The Cutest Lil Girl's Skirt.....EVER (in my world anyway)

So last week I gave you a link to a very cute living center piece. I had all the best intentions to make one, set it out on my table, take lousy pictures with my phone (because my camera is still not fixed) and then give you all the information! But remember my favorite things list which included a closet full of fabric? My pretty, lovely, project inspiring fabric closet.....ahhhhhhh. So I found a new project. Put the center piece on the back burner for now! And really it was a good thing I did. My daughter turned six on Sunday and I always make her something home-made. Last year it was a blanket, the year before a cape, BUT this year I made her a skirt. (she is a tall size 6)

I took inspiration from this skirt. I loved how full the skirt was, very important in the twirl factor, but it didn't have a lot of bulk. I changed up the dimensions a little bit and added a few strips to break up the rows. I love the way it turned out and I think you will too!

Here is the break down FOR ONE SIDE. You will have to repeat this for the other side.

Waist band is 4x16 inches-solid fabric

Top Row is 4x30 inches-pieced fabric

First Strip is 2x45 inches-solid fabric, matching the bottom band (optional)

Second Row is 5x45 inches- pieced fabric

Second Strip is 2x45 inches-solid fabric

Third Row is 5x45 inches-pieced fabric

Bottom Band is 8x45 inches-solid fabric.

1 inch Elastic cut the length you need (a good rule is measure it around the waist pulled tight but not stretching it and then take off 1.5 inches, once you sew it together you will lose another inch which will keep it on, but not too tight)



Here is the break down on what I did: PLEASE READ FIRST BEFORE YOU START YOUR PROJECT.

1. Decide your fabrics. I had a ton of scraps so I mixed and matched them together to create the look I wanted. If you want to go easy, buy a couple of charm packs and mix and match the patterns. I had to clean up the edges on my pieces to make them straight and even, which will save me a ton of work later.

2. Once you have determined your fabrics, set out enough pieces to equal 5 inches high and 45 inches long. UNFINISHED. This is one row of four rows you will need, 2 for the front and 2 for the back. I put together one side on my table, just to see how the fabrics looked grouped together. And then repeated it for the other side.

3. Now just start sewing the pieces in each row together. I did all the piece work first. THE KEY IS TO IRON, IRON, IRON!!!!! Iron all the seams flat (or facing one side) after each row is done. This will make the fabric easier to work with the whole way through. I also trimmed my threads after ironing each row, makes it less hassle later.

4. Once all your rows are sewn together and ironed, start at the bottom. Take the Bottom Band and fold in half length wise and iron flat. Sew it to the Third Row. Iron the seam flat and top stitch on the Third Row side.

5. Next take the Second Strip and sew it to the Third Row, iron seam flat and top stitch on the Second Strip side. I top stitched with the seam running along the inside of my sewing machine foot. It gives it a nice finished look and will hold the seam down when washing.

6. You should have three layers together by now, aren’t you excited!!! I know I was, ok moving on. Take the Second Row and sew it to the Second Strip, repeating the iron seam flat and top stitching on the Second Strip fabric.

7. Take the First Strip and sew it to the Second Row. Then iron seam flat and top stitch on the First Strip fabric. (tired of ironing yet?) Set this piece aside.

8. Now we are going to move from the top down. Take your Waist Band piece, fold in have length wise and iron flat. Next measure 1 ¼ inches down from the fold and sew a line down the length of the fabric. This will provide a casing for your elastic so it won’t twist or fold over. Set aside.

9. Take the Top Row and sew a gather stitch across the top. I usually do the longest stitch I can do on my machine. I also only sew 4-6 inch strips, that way if it breaks I don’t have to redo the whole gather stitch. Gather the fabric to match up with the waist band.

Dress maker pinning is like the above. The nice this is, you can usually sew right over the pins this way which leaves the gathering even and straight.

10. Once you have the gather done, sew it to the waist band. When working with gathers always use pins, and pin in the dress maker fashion. It saves you from having too much gather at one given spot. Iron the seam flat and top stitch on the waist band fabric side.

11. Now back to the other “lower” skirt half. On the top of the First Strip, sew a gather stitch. Gather the “lower skirt” to match up with the Top Row. Pin together and sew. Iron the seam flat and top stitch on the First Strip Side.

12. You should at this point have one side of your skirt done! YEAH!!!! Now repeat for the second side. Once each side is done, even out the sides by trimming of the excess in strips and bands.


I didn't have the Waist Band on yet I got really picture
happy with the first side and more efficient with the second
side. I gave you the more efficient directions.



13. Now it is time for the elastic. I cut my elastic exactly in half. Start feeding it through you Waist Band casing. Before you pull it all the way through (before you start to gather your fabric) sew ¼ inch in from the edge, sewing your elastic down inside the casing. I back stich 5-6 times to make sure that the elastic won’t pull out of the seam.

14. Gather elastic casing, and repeat the ¼ inch in from the edge on the other side, sewing the elastic down. Repeat for the back piece. I like this because if I need to unstitch and take out the elastic to make it bigger I can choose one side or the other.

15. Now sew a French seam. Put the wrong side of your skirts together (the pretty sides out, so if you turned the skirt around you would see it as it will be worn) and sew along the very edge as close as you can get and still have a seam hold the skirt front and back together. Repeat on the other side.


French Seam.


16. Then turn the skirt inside out and sew a seam down each side. This will hide the raw edges completely. Which you will really notice on the bottom of the skirt where the Bottom Band is. It adds a tiny bit of bulk at the waist band where the elastic is but it is worth it to have the option of only unstitching the top portion to make a bigger waist later on and hiding any raw edges at the bottom.



This project took 4 hours to complete, start to finish, which in my world was 3 days! I love the finished project so much I am starting to search out fabrics for the 4th of July. Let me know if you decide to make one, and I would love to see your finished projects! Good luck and have fun!!!