1/2” and 10 1/2” for my 3 and 4 year olds, respectively. You also need to know how wide you want your bottom band. Mine range between about 2” and 2 1/2”. Nothing really has to be precise on these, though.
The total width of the contrast band (CB) is found by doubling your desired finished width (FW) and adding 1/2” for the seam allowance.
CB = 2(FW) + .5
You can calculate the width of the main fabric (MF) by subtracting your desired finished width (FW) of your contrast band from the total length of the finished skirt (FS) then adding 2” for the waistband casing and 1/4” for the seam allowance.
MF = (FS – FW) + 2.25
If you’re a little mind-boggled by the math, don’t be! It’s really not nearly as confusing as it sounds once you start plugging in the numbers. Plus, you could probably also just eye-ball it and still come out with a great-looking skirt!
Here are my own little darlings showing off their new wares!
This is my first sewing tutorial and I tried my darndest to make sure everything was clear. But pleeeeeease let me know if you have ANY questions at all about the construction of the skirt. I’ll try my best to answer any questions!
Oh, yes….I almost forgot. If you want a slightly different look, you can add a tuck so that the main fabric hangs over the band a bit. Just add about an inch to the amount of fabric you’ll need for your main fabric. The look is very similar and it’s actually probably hard to tell the difference in the picture here:
To achieve this effect I folded over about a 1/2” of fabric over the bottom band (after Step 6 above) then pressed it into place all the way around the skirt.
I then stitched from the wrong side of the fabric over the seam allowance. I’m sure you could top-stitch it as well, but I did it from the underside to make sure I was keeping everything straight. :)
So, there you have it! Either way you have a *very* simple little skirt. Now, off you go. Go make something cute!
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Lovely tutorial — but I wanted to let you know that Step 9, which I assume is stitching the pressed top channel and leave a gap to thread the elastic through, is missing from the lineup! *grin* I have a 5 year old niece with a birthday coming up this month. I’m thinking a skirt is in order!
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Ack…you’re right! Thank you so much for letting me know. :) I’ve included it now, but you guessed correctly the missing step. Thanks again and Happy Birthday to your niece!
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Such a cute skirt! My 5 year old daughter is learning to sew and this would be a fun project for her to make for herself or for her dolls. Thanks for posting it!
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I will definitely be making one (or two or three) of these. My three year old is currently obsessed with skirts. Cute tute!
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This is so darling! I need to make a bunch of these. A good way to bust through some of that fabric stash. :)
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Thanks, everyone, for all of your nice comments about the skirts! Enjoy your sewing and feel free to come back and leave a link if you make one!
Chrissy
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Thank you thank you for taking the time and posting this! I love this idea and it looks so simple! I may have to bust out a few this weekend!!!
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so cute, i love skirts and this looks like a great way to use up my stash quickly!!! I love quick projects. :)
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Thank you for sharing! I especially love that you shared so many pictures of the different skirt combinations – it really help the creative juices flow!
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This is probably the most elaborate tutorial for a simple selfedge-skirt I’ve ever seen. Even someone who has never touched a sewingmachine in his/her whole life must be able to sew an adorable skirt with this.
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Thanks, Ima! I still consider myself a beginner so I had newbies in mind when making the tutorial. I am glad that it is as clear as I intended it to be. :) Thanks!
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Hello!
Thank you for a wonderful tutorial
I attempted this last weekend and am very happy with the result. You can view my skirt herehttp://sertyan.blogspot.com/2011/01/wee-wee-skirt.html
Thank you!
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Cute skirt! Can’t wait to make it… I might be dense, but how do you determine the main fabric length??
Thanks!
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HI! This is great. I am looking forward to making these. I am a new sewer and need all the help I can get. :wink:
Kelly[Reply]
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Beth: The main fabric length is the length of your fabric, from selvage to selvage, just make sure the lengths are the same on your main fabric and contrast fabric. Let me know if you have any more questions!
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Beth Reply:
February 4th, 2011 at 7:45 amPerfect! that is what I ended up doing and it turned out so cute! I want to make so many more now!!
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:lol:
What a great tutorial.. Here is the one I made and also the modified doll skirt. http://runwithglitter.blogspot.com/
THANK YOU for posting a great tutorial![Reply]
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Just made one of these as a quick baby gift for a friend who is visiting tomorrow.
Thanks for the tute! ;)[Reply]
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Such a great tutorial! I’m definitely going to have to try this! The yellow skirt at the end is adorable – where did you get those fabrics?
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I’ve made four! Here are my latest two:
http://redhenhome.blogspot.com/2011/03/cute-skirtswith-whoops.htmlThanks for a great project!
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Hello there! Have you been able to adapt these for a 12 yr old or adult sise? I love these and I’d love to make myself one or two for the summer months. Thanks for sharing!
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I think these would be so cute for teens or young adults. Throw on this skirt with your flip-flops and you are ready for a fun summer day!
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Pingback from KCWC 2011: Day 4 | Hickety Pickety on May 12, 2011 at 11:44 pm
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I’ve been seeing skirts for adults this spring with a band of color at the bottom – now I’m going to use this tutorial to make a skirt for me – thank you – great tutorial!
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Hi! I used your tutorial and loved it. I’ll be posting a review and a recommendation for the tutorial on my blog on Wed. May 18. If you’d like a button linking to your review/recommendation for your site please contact me by email. Sorry for leaving this as a comment but I couldn’t find your contact information anywhere. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns or if you’d like to pre-read the post, but I promise it’s good press. :)
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Thanks for the tutorial! I am a pretty confident quilter but just dissolve when confronted with instructions for sewing clothing; I think I don’t think well in 3 dimensions and so I struggle! This was exceptionally well-explained and simple-I was able to use some very adorable flannel I’ve had lying around for years, and my 5 year old loves it! We’ll make a couple more for kindergarten.
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Thank you, Sara! I’m so glad the tutorial was helpful and, especially, that your daughter loves it! Thanks for stopping by. :)
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So adorable!! Where did you find the blue chevron fabric? I love it!!
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Chrissy Reply:
August 25th, 2011 at 1:07 amThanks, Melissa! The fabric is from Joel Dewberry’s Modern Meadow collection (Herringbone in Pond). I bought it from Hawthorne Threads It’s def one of my favorites and I still have about a yard that I’m hoarding!
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Thank you for the great tutorial. I had a pattern for this skirt sitting on my desk and after seeing this I realized how easy they were to make. I finally got around to making them, two of them, last night. Thank you for posting this.
Here are some pictures of my finished skirts.
http://ohsewnice.blogspot.com/2011/09/love-skirt.html
Thanks again![Reply]
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This is really pretty!!! And easy to do, want to try something like this and give to my nieces this Christmas!
I’d like to share that im into making standees. Yup,DIY standees. I love the idea of turning every picture I want into a life-sized memorabilia! They’re great for pictures too!
I got mine here: http://www.almostbreathing.com/
You just have to try them!
Have fun!Cheers,
Jillian
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Hi there!
I think I might be a little dense! As far as figuring out how much fabric I need I got 7.25 for main fabric and 5.5 for the contrast band. What I’m confused about is how long to cut the strips to make the tube. Does that make any sense?[Reply]
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Hi there! I’m not sure if you will even see this comment but I tried making your skirt and not sure what happened! I measured out MF 8″Wx22″L and my CF 6″Wx22″L. The final product fits barely a 6 month old. I was going for a 3 year old! Any help would be appreciated!
Thanks!
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You don’t need to measure width. Width is just the width of the fabric from selvedge edge to selvedge edge. Fabric is usually 45″ or 60″ wide. You’re basically cutting very wide strips of fabric, the length of which will depend on how long you want the final skirt. You have to plug numbers into the formulas in the tutorials. :-)
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Love this post. Thanks so much for taking the time to share the tutorial. I just made three skirts for my little girls thanks to your clear instructions. More on the way for back to school!
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