Three Seam Skirt

When it comes to summer in the DC area, skirts and dresses are where it's at if a lady is going to keep her cool whatsoever.  And Pinterest is where it's at to get inspiration, tutorials and motivation to make skirts.  Just check out my Details in the Fabric pinboard and this skirt in particular by Dixie DIY and you will see that I've been a little obsessed with skirts as of late. 

I wanted to make something really easy, light and fun, so I settled on a basic elastic waist, knee-length style.  I had fabric that had been waiting around for me to decide what to do with it...seriously, I'd had this fabric since 2009...  I found it on the $2.97/yard table at G Street, and I bought the entire piece, which ended up being like 4 yards.

A while back, I had made some pajama pants (that I loved so much, and that recently they basically disintegrated on my body due to years of wear) with a super wide elastic waistband.  I thought that this concept would carry over well to a skirt, so I busted out my 2" elastic.  And of course, basic white thread.

The fabric was 54" wide, and most of the gathered skirt tutorials I had been reading said I should be able to wrap the fabric around my waist/hips one and a half times.  Without releasing my exact measurements to the world wide web, let's just say that 54" was plenty.  I went with it.  I guestimated on the length -- I knew I wanted the whole height of the pattern, with a little white at the top, and that turned out to be 27", factoring in a 2" elastic waistband foldover, and 3/4" hem.  The finished length is 22".

As for the assembly...

Folded the fabric in half, width-wise, and sewed the two selvadges together to create the back seam. 

Pressed the seam allowance open.

Folded over the top edge a 1/2" and press.  Then fold over again 2 1/2" and press.  Sew with 1/4" seam allowance at the first fold, leaving a 3" opening to feed the elastic through.  This makes the elastic casing.

Attach a large safety pin to one end of the elastic, and feed it through the casing.

Once the elastic goes through the whole casing, stitch the two elastic ends together.  Stitch the remaining 3" opening of the casing.  Adjust the elastic inside the casing so the gathering is even.

To hem the skirt, fold the bottom raw edge 1/2" and press.  Fold again at 3/4" and press.  Stitch 1/8" from the folded edge.

And there you have it!  A three seam skirt!  Easy peasy, and cute to boot!

As I mentioned above, I went with a 2" elastic waistband...in this case, I think a smooth 2" waistband would have been more flattering than a gathered elastic waistband.  I think it adds some unnecessary bulk, which is why I styled it with a chunky belt.  Nevertheless, this skirt will be in regular rotation this summer, both at work and at play!