just the 9 of us: Chiffon Skirt Tutorial

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Chiffon Skirt Tutorial

Supplies:
3" chiffon (I used 3 different colors but, you could just use 1)
Old tshirt or 1/2 yard knit fabric
1" elastic (length depends on your child) I used 20"

The first thing I did was cut the shirt off under the armpits. I am going to use the bottom as is so that I don't have to hem it. I then held it up to my daughter knowing that it would be about 1 1/2 - 2" shorter. The length was perfect so I did not trim it anymore. It was probably about 18-20" long.

The next thing I did was trim the sides to bring it in a little. I cut it into an A line type skirt. Just trim off both sides starting wider at the bottom and getting thinner towards the top. This will also help with too much bulk around the waist.

I then serged up each side. You could also just use a sewing machine. Since it is knit it won't unravel.

I then serged around the top of the skirt. (You can also skip this step)

Here is what it should look like after serging/sewing.

Now you will want to fold over the top of the skirt. I folded it over about 1 1/2". My elastic was 1" wide.

Be sure to leave about a 2" opening. You will not put the elastic in now. It is easier to sew the cihffon on w/out the elastic in.

Now you are going to prep your chiffon. I wanted a variance in blue on my skirt so what I did was double up the chiffon. My bottom 2 layers are going to be blue on top of black. You need to ruffle enough to go around the bottom of the skirt twice. **Easy ruffling tip: put your machine on the highest setting for stitch length and tension. It should just ruffle up on its own as shown below.

The next thing I did was blue on blue (no pic.) Then I did blue on top of white as shown below. Just make sure you ruffle enough of each color for two rows.

SUGGESTION: You might want to pin the beginning of each row onto your skirt to make sure it is not going to end up in the middle of your waste band. You might have to overlap a little more if you are making a shorter skirt than the 1/2" that I did.

Pin on the first layer to the bottom of the skirt. I let the chiffon hang over the bottom about 1/2".

Then you will want to sew the chiffon in place. I used 1/2" seam allowance.

When you get to the end of the row fold under the raw edge and finish sewing.

(No pic of the next step) Pin the next row in place, which was another blue on black, and have it over lap about 1/2" over the row you just sewed on.

Next you will pin in place the blue on blue row doint the same as above overlapping 1/2". Don't look to closely...I didn't pin! Do that for the next 4 rows.

Here is what it should look like when you get all the rows of chiffon on. A total of 6 rows and they ended right under the elastic band. If you have to cheat the last row down go ahead and do that you don't want to sew through the waistband area.

Measure your child's waist and subtract 1" that is how long you will cut your elastic. Then you want to attach a large safety pin and slide it through the casing that you made earlier.