Hello, I am Cyndi from bdancewear.com. In this demonstration, I am going to show you how to create a skirt from strips of fabric. This is a really, really easy project that gives you a great look. Since the fabric strips do not have to be cut perfectly, this is definitely a beginner project. As a matter of fact, you do not want them to be perfect. You want each strip to be just a little bit off from the others, a little bit different. Otherwise, you start to see a very even pattern and it kind of defeats the purpose of this particular project, of this particular skirt. This skirt has a lot of motion, a lot of movement. You will see the nice lines of the dancer’s legs yet still have their legs slightly covered up. It is a great project to complete.
Supplies:
- Fabric of Your Choice for the Strips
- Lycra Fabric for Waistband that Matches, Corresponds or Contrasts Strips
- Matching Threads
- Elastic
- Pins
- Scissors
- Measuring Tape
- Sewing Machine
Directions:
- Choosing Your Materials
The first step is to determine the fabric of your choice that you want to use for the strips. I prefer to use two or three different types of material. The strips could also be all one color or a variety of colors. I suggest that you use at least three different fabrics. However, if you can do more, that is even better. If you find a lot that really work together, you could go as many as five but I would not go more than five. For the purpose of this demonstration, I have used Lycra, mesh, and lace all of which are the same color – white.
The second thing to choose is the Lycra that you will use for the waistband. The reason I suggest Lycra for the waistband is that it has plenty of body and it stretches. Assuming one of the fabric strips is Lycra, the waistband could be made from that same Lycra. The color could be the same color as one of the strips, complement or contrast the strips. These are choices that will be determined solely by your vision of what you want the skirt to look like.
- Cutting the Fabric Strips
I have already cut some fabric strips for this skirt. I have cut strips of white Lycra and white lace. I am now going to cut some strips from the white mesh.
To cut the strips, you need to fold the fabric lengthwise in half and then in half again. Make sure it is nice and even. Then cut strips perpendicular to the folds in various widths. The strips do not have to be perfect because you do not want them to be uniform. You want some different widths, different thicknesses and different fabrics. Just go ahead and cut the strips randomly. I am going to cut a strip an inch wide, the next one about two inches wide and then the third one is somewhere in between and another one about an inch wide. If the strips are all even in width, they will look more like stripes rather than different flowing pieces.
I like the different textures created by using Lycra, lace and mesh. If you cut the lines straight, it will work out perfectly.
As I unfold the long strips that I have cut, you can see that they are kind of crooked, kind of “off.” The strips are very long, so I am going to cut them down into lengths. In this particular instance, I am going to refold the strips in thirds. Then, I am going to cut them through the folds at the top and the bottom which will create three separate strips out of the one length. This method will be a lot faster than trying to measure each strip. So, I have these three piles of strips that I am mixing up. You want to make sure there is no rhyme, no reason to it. Make sure that there is no pattern to it because that will stand out and will be very noticeable. Now that I have cut the three fabrics in this manner, I now have three piles of strips.
- Creating the Waistband
I am also going to need a length of Lycra for the waistband. I am going to fold the Lycra in half lengthwise so that the insides are together. I have already measured the elastic to go around the girl’s waist so that elastic is the right length. When you are sewing the elastic to the waistband, you want to be careful that you have about a quarter inch of Lycra left over past the elastic to the folded edge of the Lycra just to space it so that when the elastic is turned right side out, the elastic will be snug but it will not make the elastic curl. If the Lycra is too much wider than the width of the elastic, there will be too much fabric and the waistband will not look good. If the width of the Lycra is too small, the elastic will curl. Having the waistband a quarter of an inch wider works perfectly and allows the elastic to lay flat making the waistband nice and smooth.
- Sewing the Waistband
First of all, I want to point out that for this demonstration I am using thread that contrasts with the color of the waistband and the strips so that you can easily see it. However, you should use thread that matches the fabric you are using so the thread is invisible.
Place the waistband material with the elastic under the pressure foot with the needle inserted into both the fabric and the elastic. Set the machine with a straight stitch. If you have a stretch stitch, that is better but you want to make sure the fabric is not laying funny. If you have an over lock machine, that is even better. I am going to line the edge of the elastic up with the raw edge of the Lycra but with the elastic just a shade from the actual edge. Then, I am going to sew the elastic to the waistband stitching along that raw edge and with a quarter inch excess on the folded edge. Stitch right on the raw edge of the elastic. Now, I like to have a little extra fabric on this raw edge side so that the elastic is not right up to the raw edge. The reason for that is if it is too close to the raw edge and you mess up when you turn the waistband right side out, you will be in trouble. As I stitch, I make sure that the Lycra stays flat and that I keep the fabric and the elastic taut. Keep that quarter of an inch excess on the folded edge side going. Keep sewing until you get to the very end.
Trim any excess of the raw edge off. Go all the way to the edge of the elastic without cutting the elastic. Just go slow if you need to, especially if it is your first time doing this. Do not worry about it. Then what you need to do is turn the waistband right side out.
I have already gone through the above steps to create a waistband to use in this demonstration so I will just use that waistband instead of taking the time to turn the waistband inside out and not to use your time to create a new waistband.
When you have completed all of the above steps, you will end up with an even finish on the front making a nice clean belt. On the back you are going to get a fold. I like to keep this fold at the top so that I can sew everything down below it. I am going to fold the belt in half with the front sides together and matching the ends of the belt. That it works its way up to the waistline. So I have the length of the belt exactly where it should be minus an inch or you could go two inches. With the belt just a bit smaller than the waist, the elastic has to stretch and that keeps the waistband in place. Have the dancer try the belt on, overlap the ends and pin the ends of the belt together with a safety pin. Play around with it so that you can make sure it stays where it is supposed to be. Have her move around a little. Then, when she moves, see how it feels and how it moves. If it is too tight or too loose, this is the time to adjust the safety pin so that it works for the dancer. Once you get your appropriate spot, then straight stitch the overlapped ends of the waistband together up and back down over the overlapped portion. Make sure to lock that stitch in by backstitching each end. Since there is going to be a lot of pressure on that spot, stitch back and forth a couple of times at the beginning and end. Now, I like to take the ends of the waistband, open it up and fold the ends down away from the seam. Then I sew those ends down and stitch those ends down in this open position parallel to the edge of the waistband. I stitch these ends down on the top and the bottom.. I am now going to take this and put it in the machine with that edge on the top. */
- Sewing the Strips to the Waistband
You can work from the back side with the waistband on the bottom. That allows you to see if the strips are lying on the waistband the way they should. However, I sometimes like to work from the front side with the front of the waistband facing up and the strips underneath. This way I can watch the stitching.
If you want the skirt to go all the way around, then start at the back and work your way all around the waistband. If you want it to be a half skirt, you can just measure exactly where you want the skirt to start on the front and end on the back or start on one side and work your way around to the other. In this particular case, I am going to go ahead and attach the strips all way around the whole waistband. The next step is to sew the strips onto the waistband. Remember, you have a few choices. You can pin the top of the strip flat on the waistband or you can pinch it a little which will give the strip a little texture. I tend to like it pinched just a smidge.
So, I am going to put the first strip in place and using a zigzag stitch or stretch stitch sew back and forth over the top of the strip. Make sure to back stitch before going forward just to make sure the stitches stays in place. Then I am randomly going to add the strips. Some strips I will pinch and some I will not. Sometimes I will use the pinch method a little bit. Sometimes I use it a lot. It is okay if you do it the same way twice in a row once in a while because it breaks up any pattern. Just keep feeding the strips into the feed dog. Feed the strips in randomly. Use the Lycra, lace and mesh strips randomly. Do not have any order in which you use the material or when you pinch the material or not. Continue to sewing these pieces to the waistband until you get to the spot where you want the skirt to end – either all the way around or to a pre-designated spot. When you get to the end, stop stitching and then back stitch to make sure that you overstitch the end. Once you put it on the dancer, you will determine the length you want the skirt to be and cut it accordingly.
So, here is a finished skirt with all of the strips sewn on it. You can use more strips on the skirt if you wish. I always put the skirt on the girl, play with it and then check to see if there are any spots that need more strips. You will want to stretch the waistband and make sure none of the threads on the waistband snap. I do suggest using a stretch stitch or zigzag stitch across the top of the elastic because otherwise some of the threads will probably snap when the girl is putting the skirt on and off. Using a zigzag or stretch stitch will make a big difference in preventing broken stitches.
They are now going to trim the “skirt” to the length they want. I make it a habit to cut the strips longer than needed because I can always go back and trim them but I can never add length. So, I will just lay the skirt down and measure out the length that I want the skirt to be. In this particular case, I have already determined that I want the length to be 13 inches past the belt. Once I have measured the needed 13 inches, I can just cut the strips to that desired length. If you want you could pin the skirt to mark the length to cut but I just simply move the scissors straight across the strips without pinning it. It makes it nice and quick. You want to make sure all of these pieces are smoothed down and then keep cutting across. If the strips are not lying down smoothly, the lengths will not be uniform. After you have cut the strips’ lengths, you always want to pick the skirt up and shake it a little and then lay it back down again. There is usually going to be a piece of two, a straggler that becomes noticeable when you do that and you can then cut these stragglers to match the other strips.
For this demonstration, I cut the skirt straight across making the hem even all the way around. An alternative to that straight hem is to cut each individual strip in a “V” at the bottom thus creating a zigzag hem.
So there you go. This technique is just that easy.
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