Skirting the Issue: Mandy from Sugar Bee

I have 4 kiddos and love to craft and blog (obviously!) – – I feel like if I can do something, then you can too!!

Some skirt tutorials you can find on my blog…just click the photos for the tutorial links….

So what do I have for you today??  I wanted to show you a super easy way to make a cute skirt – cause I like super easy 🙂

 I know everyone’s heard of pillowcase dresses, but did you know pillowcases make great skirts as well??  They’re very cheap (usually about a quarter, $0.25, at garage sales and thrift stores) and can fit children and teens.  They are easy to work with because they’re already hemmed and sewed along the edge – all you have to do is add a waistband.  I think a Pillowcase Skirt is a great project for a beginner sewer – perfect to show your daughter how to sew and donate to a great cause.


To spice it up a little, I will also show you how to do a reverse applique – – applique is sewing something on the top of your garment, so reverse applique is sewing something underneath your garment, then cutting away the top layer to reveal it.


Here we go – – cut a pillowcase to 2 inches longer than you want the skirt:

Draw on your applique – keep it simple if you’re a beginner sewer.  I just freehanded a few flower petals with my disappearing ink fabric marker:

Slide the fabric for your applique into the pillowcase right-side up and pin it in place so it’s secure under where you drew your design:

Sew along the lines you drew.  Don’t worry about being too precise – that’s part of the “handsewn” look:

When done, turn it inside out and cut away any extra fabric as shown:

Then from the top, cut a slit in the top layer inside your design – be sure not to cut through the fabric layer that you sewed on:

Then carefully cut that top pillowcase layer away to reveal the sewn-in fabric:

This is my finished reverse applique:

Now, to finish up the skirt – I just made a simple casing for an elastic waistband.  Fold the top down about an inch and iron it.  Then fold it a little more than an inch and iron it again – this will create a “tube”, or casing:

Sew along the bottom of the casing to secure it.  Leave open about 3 inches.  Use that open space to thread the elastic through:

Sew the two ends of the elastic together.  Then sew up the hole in the casing.  That’s it!!

Wear and enjoy!!

Hope to see you over at www.SugarBeeCrafts.com!!