I love this skirt because it’s super easy to make & it’s a great way to use a fat quarter! You can pick up a fat quarter for $4.50 so it makes it cheap too. It takes me a little over half an hour to make (without interruptions).
Basically all you need is:
* 1 Fat Quarter of fabric
* Thread to match the fabric
* Elastic – I like the thin elastic but any size is fine
* A safety pin for threading the elastic into the waist band
* Scissors
* A sewing machine
* Overlocker
* Iron & Ironing board
Optional
* Embellishments like ribbon, rickrack, buttons etc.
* You can embellish your skirt with a contrasting fabric which is very easy! I will explain this in a future blog as I am a little time poor at the moment so thought I’d just explain a basic skirt with some simple embellishments.
Procedure
Step 1: Fold the fat quarter in half (with the salvage on the side not bottom or top) and cut in half.
Step 2: With the patterned sides together stitch the outside seems. I make my seams about 1.5cms and make sure you stitch the salvage side with a larger seam if necessary so the salvage is not visible on the outer of the skirt.
Step 3: Overlock the side seams of the skirt.
Step 4: Iron the hem of the skirt up. About 1.5cm’s is my average & I am naughty & just do it by eye but I have found I am pretty accurate! Then fold in about 0.5cm and iron that also to cover the raw hem.
Step 5: Choose some embellishments! I chose some pink ribbon & an iron on motif. I am stitching the ribbon & the hem at the same time and I stitched the bottom & top of the ribbon to hold it to the skirt well.
Step 6: Iron down the waist band where the elastic will go. You will need to fold it as per the hem so that the raw edge is not exposed. Make sure you allow enough for the width of the elastic you are going to be using. My elastic is 1.2cms so I have folded it (by eye again) at about 2.5cms and then folded in about 0.5cm’s & ironed down.
Step 7: Stitch the waist band. I did it at about 0.5cm’s but leave a gap to thread through the elastic.
eeeeep you can see how crooked my stitching is! LOL I was rushing!!!
Step 8: Thread through the elastic with a safety pin. I measure the elastic by holding it up to my daughter & cutting it at a length I think will fit her. I base the different sizes on how tight the elastic is, I think a FQ can make a skirt from 0-5 and more maybe if your using a contrasting fabric.
Step 9: Stitch the elastic together. (I could actually use help with this part! Everytime I do this the back side of the elastic turns into a mess of threads! It holds together fine & as it’s hidden I don’t mind so much but if anyone know what I am doing wrong please let me know!)
Step 10: Stitch the gap closed.
Turn it the right way & FINISHED!!!! This ended up I would say around size 1-2 as I used a left over bit of elastic.
See I told you it was easy! And I am by no means and expert at sewing. I hope this tutorial has helped you & I would love to see the FQ skirts you come up with!!! Feedback, pointers & idea’s are also welcome 
Thanx heaps! cant wait to try it! oh & i have this fabric too! its sooo pretty
Hi Alicia I think I picked it up for $2 at spotlight when it was on sale so this is a very cheap skirt!
yes mine was $2 at spotlight too! haha
i will certainly be giving this a go!!
What a brilliant tutorial. Love it! Such a simple idea, but so, so effective….am going to do it tonight. Thanks so much!
Made this skirt this arvo, great little project. Thanks for the tutorial! I’ll put a pic on my blog soon.
Hi there, what size skirt does this make? Thanks
Anywhere from 0-5 I would say! Depends on the length you want & how tight you make the elastic. It’s very versatile
hi there,
i made this for my just 3 year old twins and it comes just below their bottoms. so i made another but just lengthened it accordingly- i wasn’t using a fat quarter so i had more to play with. you wouldn’t get away with the fat quarter for bigger than a size 3 i reckon (lengthwise):)
Hey! Cool idea! I look forward to ntiyrg it!I have a question. Is it o.k. to use a knit fabric with this pattern? I’m pregnant and the baby is due in January, so I’m looking for cute, comfy, long skirts that I can wear during the winter.So, I planned on following the elastic band option with a rather wide band, using my hips measurements for the hot pink line. Any other alterations that you think might be helpful.Thanks for your time!Aloha!
Love it! So simple, I’ll definitely be giving that a go with some spare fq’s.
Hi,
Re the threads at the back of the elastic….I usually stitch elastic together with a zigzag and always hold the threads tight (behind the presser foot) when I start to sew – good luck.
I love your tutorial & it wouldn’t be difficult to use buttonhole elastic so that the waist is adjustable so it will fit for a while.
Thanks for sharing
Laura – Thank you!Myrnie -I may try on the dress again. I’m not sure right now, because I was so bmmeud when I made so many cutting mistakes.Regarding the shirring, I noticed that I had to actually hand wind the bobbin with a little bit of tension. Also, the longer your stitch length is, the more the fabric gathers.If you want to recover that project, you may want to try blasting the elastic with some steam from an iron. That seems to help gather the fabric a little more.Good luck!