~diy: easiest skirt ever.~

From this...

To this!

You guys, this is seriously the easiest skirt. Ever. If you don't believe me, just try it. I mean, this was the second thing I ever sewed, and it turned out way better than I ever dreamed it would. I'm trying not to write as much in my posts from now on, but... I'm a rambler, so we'll have to see how it goes.

But, I'm going to try. For the second time: this is the easiest skirt ever. If I can do it and produce something actually wearable, you know it's easy. I've already made two more just like it, and I have the fabric to make several more (in fantastically bright colors this time).  Oh, and this tutorial is basically this post from the fabulous blog What Would a Nerd Wear, just simpler since there are no pockets. So here we go:

You need:

- about 1.5 yards of the fabric of your choice

- measuring tape

- pins (or a marker/pencil/tailor's chalk)

- sewing machine (or needle & thread)

- elastic waistband

- safety pin

Note: Make sure that your thread matches your fabric, or else it'll look kind of funny at the hems and such.

First things first, measure your waist, and then subtract a few inches from the length. For example, I'm a little on the mhm side, so my waist is 35 inches and the waist measurement of my skirt will be 31 inches. Then decide how long you want your skirt to be: I wanted an 18 inch skirt. Once you decide, add on 3 or 4 inches to the number to account for hemming and the elastic loop. So, my skirt length was 21 inches, meaning that my skirt pieces were 31 inches by 21 inches. Oh, and make sure you've washed and dried your fabric to ensure that it won't shrink in the drier after you've made it (no slutty skirts please, y'all).

Cut two pieces of fabric (as big as your measurements!) out. I didn't have any pins when I made this skirt, so I just drew on the wrong side (the side that will be facing towards my legs) with a ballpoint pen, just because it was all I had.

Lay your two pieces of fabric, one on top of the other. Make sure the right sides of the pieces are facing each other, like so:

 

Sorry about the fact that it's kind of hard to tell the difference between the two sides, my fabric was the cheapest I could find -- I didn't want to use expensive fabric to try this skirt for the first time -- and I also decided to make this skirt at night, starting somewhere around 10 o'clock. My camera's not the best, and the lighting in my room is rather... sucky.

 

Anyways, pin one of the sides of the skirt pieces together (not the long ends, but one of the short ends) and sew away, about a half-inch from the edge.

 

 

After you sew the edges, lay your two pieces (which now make one long piece) flat, right side down. Fold the bottom side up just a tad to make your hem, them iron it in place. Using your machine -- or hand, if you're like me and not completely comfortable with a machine yet-- carefully sew down your hem, trying your best to keep it going in a straight line, which is easier said than done. 

It's hard to see, but my rather-sloppily-sewn hem is up there in the picture above. The next step is to measure your elastic. For the length, you want it to be the same length as one of your waist measurements for the pieces (so mine, again, was 31 inches). Then measure the width of your band of elastic. The width of mine was around 1.5 inches. Lay the elastic along the top of the skirt, and fold the very top over the band. Because of the width of my elastic, I measured out 3 inches from the top and drew a line with my pen for easy reference (again, no pins). Folding it over to the line, you should be making a nice little loop for your elastic. Then, carefully sew it down.

Once you do that, lay the pieces together again, right sides facing each other. Starting at the bottom, sew your way up the side. MAKE SURE YOU STOP RIGHT BEFORE THE LOOP FOR YOUR ELASTIC BEGINS. I REPEAT: MAKE SURE YOU STOP SEWING BEFORE THE LOWER END OF YOUR LOOP! Otherwise, you won't be able to put your elastic in, and then you'll have a pillowcase-esque sack that somewhat resembles a skirt.

Now stick your safety pin through one end of the elastic's loop. Then carefully begin to push the elastic into the loop. Once the entire length of the elastic was in the loop, I pinned the end of the elastic to the edge of the loop, that way it wouldn't get lost in the loop. Then, carefully push the loop onto the elastic. In order to get all of the material onto the elastic, it will start to pleat a little bit. Don't worry, it's supposed to, and it'll turn out great. You're in the home-stretch of the project now, and messing it up is kind of hard to do at this point. Once you get the elastic stuck through the loop, carefully sew down the ends of the elastic in the loop. Looking at the picture above, you can do the same thing once the elastic is through. Just continue your seam from earlier straight to the edge.

And voila! You're done!

I've still got a couple of DIYs and restyles that I've yet to write, but I'm going to try to get them up soon, promise. Until then though,

D.