Make a Gathered Skirt in Under Two Hours
Edited by Robbi, Lynn, Eng, Christine dela Cruz
Creating your own custom skirt is not a difficult project. You can create a simple gathered skirt in only a few hours of work, without any unnecessary stress. Using good materials such as velvet or silk, you can create a gathered skirt that is suitable to wear to a very dressy event.
If you wish to have one that is suitable for wearing around to garden and so on, you can quite easily create one from denim or cotton. Just remember to be patient with your project, and keep your fingers clear of the sewing machine needle.
Materials Which are Necessary to Make a Gathered Skirt
- 1Cloth measuring tape
- 2Scissors
- 3Sewing Machine
- 4Pencil
- 5Elastic
- 6Iron
- 7Cloth (see below for measurement instructions)
- 8Matching Thread.
How to Make a Gathered Skirt
- 1Use the measuring tape to measure around your waistline.
- 2Do not "suck it in" while measuring.
- 3This will be the length, in inches, that you need for the cloth of your skirt.Write this number down, then multiply it by 1.7.
- 4If you want your skirt to be longer than 35 inches, make certain you buy cloth that is at least 45 inches wide.Cloth width comes in predetermined widths, normally 35, 45, and 70 inches.
- 5Iron it flat when done. This pre-shrinks the cloth to make it fit better.Wash and dry your cloth.
- 6Work with the cloth in this direction from here on out.Turn the cloth sideways, so the pre-determined width of the cloth will now be the length, and the measured length will now be the width.
- 7Mark this length with a pencil. Cut.Measure the cloth to the ultimate desired length plus three inches.
- 8When finished, fold it up a second time and iron again. Sew this into place to form the skirt hemline.Turn this end up 1.5 inches and iron the fold in place.
- 9On the top of the skirt, sew the flat material 1/2 inch from the edge in a straight line. Repeat this process again another 1/2 inch down the fabric. Leave long string ends on both sides of the material.Set your sewing machine to its widest possible stitch.
- 10If the material doesn't slide, you are holding the wrong string.On one end of the cloth, firmly grip the string ends from the back, and begin sliding the material up on the string.
- 11Slowly slide the material into a gathered state that is four inches longer than your waistline.
- 12Fold the cloth so that the patterned sides are facing each other. Iron this fold in place and sew. Turn the tube inside out and run your elastic through it. This is the waistband.Cut a strip of material four inches longer than your waistline and five inches wide.
- 13Sew the waistband in place.Line up the sewed edge of the waistband so that the gathered part of the skirt is behind it.
- 14Mark this location on the skirt.Try the skirt on and hold the edges together to determine where the correct fit will be for you.
- 15Fold the skirt so that the patterned sides are against each other and line up the edges.Trim the waistband so that it is the same length as the skirt edges. Sew the skirt edges together and finish with an overlock stitch.
If you have problems with any of the steps in this article, please ask a question for more help, or post in the comments section below.
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Article Info
Categories : Fashion
Recent edits by: Eng, Lynn, Robbi
