Friday, April 30, 2010

Three-Tiered Girls Skirts

three tiered skirt 002b I wrote this post last year about how to make summer skirts for a girl (or for you). Well, here is my updated post with a bit more direction.
These measurements will make a skirt approximately size 6-8 for a 23” waist. Finished length will be 18”. To make a different size, see my original post.
You will need 3/4” yard of fabric.
  • Top layer: Cut fabric strip 8”x34”
  • Middle Layer: Cut fabric strip 7”x51” (obviously you’ll have to piece this to get 51” since fabric is only 44”wide)
  • Bottom layer: Cut fabric strip 7” x 77-86” Pieced like the middle layer. I like to keep this layer anywhere from 77”-86” because it’s easier to cut off excess after you’ve gathered it.
If you have the Bernina Ruffler Foot, set the foot to “6” with a stitch length of 2.2. This should gather your 51” middle layer to nearly exactly match your top layer which is 34”.  Attach the middle layer to the top layer, right sides together, duh. Repeat to gather the bottom layer, then attach to the middle layer, cutting off any excess of the bottom layer. Serge or zig zag over all raw edges of your now gathered layer seams. Sew side shut. Make a 1” inch casing at the top and feed elastic through. Hem 1” for the bottom.
Total time to make this skirt? 45 minutes (using ruffler)
No ruffle foot? Gather by hand and start swearing because it will take a couple of hours at least. Gag me with a wooden spoon, because I hate making gathers with long basting stitches. At the very least, gather by sewing a zig zag stitch over a piece of heavy thread or dental floss, then pull the floss to gather. Still a pain though.

4 comments:

midnight hysteria said...

darling ... way cute .... i use the *gather by hand* stitch ... no swearing, thought ... i have learned through MUCH TRIAL AND ERROR TO GO V.E.R.Y. S.L.O.W.!!! lol ....

sandra said...

so cute ! thanks for posting this. you make it sound so easy i'll probably make one. i LIKE the simple and easy patterns.

the five of us said...

Um. I have to see if my bernette will take a ruffler foot.......that is so pretty! I love the gathers! They are - perfect!

Nancey said...

I like this updated tutorial. I've been having a nightmare with my 3-year old Brother sewing machine and have been looking at a refurbished Janome and getting a ruffler foot for it. What a great invention.

LinkWithin

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...