How to Make a Skirt with a Border Fabric Panels
For a the past few years I have been seeing fabric with border prints…and I like them…and I look at them…and I wonder what to do with them….and finally I bought some and made myself a skirt using one of them.
And it was super easy! Here is what I did:
I cut a piece of fabric that was as wide as my waist measurement plus half of my waist measurement. (So….let’s say my waist is 30″…I would cut my fabric to be 30″+15″ so it would be 45″ wide.).
Next comes the length. I measured how long I wanted my skirt to be. I wanted it to be a “midi” length. So I measured from my waist to where I wanted it to a few inches below my knees. From that measurement I subtracted 1 inch.
Once my fabric was cut it was a quick sew from there.
Like for reals quick…done in an afternoon quick….because….
You only need to sew 1 seam! The side (or back if you would rather) seam.
To do this fold your fabric in half so that the two raw edges of the length measurement are on top of one another with right sides together.
(If you are not sure if you have folded it in half the right way just check out which way your border is going. If the border is going to run across the bottom of the skirt and will touches at the seam you are going to sew it is folded correctly….If your border is running up the side of your skirt and not touching at the seam it is not folded correctly.)
Pin and stitch down the entire length of your fabric with a scant 1/2″ seam allowance.
You now have a big tube!
On the end of tube that is the bottom of your skirt fold the edge of the fabric towards the inside of the skirt 1/4″ inch and press. Then fold it under one more 1/4″ inch and press again. Then stitch around the entire perimeter of the bottom of the skirt to hold the fold in place.
This will create the finished hem of your skirt….I would recommend using thread that matches the fabric of your skirt so that your stitches will blend rather than contrast.
Now, all that is left to do is add the waistband!
For this skirt I used 2″ black elastic and made an exposed elastic waistband using the tutorial you can find HERE.
It is simple to make and comfortable to wear.
And once it is added you are done.
Measure, cut, sew one seam, fold under and sew the bottom, add some elastic at the top.
Then sit back in your comfortable skirt and enjoy being fancy.
Happy Sewing!
