Tutorial: Make your own flowing skirt

I remembered when I just passed college and was looking for a job. One day I got a letter for an interview in another city very far from my place. I was frantically trying to put together my clothes but what I really needed was missing. Yes, A SKIRT. I had this blazer but with no matching skirt. I spent half day mall hopping with no result. So I decided to buy a piece of fabric and made my self a SKIRT. And off I went for the interview.

So, if you happened to be in the same situation as I had but with the novice skill of sewing, what would you do? Exactly make a skirt for yourself...:D. Here's the simplest way to make your self that flowing flirting skirt. Ok, shall we start now? 

What you need:

• 1.5 meters of fabric (if you want the flowing flirting one, try crepe or poly cotton fabric)
• Sewing notions: scissors, pin, newspaper, measuring tape, pencil, thread, etc and of course a sewing machine:)
• Elastic

How to:

1. Measure your HIP + 2" (for wiggle room) + 1 " (seam)

.  My result is 44" and divided that by 4 = 11"

2. Decide the SKIRT LENGTH + 2" (waist band) + 2" (hem) , mine is 28" total

3. Measure the length from your WAIST to your HIP, mine is 9" + 2" (for waist band) => HIP LINE

Now let's make the pattern (see Photo for guidance)

1.  A - B:  HIP
2. A  - A' and B - B':   HIP LINE.
3. A-C:  Skirt Length (seam included) 
4. C - D' :   HIP + 2"
5. D' - D:   1", draw the line from C to D
6. FOLD the ready pattern into 4, and cut the marked line approx. 1.5" from the HIP line. (this will give that flowing look).

7. Now your pattern is ready. Put the STRAIGHT SIDE on the FOLD, and spread the cut-off part 1" - 1.5" apart. Pin nicely while doing it. If you satisfied, cut your fabric (cut 2 x). Now they should look like this:

SEWING:

1. With the right side facing each other sew along the side seams using 3/8" seam allowance. If you are using crepe or other synthetic fabric, you may consider using french seam (sew 1/4" wrong side facing, turn the fabric around and stitch 1/4 " with the right side facing). Don't forget to backstitch at the beginning and the end.

2. Fold the Waist Band by around 1.25"  and stitch the top first to anchor it. Next, fold the raw edge of the waistband by 3/8" , pin in place and topstitch all around leaving 1.5" unsewn to insert the elastic.

3. Insert the elastic and sew the opening close.

4. Double fold and sew the hem. Et Voila your skirt is ready.

I hope it's clear enough, email me if you have any questions:). Please check out my other Tutorials too. 

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Happy Sewing

DIY Quilting Rulers and a runner

I made my own DIY quilter's ruler. All these time whenever I want to do some patchwork projects I  measure the fabric manually, mark it, draw the line  and cut it. It takes such a long time which sometimes discourage me. I've been searching for one here in my town and asking my friends who lived in the bigger city but couldn't find it. So I tried many methods like using a card board but the problem is you can't see through it and sometimes it's end up all wonky :P.

So, I made my own from a thick transparent plastic cover from my old diary.

I carefully measure it 5" x 5" and cut it. Then I mark the grid 1/2" apart and voila my quilting ruler is ready.

Though I' m still using the pencil & scissor but at least it makes my work faster LOL. I know I could buy the rotary cutter from the net, but again I'm not sure whether it's allowed or not by the India Post. And searching though Ebay India is also NIL...:S.

And here's what I made :

 


I used South Indian handwoven cotton. I love the south Indian cotton cos it has bright & deep colors. I collected quite few pieces and been wanting to do something with it. It's a simple one with no batting (which is another problem for me cos I don't find any retailer...considering Indian quilt is so popular). I used a thicker handwoven fabric for the backing. It has stripes with mix color thread which suit the top.

And now I'm working on a pinwheel design. I think it's going to be another runner maybe I'll use flannel for the batting. What say, ladies?