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Super Simple Skirt with Our Tinsel Pleat!

Our brand new Tinsel Pleat fabric is super pretty and when photographing it I thought of a super simple way to make this into a trendy skirt – very similar to this Mango skirt.

This skirt is a super easy make and uses minimal fabric. Below I’ll go through the steps I used to make it.

What you need:

  • Tinsel Pleat Fabric: For the Twilight coloured skirt I used 1mt which made it extra twirly, for the Copper colour I used 75cm which still gives great swing. You will need at minimum 1/2 of you hip measurement, depending on how fitted or flowy you want it. When cutting this skirt I cut it opposite to how it is usually cut so the selvage/grainline runs around the body rather than up and down. This allows the pleats to go up and down. Because of how it is cut the skirt will end up around 70-75cm long. If you want it to be longer get double the fabric suggested.
  • Soft backed Elastic: I used our C-23 elastic as it has a soft back, meaning it’s perfect when up against your skin as it doesn’t irritate it. Any elastic will work though, you could even do something decorative! You only need enough to go around your waist, for me this was 70cm
  • Lining Fabric: The tinsel pleat fabric is a little bit see-through when light hits it so I used a Polyester/Spx jersey for lining. Any stretch knit would do, or you could even just wear a slip underneath instead. I used 50cm of lining, however you may want to use more or less depending on how much you want your lining to cover.
  • Scissors, thread, sewing machine etc: You’ll need all the basics for sewing this skirt, I used an overlocker for some of these seams, you can use a zig-zag stitch instead if you do not have an overlocker.

Step 1: Cutting

The pieces for this skirt are super simple rectangles. So cutting it out is also super simple!

To cut the Tinsel pleat fabric I lay the fabric folded in half with selvages together, then cut down the folded edge so I had two rectangle pieces.

For the lining I simply cut off the selvage and made sure the cut edges were straight and measured 50cm at all points.

Step 2: Side Seams

This skirt is essentially one big tube – so the side seams are created by joining along the cut edges of the fabric with right sides together, leaving the selvage edge and the edge we just cut in half open for the hem and waist. I used a 1cm seam allowance but you can use whatever you are comfortable with. Overlock or zig-zag the seam after stitching it to finish with a clean edge.

For the lining I placed right sides together and sewed the edge we just cut the selvage off, this will create a back seam. Because of how stretchy this fabric is I only overlocked this seam, straight stitches could easily break on this fabric.
I also overlocked the hem of the lining to keep it from rolling up, since the hem will be hidden inside the garment I didn’t need to turn it up for a neat finish.

Step 3: Attaching Elastic

To attach the elastic, measure the elastic so it fits comfortably against your waist, you don’t want it to be too tight or too loose! Join the edges together with a straight stitch then overlock them. I like to also stitch them down to one side as it creates a flatter a smoother finish, as well as adds extra security if threads break over time with wear and tear!

To add the elastic, lining and main fabrics together, first mark the quarter points of each piece, this will mean the gathering looks even. Place the lining inside the main fabric with right side facing wrong side. You may wish to baste the lining and main fabric together if you find they are slipping around a lot. Stretch the elastic on to the main fabric with right sides together, matching quarter points. The back seam of the lining should match with the back seam of the elastic. Depending on how wide you have made your skirt and how wide your elastic is you may have to stretch it more or less. As you can see in the picture above my elastic was nearly 2.5 times smaller than my fabric!

When sewing the elastic, main and lining together you will need to stretch the elastic on, be careful not to over stretch the elastic or stretch the fabric as it will cause a wobbly look at the waist. If you have a lot of fabric to match to a small amount of elastic you can also slightly gather the fabric on to the elastic. I found I had to do this with the Navy coloured skirt as I was sewing 2mts of fabric on to a 70cm elastic waist. I gathered while I sewed – the good thing about this fabric is a little bit of uneven gathers aren’t noticed! Sew the elastic on with an overlocker or zig-zag stitch so it can still stretch. Be careful not to cut the elastic if using an overlocker.

The finished waistband should sit flat and have a neat edge on the inside.

Step 4: Look fab!

And that’s it! Because the selvage on this fabric has a neat finish there is no need to hem it. This style of skirt can also be made from all sorts of fabrics as it is just a rectangle – great for beginner sewers!

You can also customize it however you like, make it longer or shorter, more fitted or more flowy etc!

If you’ve got any questions leave them below or send us a message on Instagram. What do you want to see from our blog next?

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