Hey there, people, let me be the first to say Happy Easter, if it is a holiday you celebrate! If it is not, than Happy Random April Sunday to you! So, I know I haven’t been posting on “odd days” lately, but it’s because odd days are just so inconveniently busy by some cruel joke dictated by the universe. But that being besides the point, here’s a craft I randomly started working on about two or three weeks ago with the support of the ever-awesome Shelby who I miss and have not seen since then. I don’t have many photos because I was more worried about not putting it down and losing interest than in documenting, so sorry about that!
What you will need:
- Fabric squares (I find these in the calico/quilting section in art stores. I’m not talking about the little ones, but the ones that are about 1.5 times larger than a bandana.)
- Note: The number of fabric squares you want depends on multiple things. For example, the width of your hips and behind, and the length you want the skirt to be. I used 13 squares – 1 White (for the band), 1 Red, 1 Orange (they were nearer the top and therefore I needed less), 2 Yellow, 2 Green, 2 Light Blue, 2 Dark Blue (Indigo doesn’t exist anymore??? Excuse me for believing in all seven colors of the rainbow.), and 2 Purple.
- Elastic (I used ¾ of an inch wide. Look at the length and decide if it’s appropriate for you, and while ¾ width is okay, I suggest going about an inch. Of course, I decided this after I finished sewing my skirt.)
- Thread (You can match your threads if you want…I just used white.)
- Sewing machine (Or just a needle and tons of patience.)
- Scissors
Step 1: Cut your fabric squares in half or into four lines so you have long strips instead of squares. Sew matching colored strips together so you have longer strips of the colors. To do this, sew the ends FACE TO FACE so the hem is on the inside. Use that tactic throughout this tutorial. The hem would look silly on the outside for this particular design. Here’s a paint diagram of what it should look like (obviously multiply by 2 if you cut into four strips and not just in half. I used four strips for my skirt.):
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| Etc. |
Step 2: Sew these strips together in the order you want (I did the order of the rainbow). Match the center seams together so the shorter strips are centered. Do not sew the white strip (or whatever color you chose your band to be) with this. New paint diagram:
Note: I chose for the purple on the bottom of mine (not demonstrated in this diagram) to be longer than the length of the other colors. When you sew the strips together, it should be front to front so the hem is on the inside. Trim the excess. To make the purple longer, sew the line closer to the end of the fabric, so there’s less excess to trim.
Step 3: Cut the fabric in a bell-like shape, demonstrated by this paint diagram:
Note: The top band should be able to wrap around your waist or hips (wherever you want the skirt to sit) at least 1.5 times. I think mine was closer to 2 times, but I plan on trimming it down just a little. So basically, aim for about 1.5-1.75 times the length of cloth you would need for a flat skirt!
Step 4: On the bottom of the skirt, fold up the fabric towards the inside, just a little. Sew this all the way around the skirt to hem the bottom, partially so it has a clean look, and partially so it doesn’t thread. Hems are multi-purpose, in case you didn’t know :P
Step 5: Sew the white strip (or whatever you color you chose the band to be) to the top of the skirt, face to face so the hem is on the inside. This part is kind of hard – fold the white over (towards the inside) until you have just enough room for your elastic band. Don’t make it too exact or small, because you need to thread the elastic through. Sew the white cloth down, but DO NOT sew the ends shut.
Step 6: Measure the elastic around your hips or waist (this is where you’ll want the skirt to sit) and cut it so it’ll be snug but not too tight. Start feeding it through the white-cloth-tunnel you just made. Hold onto one end so it doesn’t disappear into the fabric! When you have both ends sticking out of cloth, sew them together as stably as you can. Pull the white band together over the elastic, and sew the ends of that together too, and continue sewing down the sides of the skirt so it’s all together now, face to face. Your skirt should look something like this:
Step 7: Flip the skirt right side out and spread the scrunched material around the elastic as evenly as you can. Voila! You have a rainbow-quilt skirt now :)
Good luck with this project! (And in case you were wondering, this is the first clothing item I’ve made without a pattern! Patterned clothing pictures below, just because I’m proud of them :P )
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| This is the first thing I made with my sewing machine. I've made like ten million aprons since! |
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| This is the first dress I made! |
-Bonnie
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