I always wanted to be a teacher, an English teach to be exact.
The only problem is that I SUCK at explaining things! So bear with me through this tutorial. hah.
(It started out as a long dress/skirt, but ended up being hemmed into a knee length skirt)
Materials:
- 1-2 yards fabric (depending on waist size and length of skirt)
- thread
- 2” wide elastic
- sewing machine
- measuring tape
- garment pins
- (ya know, the usual sewing supplies)
Lets SEW!
Ok, lets start with the measurements. First, measure your little one’s waist. Take that number and double it (for extra ruffles, times it by 2.5). Add 1/4” for seam. That’s your width.
Now measure form the waist to where you want the dress to fall, add 7 1/2” (for top and seam). That’s your length.
(Adelyn’s waist measures 15” so I just used the width of the Yard and just cut the length off.
Cut your fabric (you may have to cut two pieces, a front and a back, depending on your width).
Then you’re going to cut another strip the width of your skirt fabric x 2.5” (This will create a casing for the elastic band. it will not be seen, so you can use any scrap pieces you have that are long enough)
Start by hemming the top of your piece of fabric, (Fold over 1/4” and stitch)
Then fold over a 2.5”, this will be the top of the skirt. (Don’t stitch down yet)
Take your strip, and hem the edges.
Line your strip with your hem and pin it so it stays in place. Sew that down using a straight stitch (Leaving the sides open, as this will be the elastic casing) (You want to make sure that you leave atleast 2” in your casing for the elastic.) Try to keep the stitch matched with the hemming stitches.
Now you can hem the bottom. To get a good finished hem, fold the bottom 1/4 inch, press w/ iron, sew up, fold AGAIN 1/4”, press and stitch.
Once your hem is finished, it’s time to feed the elastic through the casing. You want the elastic to be the same measurement as the waist it’s going on. (Feeding it through is a pain, be patient. hah)
Once it’s through, it should look something like this:
Notice I didn’t cut off the salvage ends. hah. I’m lazy, plus I knew I could just sew it in the seam and cut it off later. Pin the elastic in place
Then match up unfinished edges, right sides together and sew it up. If I had a serger, I’d use it for this step. But I don’t so I use a straight stich, then trim the excess and go back amd zig zag stitch to help keep it from turning into a fraying mess when I wash it.
Uhmmmm. That’s it. Oh yea… and I just took a scrap strip and used it as a sash. I knew she wouldn’t keep it on. so I didn’t take the time to actually make one. BUT a sash would look super cute!
Aren’t you just dying over that fabric! Oh my. I love it. If you NEED it, I guess I can search for the receipt to let you know the name of it, cause I definitely do not remember the name of it.
Super simple, made it in like an hour (well…… …. I could have… but I made it a dress first, and after snapping some dress pics, I decided to hem it into a skirt… she kept tripping, and I knew we’d end up in the ER if I kept it long.) I loved it as a dress, but I love it as a skirt too!
NOTE: I am not a professional seamstress! LOL. I just wanted a fun fall skirt, and this is what I came up with.
# kristanlynn
xoxo
