Summer of Skirts - Waistband Bow Skirt tutorial

Here it is - finally! A swingy red skirt just in time for the 4th of July. Sorry it took so long to get this tutorial up - moving and internet problems delayed me. As always, if you have any questions at all or if I didn't explain things well enough, leave a comment and I should get back to you within the day. Or, send me an email!

Oh, yeah, and I almost forgot - I'll be giving this skirt away to celebrate my 100 followers. Yay!

What you need:
- The measurement of around your waist where you want the skirt to sit. We'll call this number w.
- 1 1/2 yards of fabric (less if you want a less poofy skirt)
- 9 inch zipper in the same color as your fabric
- A piece of interfacing measuring 2" by w


Step 1: Cut your fabric.
First, for the waistband and tie: Decide how long you want your ties to be (I made mine the same as my waist measurement for simplicity). Then, multiply that number by two - one for each tie- and add it to w. The result is your waistband length, l. You need one strip of your fabric measuring l wide by 3 inches tall. Cut these out (you'll probably need to sew multiple strips together to make this work). MAKE SURE that when you cut these out you cut along the SHORT end of the fabric- the one that measures either 45 or 60 inches, not the selvage edge. Otherwise, you are cutting away your skirt's length.

For the skirt, we're going to be using the same pieces that we did for the elastic A-Line skirt, so cut your main skirt panels out following steps 1-6. I wanted my skirt a little puffier, so I actually cut another diagonal (hence buying 1 1/2 yards instead of 1 yard) and wound up with 6 panels instead of 4. You can pretty much just use how every much fabric is left over from the ties and get a skirt similar to mine. Sew each of the panels together, so you wind up with one big skirt panel (leave the two ends apart though!).

Here are the pieces (including the interfacing, not including the sleeping dog) you should have:



Step 2: If you had to sew your strips to get ones of the correct length, make sure you press your seams flat. Then, fold your strip in half lengthwise, with the WRONG sides facing out. It's hard to tell in the pictures, but that's what you want. Iron the strip like this.


Step 3: Next, open the folded strip, wrong side facing you. Find the middle of the tie and the middle of the interfacing, then line them up. Line up the edge of the interfacing with the edge of the strip and the fold. Iron the interfacing down.

Step 4: Refold the strip, so that the wrong edges are on the outside. Now, starting at one end of the strip, sew the edges together until you get to the interfacing. Stop there, and repeat on the other side. You should have the waistband with the interfacing ironed in in the middle of the strip, and then two ties sew shut on either side. Turn the strip right side out.



Step 5: Now that the ties are right side out, fold the waistband edges up INSIDE the waistband along the seam. Do this one at a time - it is easier! Here's a picture of it done partway:


And all the way:


Step 6: Here's the part I didn't document - putting the zipper in! Zippers can be complicated and intimidating, but if you follow the instructions that come with the zipper you should be able to put it in with no problem! After you put the zipper in, leave it unzipped for this next step.


Step 7: Gather the skirt, and pin each end to the place inside the waistband where the interfacing ends. Note that the waistband should be like a little 'pocket', with one side open. The gathered skirt will be pinned INSIDE this little 'pocket', so no raw edges will be showing.



Step 8: Fold the ends of the ties in so the raw edges don't show, then press. Stitch all around the ties, stopping once again at the waistband.

Step 9: Sew the skirt into the waistband where you've pinned. You'll want to make sure you're sewing low enough so that your stitches catch the fold on the waistband (so the waistband raw edges are firmly stitched under). Since you won't be able to see both sides of the waistband as you sew, be careful you don't run off one of the edges!

Now you're all done! You should have a zippered skirt with a waistband that merges right into the tie. Zip it up, tie a pretty bow, and you're ready to go!