I want my little girl to be free and happy. And little girls are happiest when they are twirling in their pretty skirts like there is no tomorrow. This is the pattern for such a skirt – easy to make with an elastic waistband and pretty frills at the hem.
Related post: Lolita skirt pattern
How to sew a girl’s skirt – easy pattern
Step 1. Cut out the pattern pieces
Waistband
You need 2 pieces of fabric with the following dimensions for the waistband.
Length = 7.5 inches and
Width (A in the diagram below)= (Hip round divided by 2 + 1 inch)
Skirt
You need 2 more pieces of fabric with the following dimensions for the skirt.
Length = Skirt length needed minus 3.5 inches and
Width (A in the diagram)= (Hip round divided by 2 + 2.5 inch)* 1.5
If you want less fullness for the skirt take the width as (Hip round divided by 2 + 2.5 inches)* 1.4.
Step 2. Join the pieces
Join the two waistbands together to form a tube. Just keep them rightsides together and sew the sides to make the tube.
Join the skirt pieces the same way.
Step 3. Cut and join the elastic
Cut out elastic to fit the kid’s waist measurement minus 2 inches or till you get a snug fit. Join to form a tube as in the picture above.
Step 4 Form the waistband
Fold the waistband tube by half so that the 7.5 inch length is reduced to 3.5 inch long waistband.
Keep the elastic tube you have made inside the waistband exactly into the fold. Using the sewing machine top stitch along the edge of the elastic. The elastic band is obviously smaller than the waistband -but as you sew you can push forward the elastic so that you can sew the whole waistband easily.
When you are finished the waistband will look like the picture below.
If you want the waistband portion to look less like a yoke ( as it looks in my skirt ) you can cut the extra allowance below the elastic leaving just 1/2 inch as extra allowance for joining to the skirt. In this case you should increase the height of the skirt piece.
Step 5. Gather the skirt top edge
You can use methods described in this post for gathering fabric – I have used a fishing line and sewn a zig zag with stitch width 4 along the fishing line couching it along the edge. When the stitching is done just pull the fishing line and the fabric will gather like magic. Tie the fishing line to keep the gathers in place. You should be gathering the skirt to match the waistband you have made.
Step 6. Join the skirt and waistband
Divide the skirt portion and the waistband portion by 4 and pin each section proportionately so that gathers are even. Join together.
Step 7. Join Frill
Cut out 2 inches or so wide fabric piece – the length should be double the hem of the skirt.
Finish one long edge of your frill piece with a rolled hem foot or serger. Check out the proper use of a rolled hemmer foot here.
Fold the hem of your skirt once and press in place. Keep the frill under the folded edge and topstitch in place. As you stitch you should be making small pleats every 3 inches. This will give your frills a nice flare.
Related posts: How to sew different types of skirts ; Simple elastic skirt sewing ; Sew skirts without pattern
