The Easy-Peasy Light & Breezy Skirt

We didn’t have much of a winter this year at all. It was warm-ish during all the months which should have been cold, but the second spring arrived it became scorching hot (and then it rained for a couple of days). Weird weather is upon us. In any case, it is clear that it’s time for some summer clothes. I must admit that I don’t usually sew clothes for my kids, because it’s a lot of effort for something I can buy easily and cheaply in a store, but this skirt is so easy and I got to use such fun fabrics (I mean, dancing ballerina monkeys? What could possibly be better than that?). It was totally worth the effort.

Materials

1” wide elastic, 18” long (or 4” less than your waist measurement)
1 rectangle of fabric 44” wide and 20” long.

Safety pin or other tool for inserting elastic
Standard sewing notions

Notes

These measurements are for a 3 and 3 quarters year old girl (that’s what she said), but can be adjusted to fit any size. What’s nice about this size is that it fits perfectly into half a yard of fabric. If you want the skirt to have more of a flair – make the width 2.5-3 times your waist measurement.
If you can’t fit your width into the width of the fabric, cut two rectangles and join them on both sides with a french seam (step 1 below) instead of just on one side.

Instructions

Skirt body: We will be creating a french seam so that there are no exposed edges to serge or zigzag. With a skirt it’s quite easy and much neater – especially if you don’t have a serger.Fold the fabric in half lengthwise, wrong sides together, pin and sew 1/4″ from the edge. Turn the skirt inside out, and sew the same edge again – 1/2″ from the edge.

Press the seam to one side
Sew the elastic casing and hem: With the skirt still inside out, Fold over the top 1/2″ down and then again 1.5″ (this will be the elastic casing). Press and pin.Fold over the bottom 1/2″ up and then again 1/2″ up. Press and pin.

Sew around the bottom hem.

Top stitch 1/8″ from the top edge of the skirt. Edge stitch 1/8″ from the bottom edge of the elastic casing, leaving a 3″ gap for inserting the elastic.

Insert the elastic using a safety pin. Sew the gap closed.