Is It Easy to Sew a Maxie Skirt

This skirt can be completed during nap time, it's that quick and easy! The folded over yoga waist band makes this skirt extra comfortable too.

We think it would also be cute with our fun DIY DIVA tee in our shop. You made the skirt, flaunt it!

After following probably 5 maxi skirt tutorials and discovering they didn't work out well, I decided to take matters into my own hands and now I'm going to show you all how to make a maxi skirt. A bunch of tutorials out there have you cut the bottom of the skirt straight across, which just doesn't work too well when you put it on. I discovered that the skirt needs to have a slight curve so your side seams aren't poking out saying hello to everyone. So grab you supplies and lets get started on this maxi skirt tutorial!

*Tips:

• Keep in mind that I always sew at the edge of my presser foot.
• Be careful not to stretch the fabric as you sew. Widen the stitch length a little so it's easier to sew.
• Needles go bad after 6 hours of use, so throw them away regularly to save the life of your sewing machine. Be careful which needle you use. See below...

Supplies:

• Use a ballpoint needle. It's designed for jersey knit fabric and keeps it from fraying where it pierces. Other needles will fray your jersey knit fabric with each pierce. I linked to some that fit all sewing machines.
• 1-3/4 yards of jersey knit fabric or stretchy fabric
• Scissors, rotary cutter, and mat
• Ruler or measuring tape
• Pins and sewing machine (Meg uses the Project Runway machine and loves it) with matching thread
• Chalk or a bar of soap to mark
• Iron

Lay out fabric the same way it comes in the bolt, or in other words, the fold is on the left and the selvage edge is on the right.

Measure your waist. Mine is 28". Divide that number by 2 to get your "half waist measurement". So that makes my "half waist measurement" 14".

Cut a rectangle at the fold that measures 12" down and your half waist measurement across.

Sew a zig zag stitch down the opposite side of the fold, creating a tube. Set this piece aside for later.

Turn your fabric around so you have a fresh clean edge at the top, the fold at one side, and the selvage said an the other.

At top of fabric, find center and mark with pin.

With your measuring tape, take your "half waist measurement" (mine is 14") and stretch it across the center mark evenly. I have 7" on either side of the center mark. Pin to mark top sides.

Find the length of skirt by measuring from your hip bone down to the floor, or wherever you want the skirt to end. Mine is 34".  Add 2", which makes mine 36". From the top center mark, measure down the middle length of the skirt and put a pin in the center bottom of the skirt.

To mark the sides, take the length measurement (mine is 34") and add 1" (mine equals 35"). From the top side mark, measure down the length of the skirt to the edge of the fabric (35" in my case) and mark with a pin at appropriate length. Run a line of chalk against the measuring tape so you can see where to cut.

Repeat on other side.

With chalk marks, this is what it will look like.

At the bottom of the skirt, draw a gentle, slightly curved line from the bottom side mark, then to the middle curve mark, then to the other side mark.

Cut off the bottom...

Cut off the sides.

Pin the sides

Sew a zig zag stitch down the sides.

Go back to your rectangle piece.

At the seam, put your hand through it like a tube to shake it open.

Fold the wrong sides together. Now it's half the height it used to be (should be 6" tall).

Lay it flat...

Pin at 4 even points. Start with the side seam, pin it. Yes there are two layers to pin through. Then mark directly opposite with a pin. Then mark the sides with pins. All 4 pins should be equally apart.

Pull the skirt right side out. Mark the 4 equal sections of the top of the skirt the same way you did the waist band. One pin at each side seam, one pin in the front center, and one pin in the back center.

Lay the waist band and skirt like so; pins at the top.

Scrunch the skirt together...

so that it easily slides into the center of the waistband.

Line up side pins, front pin, and back pin. Make sure the side seam on the skirt lines up perfectly with the side seam on the waist band. Pin the skirt to the waist band.

Sew a zig zag stitch around.

It should look like this when you unfold the waist band.

Hem the bottom. Since it is curved, it can be tricky and you really need to use an iron. Fold the edge up 1/2" and iron all around. "Press" with iron rather than rubbing it back and forth.

Roll once more, press with iron, and pin in place.

Sew hem with a straight stitch at the edge of the presser foot. Be careful not to stretch the fabric as you go.

Once sewn, iron one last time for a very finished look.

All done! Not too bad at all... I fold the waist band over for a better fit and cute style. Good luck to you all as you sew!

Stephanie

Sisters Meg and Steph discovered that while living the life of poor, newlywed, college students, with fresh little babies in the middle of The Great Recession they could still have what they needed and wanted if they got to work and created things with their own hands. This mindset has saved them thousands of dollars in living expenses, and as they share their knowledge with others, the savings keeps growing.

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Source: https://www.doityourselfdivas.com/2013/10/diy-maxi-skirt-with-yoga-waist-band.html

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