Look, I Made This: DIY Foldover Maxi Skirt

So I used to be firmly against maxi dresses & maxi skirts. Mainly because I am short and I could never find one that fit me, they were always dragging the ground which seemed way more of a hassle than they should be. However, recently I have seen tons of patterns for sewing your own skirt or dress, plus lots of pictures of adorable outfits that look oh so comfortable and I thought I needed to try it out. This method is not flawless, now that I'm finished I think there are some things I will change for the next time and maybe even some things I'll fix on the skirt I've already made. However, it did produce a really comfortable and cute addition to my wardrobe and I can't wait to wear it! Now if only it would stop snowing and get above 10 degrees...

What you need:
2 yards of stretchy knit fabric
Coordinating thread
Ruler/measuring stick/tape measure (I used tape measure for this project)
Scissors
Pins
Sewing machine & all the basic tools

First, I'd like you all to check out this fabric.  Isn't it gorgeous? I'm seriously in love!  So soft...ahh can't wait to wear my skirt!

IN LOVE.

Beautiful, right? 

About the fabric, be sure to wash and dry it as you would the finished garment before you start measuring/sewing.  That will make things much easier.

To begin, you need to measure yourself. Measure around your waist/hips/wherever you want your skirt to sit. Now divide that number in half, this is Measurement A. Next, measure from where you took Measurement A to where you want your skirt to end. Now subtract 4 inches from that, this is Measurement B. The 4 inches is for the waistband. Finally, take Measurement A and add 5 inches, this is Measurement C.

Now you are ready to draw your pattern. I drew mine directly on the back of my fabric, but you can also use newspaper, paper bags taped together, cardboard, or whatever you have if you don't want to do it directly on the fabric. My fabric is pink with a multicolored floral pattern so I just used a purple marker and made lines and dots lightly, but even if they had bled through it was purple so it wouldn't have been noticeable. For the pattern, measure a line across the top using Measurement A. Then draw a line straight down from both ends extending 8 inches to form a three sided rectangle with the dimensions Ax8". Now, measure down the length of Measurement B and that distance from the top, center the line of Measurement C with your top rectangle. It's probably best to draw it out on a piece of paper first, that is what I did. Now connect your lines on both sides. The result should be a slight bell shape coming out of the bottom of your top rectangle. I've drawn a picture to illustrate what I'm talking about.

You can kind of see the outline, right? 

I knew this grid paper would
be useful at some point.

Caviat: My fabric was one-sided, which means for my 8" roll-down to 4" waistband I actually needed to fold it over and sew it down so that when it was folded out it would be the same side as the rest of the skirt. If this is the case for your fabric, too, simply add another 8" to your top, making the sides of the top 16". Before you sew the sides together you'll have to fold it over and sew basically an 8 inch hem, being sure to use a zigzag stitch so it has some give with the fabric. My stitch was really ugly, but I don't really care, the fabric is so busy it is hard to tell, anyway!

My 8" "hem," that in the end will fold down to make
a 4" waistband.

Once you have your pattern sketched out onto your fabric (you may have to use chalk if you're using black fabric), cut out a few inches OUTSIDE of your pattern. Now lay this piece onto the rest of your fabric and cut out another piece the same size. No need to redraw your pattern, you only need to sew on one side anyway.

"That's pretty, mommy" - Jamison
(Now I'm losing my mind...)

Lay your fabrics right side together and smooth out. Make sure they are smooth and even, but not stretched! It is really easy to stretch knit fabrics, so just make sure it is relaxed and natural. pin them together, I suggest using lots of pins because this is a lot of fabric to keep tabs on.

Here's the piece of fabric with the pattern laying
on top of the large rectangle, right sides together.

Sew it up! Sew up the sides, being sure to keep the fabric from stretching. You want to keep it nice and natural, flowing through your sewing machine. Best to let your machine's feeder dogs do the work of moving it along. You don't have to use a zig-zag stitch here because it doesn't matter if it stretches or not, they're seams down the side. I used a triple straight stitch, one of the basic ones on my machine and it is really strong!

You can also see my random marker lines...

When you're finished sewing both sides, remove all the pins (I actually did it as I went) and try it on! If it fits the way you want, cut off the excess fabric and turn right-side-out. Knit fabric shouldn't fray, but if you want you can sew up the edges on the seams. I didn't. Maybe another day. Now put it on, roll it down, and wear it in style!

"I'm helping! Right?" - Ginger

I love it!

Jamison photobombing my picture of my
new skirt...just like J. Law.

So since I've finished I've actually made a black one using a slightly different pattern that didn't quite turn out how I wanted it to, but I think it'll be ok because it's black.  Confession time: I also bought green and blue fabric that is currently in the laundry to become next week's skirts.  2 skirts a week and I'll have a whole new wardrobe soon!

If you have ANY questions or if you want some clarifications (I'm definitely not a teacher) just ask!

Until next time!