Ruffle Bottom Skirt Tutorial


I finished this cute skirt this morning. I think it turned out cute AND only cost me $4.30 (fabric $2.60+ elastic $1.20+ thread $1.50) I’m kinda proud of it. I made the pattern up on my own and everything. So I decided to do my first ever tutorial, just in case you want to venture and make your own. Here’s how I did it…

Materials List
2/3 to 1 yard of knit fabric
coordinating thread
1 yard of 3/4″ elastic

I found a 2/3 yd tan knit remnant at Joann’s. I highly recomment checking out the remnant section at your fabric store if you need 1 yard or less for something. All remnants are cheaper, for ex. Joann’s are 50% off. You can save big.

Find a skirt that you already have and like the fit of. You will use this to make your pattern. (I will call it the “Pattern Skirt”)

Fold your fabric in half and lay the pattern skirt on top of your fabric, front facing down. Cut along the sides about 1/4″ wider than the pattern skirt. This is for the seam allowance which will be 1/4″ unless otherwise stated. For the top, cut 2″ higher than the skirt to allow for the elastic waist band.

The front of the pattern skirt should be slightly shorter than the back. This is to allow for your booty. For the front, you’ll cut the top layer of fabric first because the front of the pattern skirt is against the fabric.

Once you have cut the front, you will flip the pattern skirt over and cut the back piece out of the 2nd layer of fabric. It’s easier to do this if you put the excess fabric to the side out of the way. Since the back is longer, it will look something like this:


Next, with right sides together, pin the sides.


Sew sides together with 1/4″ seam.


Iron the seam open. With right sides still together, iron 1/4″ down on the waist. Roll another 1″ down on the waist and iron again. This is the casing for your elastic. Sew around casing close to the edge. Leave 2″ open so that you can thread elastic through.


For the elastic, what I like to do is wrap elastic around my waist. Don’t stretch it. Then cut the exact length of your waist. I don’t like a tight waist with a bunch of gathers. Put saftey pin on one side of the elastic and thread through casing.


Overlap the ends of the elastic 1″ and sew several times across to secure.


Then finish sewing casing shut. (ignore the uneven sticthes, my machine is retarded)


Ta-da, you have the basic skirt. From here, you can alter it however you want. As long as you use knit, you don’t have to hem or finish it if you don’t want to.


To create the ruffle bottom, cut all remaining fabric into 2″ wide strips. You’ll want the strip to be about 1.5-2 times the length as the bottom of your skirt. Basically, the longer the rufflier.

Sew the short ends together. Then iron open.

Sew a basting stitch down the center of the long strip. DO NOT back stitch.

To gather the strip, pull on one thread.


When you have it gathered to the length/ruffliness that you like, pin it to the hem of your skirt, about 1/2″ fron the bottom. I recommend pinning about every 2″ so that when you sew it, the ruffles are held in place. Sew twice down the center of the ruffle. I sewed a third time a little above the center so that the ruffles didn’t sag.


And you’re done!

Linda
Hi! I'm Linda, the craft addict behind Craftaholics Anonymous®, a craft blog. Crafting is cheaper than therapy, right? When I'm not DIYing something, I can be found taxiing around our 4 crazy kids or working out. Or shoe shopping... because you can never have too many shoes! Happy crafting! ♥
Linda
Linda

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