Skirting the Issue: Delia from Delia Creates

I am so, so happy to be here for such a great cause.

My skirt for today is just a slight twist on my Easy Mommy Skirts which is a slightly bigger twist on my Easy Baby Skirts.

My easy skirts are basically an A-line skirt with a flexible waistband. They are easy to sew and easy to wear.

This one is simply made with ruffle fabric.

You’ve probably seen other great ruffle skirt tutorials, but here’s my take and two cents on working with ruffle fabric.

For step by step skirt making how to, see my Easy Mommy Skirt post here.

Now, I know the name “Mommy Skirt” doesn’t seem quite appropriate for foster care children. To make this skirt a bit younger I’ve shortened it to just above the knee which makes it look more youthful but is still modest for a tween or a teen.

And…Here are some tips for adapting my Easy Mommy skirt tutorial to the Easy Ruffle Skirt tutorial:

1. Ruffle fabric:

Where to buy it:

You can buy it online here.
Or you can also find it at Hobby Lobby now in basic colors.

When selecting a ruffle fabric, I found that a smaller ruffle generally looked younger.

So for the skirt I am donating, I chose a smaller/thinner ruffle and for the skirt I made for myself I chose a wider one.

The plus to using a larger ruffle fabric is that it has more space between the ruffles. So that when you attach the waistband, you can cut off the top ruffle before adding the elastic.

You can then attach the elastic to the flat knit portion rather than the top of a ruffle. This helps the ruffles not poof out so much under the elastic which helps create a trimmer silhouette for a more mature figure.

The shorter ruffles will poof out at the waistband, but create a nice fun, bouncy look that is great for a younger figure. (Which is obviously not my figure, especially 4 months post-partum. I made the waistband a bit smaller than is appropriate for me too so you can bet I am sucking in so I don’t bust the stitches 🙂 ).

How much should you get?

This depends on the length that you want. Most ruffle fabric comes in about 58-60 inches wide. This will accommodate the width of  many skirt sizes I would say from size 3/4 – 10/12 (but I am guessing).

For the younger skirt (black), I used 5/8 of a yard (you may want to go ahead get a bit more and then cut it down later). For my red skirt I used a little less than 3/4 of a yard.

2. Elastic:

In my Easy Mommy Skirt tutorial I mention how I like adding the elastic in a way that hides the stitching and helps the skirt poof out a little at the waistband. For the ruffle fabric this is a big no no. I tried it and it does not look flattering. On a little girl it would actually be cute, but on anyone older than 13 or so, probably not so much.

So for ruffle fabric, attach the elastic on the top of the skirt and top stitch around with a lengthened straight stitch (I used a 4) as you pull and stretch the elastic.

I recommend using elastic that is 1.5 inches or wider.

If you can use some soft elastic, all the better. This stuff is fantastic and so easy to sew with. I bought mine at a fabric boutique but you can purchase it online here as well. The lady I bought it from said that once I sew with it, I won’t want to use any other kind of elastic. Boy was she right. Now if they only made it in 3 inch wide in the soft stuff! Hint, hint to the powers that be.

3. Cutting and sewing.

When cutting the ruffle fabric, be sure to flip the ruffles up and cut in the knit fabric in between. This can take some time, but be patient. You don’t want to snip any of the pretty ruffles.

When sewing the fabric end to end, to form your skirt, don’t be afraid to use lots of pins! I pinned at each and every ruffle.

You want it all to line up nice and neat after all. (Even with all my pinning it isn’t as perfect as I would like…..errrg.)

But that’s not too bad, considering that you won’t have to worry about hemming!

And that’s it. This skirt comes together quite fast. I made these two in an afternoon. It would have taken me even less time if I didn’t have to worry about pictures and unpicking it because I attached the elastic differently the first time. 🙂

Man…these things are fun to twirl in. I hope that the girl who receives this skirt will love twirling in it too!

Thanks for having me over liZ and Elizabeth!