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May 5, 2010

Remember this?

I started this skirt weeks ago and promised a tutorial about it :
Well, then life got in the way! I wanted to walk you through how I made this skirt though. It all started with a pillowcase. I was at a thrift store and found several really cute 70's looking pillowcase that I thought would look adorable as either a skirt or a pillowcase dress for my little pea pumpkin.
I started off by trying to make this pillowcase into a skirt, so I measured to see how long I was going to want it (utilizing the already finished seam!!) and then added 2" for a casing at the top. After wards, I cut off the extra from the top and tried it on:
I am SOOOOOO not showing you a picture of me trying it on, as it was skin tight and somewhat see-thru! Anyways, my next step was to lay it out on top of  fabric and use it as a pattern. I added a little bit to each side ( 4" to the left and to the right, plus 2" to the bottom to allow for hemming)

I also did a second layer for this second skirt so I could have a contrasting underlining. I also made sure to utilize the finished edges on this fabric too since I was repurposing an old sheet.

Next I started by sewing together the sides on each of the layers. Make sure to pin the right sides together! After both sides are sewn together, you can either clip close to the seam with pinking shears or use another type of finishing strategy that you may know.


Next, I pinked the bottom edges of my skirt before hemming them. If you are re purposing material that is already hemmed, you shouldn't have to hem unless the hemmed area was unusable.
Make sure to pin your casing down evenly all the way around the bottom of your skirt for your hem. I made my hems between 1/4" to 1/2"


** skip if you are doing just one layer!!**

After each of your layers has it's waist band sewn, then you need to put the layer you want on the OUTSIDE on the INSIDE of the layer that you want on the INSIDE. Make sure that they are both inside out. Pin them together and sew the two layers together.

** Come back at this point if you are using one layer

Next you are going to do your waistband casing. Make sure to pin your casing down evenly all the way around the top of your waist band. Keep in mind the width of your elastic. My elastic for each skirt was 7/8" so I did a casing of 1.5" on each of the waist bands.
 You need to sew all the way around leaving about 2" open so that you can feed the elastic in and all the way around. Once you have the elastic all the way around, overlap the two end pieces and sew them together. Then, sew close the remaining 2" you left open.

Congrats: You have an adorable new skirt!

** As soon as I have my elastic threaded I will show you a picture of my finished skirt! Post up pictures of your finished ones. I'd love to see your wonderful work!

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