a very special skirt {tutorial}

if you know how to turn a sewing machine on, thread the bobbin, and sew a straight line - then you can make an elastic waistband skirt in literally minutes. there is really nothing to it! search pinterest for an elastic waist skirt and your options will be endless!
with that said, i have been making these skirts and LOVING them! last winter i found a skirt a jcrew that i REALLLLLLLY wanted, but didn't want to spend the money on. i found a wool fabric that was very similar and made my own! saved myself 60 bucks!

last year when david's grandmother passed, everyone went through her home to take things that were special to them. mrs. betty was a crafter! she had OOODLES of fabric stashes and my precious husband brought those home to me! i was beyond excited to sew something with fabric that she had once used. in one of the stashes was a very pale pink fabric with tiny white roses on it. it had been ripped up and cut on, but there was about a 1/2 yard left in one piece.

here is the fabric -

so pink and girly!
i decided to make the first skirt for ellie because we went to raleigh last weekend, and i could try it on her to make sure it fit properly.
i put together a picture tutorial so you can make your own! i promise, it is so simple. i made this one in 25 minutes tops.

take the waist measurement of whoever the skirt will be for. in this case, the waist measurement was 19. i doubled that measurement and cut a 38 inch wide piece of fabric. a standard 3-4 toddler skirt is 8-9 inches in length, and i added an inch for the hem. so my starting fabric measured 38 x 10. with right sides facing together sew the open ends together creating a tube and press your seams flat with your iron.

so now you have a tube of fabric. next you will do the hem on the bottom of the skirt. fold down and press 1/4 inch all the way around the bottom of the fabric. then fold over 1/2 inch and press, pin, and sew. the double folds will prevent the skirt's hem from fraying.

all that is left is to add your elastic. take your first waist measurement (mine was 19) and cut your elastic to that width.

on the top of your skirt where the elastic will go, press 1/4 inch again then 1 inch if you are using 3/4 inch elastic (use your elastic as a measurement). if you want a wider elastic like 1 inch, then just make your fold .25 inches larger. pin and sew near the edge of your hem, leaving a 3 inch opening near the seam. this opening is where you will put your elastic through.

this is how your skirt should look -

take your elastic and attach a large safety pin to one end. insert that safety pin through the opening you created in the hem and push it through until it comes out the other side.

sew the two ends of the elastic together with a zig zag stitch. i do this back and forth about 6 times to ensure it will not come apart.

once that is sewn, let the elastic go into the skirt and pull your waistband to separate all the gathers. sew the hem where the opening was, and you are finished!!!!

i was completely happy with this and it has so much meaning! ellie now has a skirt made with her great grandmothers fabric. fabric that she actually used to make something with herself. it's special and it's adorable. i can't wait to make more for all the girls!

i was so excited to put this adorable skirt on ellie and when i did, it was the perfect fit! here are some modeling photos of the beautiful ellie showing off her new skirt!