11.17.2010

Quicky A-Line Skirts



My seven year old is growing too fast. She is like a very cute and emotional weed. So I made her some skirts this week, because I happen to be a firm believer that kids need to wear clothes that cover their bums. Here's a quick run-down of my very unprofessional hack-save-as-much-time-as-possible technique:

1. Measure around the hips. I couldn't find my tape measure so I used a ribbon.

2. Choose your fabric. Skirts require surprisingly little - for my daughter's skirts, I used half a yard. (By the way, the fabric: Heather Ross's Far Far Away II that I've been hording, and some Echino dots. I think a heavier weight of fabric works best with this kind of skirt). Fold your piece lengthwise in half, and then in half again (visualize when you fold in half the first time that you are making the back of the skirt (on the bottom), and the front of the skirt (the top) - and then for that second fold, you'll be folding the whole thing right down the middle. Sorry, is that really confusing? It's kind of late as I write this). Using the same idea, fold your ribbon in half and then in half again, and put the edge of it on the top of the fabric, lined up with that middle fold. Mark the end of the ribbon (or, probably in your case, a tape measure) with chalk. The ribbon represents the waist, and on the right side of the fabric is the fold (see picture below).


3. Take a yardstick, and line it up perpendicularly from the end of the waist. Determine the angle you would like for the A-line. Totally up to you how much you want it to flare it out. Also determine how long you want the skirt to be. Mark accordingly with chalk, and cut through all four layers of the fabric on the sides. Round the bottom.



4. Unfold the fabric. It should look like this:


5. Sew the side seams. If you have an extra two minutes, you can zig zag the edges to neaten the inside - I didn't here, and it made the threading of the elastic a little bit more difficult.


6. Hem the bottom (my quick trick on these skirts: zig zag as close to the raw edge as possible, then flip the hem under just once and stitch with a straight stitch).


7. For the waist, fold over the edge twice to make a neat casing (like a tunnel) for your elastic, and sew, leaving a small space open to thread the elastic into. Because of the a-line of the skirt, it will seem a little bunchy when you fold it over, but persevere! Once you thread the elastic in to the skirt the waist will all be bunchy. On purpose.


8. Measure your daughter's waist with your elastic. You want the elastic to actually hold the skirt on so don't make it too long that it just slips off.

9. Once you've determined the right length for the elastic, use a safety pin to thread it through the casing. Stitch the elastic in place (I kind of like to make the front of the skirt flatter, with most of the elastic gathers in the back), and voila, all done. If you are not interrupted by a sad baby, mad that she wasn't allowed to eat buttons from the button jar, you may even finish this in less than thirty minutes.

27 comments:

Becca said...

Hi, I'm Becca and I love your blog! I love this! Ah, to have girls and make little skirts! But, I similarly busted out a bunch of pajama pants for my kids while trying to keep my baby from unwinding a whole spool of thread and attacking his brother with my pinking shears. extreme sewing.

megan said...

Oooh, for some reason I'm finding the idea of making a skirt like this terribly exciting. Unfortunately it probably won't do much for my 2.5 month old boy. Maybe I need a new skirt for that visit to Australia that's coming up?

joy said...

love, love, love them! it's great to see your sewing projects, they inspire me. love the fabric selection too. i've taken to the sewing machine myself the past few weeks. L decided she does like it when i make her clothes after all! :)

Sabina said...

Still loving your blog!!!

Unknown said...

oh, thank you!

Aron said...

I like that map back there!

melissa said...

I'm all about quick sews. I've made myself several skirts like this and they are super easy. The elastic waist is the trick. I love your tutorial. And I love all your new drawings on the blog. Seeing your creations makes me feel so happy.

The Sewing Dork said...

I've been hoping you would come back to sewing - the most adorable part of your blog!

Anonymous said...

They are beautiful! It seems so easy... you make me want to start sewing clothes for my young girl :-)

Sylter said...

It is a very nice Idea !

erika said...

I love A line skirts, this one looks really great!!
Happy weekend!

Caroline said...

Can't wait to sew this skirt for my daughter - it's fabulous! Would you share where you got those adorable boots for your daughter?

Anne said...

Great tutorial! I love skirts for my daughter (also 7-years old). We pair them with leggings so she can climb around on the playground without showing her undies.

I linked to your tutorial over at Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-quick-a-line-skirt/2010/11/20/

--Anne

Unknown said...

Hi Caroline! The boots are by Umi, and I got them on Zappos. They were a little pricey but they are literally her only pair of shoes for fall and winter. :)

Lauren said...

LOVE this skirt. We watched Ramona and Beesus the other day and Ramona reminded me of L. with all her creative energy:)

Twins Squared said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Twins Squared said...

OOOh, I love this! I found this post just in time too. Yesterday, I ordered some Far Far Away II with Rapunzel on it to make skirts for my girls to wear to the new Disney movie. I was cheap and only purchased a yard so I figured skirts were the way to go to be able to make something for both of them. I was going to do this exact same thing except that I was just going to fold the fabric in half and sew up the edge. I think that your a-line version is probably a much better idea. I'm a little scared to make the cut though! When marking for the angle do you add a little to the waist measurement for the seam allowance?
Thanks,
Charity

Unknown said...

Hi Charity! That's a good question - I think technically you probably should, but I didn't and it turned out fine (I think elastic waists are so forgiving)... My girls are excited to go see that movie, too! :)

Twins Squared said...

Thanks for the response. My material has shipped. I'll leave a link when I make up the skirts.
Thanks again!

Linnea said...

I love that skirt! It is so adorable... it makes me want to make one for myself!

Twins Squared said...

Thanks for the great tutorial! I just made up a couple of skirts for my girls and posted about them here http://twincess.blogspot.com/2010/11/simple-line-skirt-and-fancy-french.html
I also linked back to your post.

Jessica at Me Sew Crazy said...

saw this skirt on Pinterest - love that you used the Far Away fabric for it...came out gorgeous for a little girl :)

samuel said...

Las faldas y los vestidos con FALDA para los varones son UNA NECESIDAD.
El pantalón es la prenda menos adecuada para un hombre; el calzoncillo bóxer, hace las veces de férula en los genitales, (propiciando disfuncion y discapacidades), la costura central del pantalón maltrata, magulla e incomoda todo el tiempo los genitales; la correa o cinturón hace las veces de torniquete, y obliga al corazón a bombear la sangre con mayor esfuerzo, (para vencer la contracción que hace el torniquete), y por mala irrigacion sanguínea afecta: el aparato digestivo, el sistema urinario, el aparato reproductor. Ademas con el uso del pantalón el hombre ha terminado orinando de pie lo cual es totalmente antinatural. Las Faldas y los vestidos con faldas para los hombres son suprema-mente SALUDABLES, CÓMODOS Y CONFORTABLES. El pantalón, el calzoncillo ajustado, la costura central del pantalón, y la correa o cinturón, están promoviendo las enfermedades modernas de los hombres: IMPOTENCIA, ESTERILIDAD, PROBLEMAS DE LA PRÓSTATA Y POSIBLEMENTE CÁNCER DEL TESTÍCULO.
Ninguna parte del cuerpo del varón se maltrata mas que los genitales.
Por salud y comodidad mejor usar FALDAS O VESTIDOS CON FALDA

charmingdate said...

I like the shoes ,cool!

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