The Thirty Minute Dress Up Skirt: Tutorial

April 30, 2014
Like I said a couple of posts ago, Chelsea's birthday is coming up, and this year, we wanted to give her some fun dress ups! So I looked through my fabrics and found some leftover of a few different kinds. Some of it was this really lovely, silky, Asian-looking fabric that I decided to make her a simple skirt out of. I would have some photos of Chelsea wearing the skirt, but I don't want to spoil the surprise!

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The best part about this skirt is that it takes, quite literally, 30 minutes. And it does kind of help that this skirt is only for dress ups, so I didn't have to be a perfectionist about it. It is definitely a beginner level project.

You will need:
1/2 yrd fabric
18"+ 3/4" elastic
Scissors, thread, measuring tape, etc.

Dimensions:
Fabric - 18x36"+
Elastic - 18"+

Step 1: Cut
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Decide how long you want the skirt to be on your little one and add 3". Measure around her waist and double that number (you can cut it longer than that, if you want a fuller skirt; the more fabric there is, the fuller it will be).


Step 2: Stitch
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If you haven't already, now would be a good time to iron your fabric, then fold the fabric in half with right sides together so that the two short ends are aligned. Pin in place, and stitch a 1/2" seam along the edge. If you're worried about fraying, use a zig zag stitch afterwards on the outside of the straight stitch, closer to the edge.

Step 3: Hem
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Fold the bottom edge of the skirt under twice, a half inch each fold, and pin in place. Sew in place with 3/8" seam allowance.
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Hem the top as well, but fold the top edge of the skirt under twice with 1 inch per fold. Pin in place, then sew along the edge of the fold around the skirt (should be just a tiny bit less than 1" seam allowance, like 7/8") and leave about 3" in the back open. You're sewing a casing for the elastic waistband.

Step 5: Waistband/Casing
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Cut the elastic to the same measurement as is around your little's waist. Attach a safety pin to one end and begin to slide the elastic through the casing, being sure that you don't pull the other end of the elastic through. If you've decided to make a fuller skirt, this will take a little while and be slightly more difficult (only slightly). When you get all around the skirt back to where you started, pull the end of the elastic out, overlap one end over the other by one inch, and sew the two ends of the elastic together as shown.

Step 6: Close
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Pull the elastic taut so that what you've just sewn will lay flat inside the casing. Fold down the opening of the casing to look like the rest of the casing (folded under twice by 1" each time), and sew the opening closed, just like you sewed the casing before you slipped the elastic inside. Done!

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See?! Sew easy, right? And now my daughter has a fun little dress up skirt to wear when she's feeling imaginative. I'll let you know how she likes it when she finally gets to try it on. Happy sewing! See you again soon for the Tulle Fairy Wings tutorial!

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