Monday, September 5, 2011

Maternity Skirt Tutorial

Hello! Welcome to my *FIRST EVER* tutorial! I am so excited to share this super comfy skirt with you.



This skirt is SUPER comfortable because the waistband is made from the bottom of an old t-shirt. So it is perfect for using as a maternity skirt. I'm not pregnant and it is still comfy. I am totally going to make myself a few of these when I am expecting another little blessing.

I recycled a big sheet for this skirt. What's up with me and recycling sheets? I just love the feel of a quality sheet. And I only had the top sheet. I was saving it to turn into something fabulous. And then I needed a white skirt for family pictures, so I made one from the sheet. Free skirt? Rock on! And now you can make one!


MATERIALS

1-2 yards of fabric....or recycle a sheet!
An old T-shirt (I used a favorite T-shirt that got stained)
Cutting mat, ruler, rotary cutter
Thread and needle
Scissors
Sewing machine
Pins


INSTRUCTIONS

*Waistband
Cut 6 inches off the bottom of your T. Step into the circle strip & pull it up to where you want your skirt to sit on your hips. Pull the material tight, mark how much you need to take it in, then sew along your marking. Trim the edge. Set it aside.

*Measurements
You'll need to figure out how long you want your skirt to be. This would be adorable as a shorter skirt. I wanted a longer one, since I had not a single long skirt in my wardrobe prior to making this. I decided I wanted my skirt to be 30" long - that was my measurement from the outside of my hip to the outside of my ankle. (yes, I am that short!)

Take the length of your skirt and divide it by 3. This will give you the finished width of each of your skirt sections.

EXAMPLE: If you want your skirt to be 30"....30/3= 10" wide sections.

Now we need to include seam allowances. I used 1/2" seams. So you'll need to add 1" to each panel width. Since I used a sheet for my skirt, I took advantage of an already hemmed edge for my bottom panel so I didn't have to hem it. yay! But, if you need to hem your fabric, add 2 inches to the width of your bottom panel.

Now we are going to find the length of each section.

Take your hip measurement by slipping a tape measure around the widest part of your hips. Let's pretend my hips measure 36".

For the top section, add 8" to your hip measurement. (36+8=44" long)
For the middle section, add 8" to the length of the top section. (44+8=52" long)
For the bottome section, add 8" to the length of the middle section. (52+8=60" long)

Here are the finished measurements for my skirt sections:
TOP: 11" wide by 44" long.
MIDDLE: 11" wide by 52" long.
BOTTOM: 12"wide by 60" long (if I needed to hem) 10.5"wide by 60" long since I didn't need to hem.

Phew! Now the hard part is over. Cut out your strips of fabric & you can begin sewing!

Take your middle section and gather the top. I just do this by hand because it is easier to see and easier to pull out. You'll place the top of the middle section at the bottom of the top section, right sides together. Ease the gathers to fit the middle section, pinning in place as you go. Sew the seam using your 1/2" allowance.

If you need to hem the bottom section of your skirt, now is a good time to do it. After it is hemmed, gather the top, ease it around the bottom of the middle section pinning it in place, then sew the seam.

Now your three sections of skirt are sewn together and you are almost done!

Fold the skirt in half width-wise, right sides together. Sew the seam. Since you only have one seam, this will be in the back.

You're going to be sewing the top section to the waistband now. This is the last step!

Gather the top of your top section. Place the right side of the raw edge of your T-shirt waistband on the right side raw edge of your skirt. Ease the gathers around the waistband and pin in place as you go. I use TONS of pins. Sew it together with your 1/2" seam.

VOILA! You did it!







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