I loved skirts as a little girl. LOVED them. I had them in every color of the rainbow.
Then I grew up and the prices of skirts skyrocketed and the economy went down the drain. Poo.
How will I ever have the colors of the rainbow again? I go shopping and return with one pathetic garment of clothing meant to “go with everything”.
No more, I said. I WILL have my rainbow! Solution? Make your own skirts! They are only pieces of fabric after all. How hard could it be?
Not that hard! I was actually surprised to see how ridiculously easy it is to make your own skirt. And under 30 minutes! Woot!
What you’ll need:
- Fabric. Preferably something flowy and not very stiff like chiffon, georgette, satin, or silk. 1-2 meters depending on how long you want it. (I used 1m)
- Lining fabric. 1-2 meters
- Sewing machine
- Scissors
Directions:
1. Measure your waist, and determine the length of your skirt. Now fold the fabric in half, and in half again so it looks like the picture below. Cut the fabric according to the picture.
(waist radius = waist in inches ÷ 6.28)
I wanted to add pleats at the back (saw them on tv once, they look pretty cute), so I added about 4 inches to my waist measurements.
So, for example, if your waist radius is 5” and your desired length is 22”, your fabric should look like this:
The length of the lining is an inch shorter than the skirt.
Tip: a simple way to cut a perfect circle is to tie one end of a string to a pen, hold the other end of the string in the corner of the folded fabric, measure out the string in your desired length and mark the circle.
2. Now to stitch up the skirt. First, hem the fabric at the lower end so the threads don’t come loose. Since you have both the outside skirt fabric and the lining, it’s simpler to get this done first before you put the skirt together.
3. Now hold the outer fabric and the lining together as you want your skirt to look. Turn it inside out, and stitch both circles together at the waist.
4. Add pleats at the back so that the skirt fits nice and snug around your waist. When you’ve stitched it up, turn back to the right side and iron well. Voila! You’ve got yourself a skirt that you made with your own two hands. Give yourself a pat on the back, you deserve it!
You may alternatively add a zipper if you want. In my experience the zipper becomes unnecessary and quite difficult to stitch in. If you have some trouble wearing the skirt without a zipper, loosen your pleats a bit. When you wear the skirt you can tighten it around the waist with a cleverly hidden safety pin on the inside (don’t look so skeptical. try it, it really works.)
Done! Yay! I intend on making one in every color of the rainbow now.
Cost: Patterned fabric- Rs. 150, Lining- Rs. 60, Blue thread- Rs. 10
Total: Rs. 220
Average retail price: Rs. 700-1200
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wow!!!!! this reminds me of the skirts mum made for us 🙂 🙂 yay! gonna make one again :* thanks bhargavi
It’s so sweet that your mom used to make skirts for you 🙂
Wow, good work Bhargavi :)…..you have made a lovely skirt….want to try 🙂
Thanks, Jomol! You should absolutely try it, it’s so easy!
awesome.. I had seen this tut on one of the sites long back but never attempted it.. I will surely give it a try now.. 🙂
Can’t wait to hear how it turns out, Dipti 🙂
Superb DIY ! i will stitch one for myself soooon
Hope it turns out great!
i am also very fond of skirts.. they are super comfy.. wud love to try tht thanks
Skirts are so versatile. Dress them up, dress them down. You should try it!
I love skirts too. I’d love to learn how to make one. I’m glad to read your post. I’ll try. =)
Thanks, Val! Hope yours turns out really great!
That is brilliant !! I am definitely going to try this !! Thank you !
Thank you, Smita! Let me know how it goes 😉
Thats super cool Bhargavi . Hats off to you 🙂 feel really inspired to stitch one .
Thanks, Preeti!
wow! nice tute..if only i was good with sewing! 😛
I’m not so great with sewing either. You just need a little bit of practice, the skirt is pretty easy 🙂
Superb DIY, for a moment I actually re-read the title of the post 😀 Interesting post Bhargavi, can we also DIY for suits too….struggling to find a good one 😛
Good tailor around I meant 🙂
simply superb.!!!!
Thank you, Sakhi!
superb DIY ….thnx for sharing bhargavi!!!
Thanks, Shreya! 🙂
Hi bhargavi I have immense respect for ladies and ppl who can sew!
this is tooo pretty..will ask my mum to make something for me! 🙂 or may be my toddler 😛
Thanks, Neha! I’m actually not that good at sewing, the skirt was just pretty simple.
Aw, tiny skirts for toddlers are adorable!