Friday, March 1, 2013

The Lazy Seamstress ::: Full Gathered Skirt Tutorial

Today is my birthday, and I wanted something new for myself.  What I really wanted was a heavy circle skirt made out of luscious material.  But I DO own a sewing machine, and I DON'T have a very large disposable income.........

So I made one.



Three things you should know about THIS seamstress.

1.  I am a lazy seamstress.  I don't like to sew fussy things.  I don't like to measure, let alone add interfacing, binding, zippers, and the like.  I CAN do those things, I just prefer not to.

2.  I don't "do" patterns.  Every time I do, I feel like I'm taking my physics finals all over again.  I start to get the shakes, sweat all over the fabric, and sew things inside out and backwards.  Without fail. Every. single. time.

3.  I don't "write" patterns either.  I fiddle around with something, fold it, twist it, and make something up on the spot.  I'm usually lucky if I can remember what I did the next day.  So, please excuse me if this tutorial sucks raw lemons.  I thought this was too easy to screw up, and hopefully I'm right! :)


Materials:
6 yards (or less if you want it less "full") of whatever fabric you have lying around.  I happened to have this lovely dupioni I've been hoarding for over a year.
Length of 3/4" elastic to match your waist.
OPTIONAL: ribbon trim for "waistband".  Whatever length your fabric is.  I highly recommend the trim, as it hides the "laziness" of your double duty casing/waistband.




There are only 3!! steps to this "Lazy women's skirt."  I figure it will make more sense if I tell the story in my pitiful mousepaint pictures than if I tried to over-explain it with inadequate wording.

You COULD french seam, add a "real" waistband, increase the casing size for wider elastic, add trim to the bottom, etc.  This is just a starting point. :)

***CLICK PHOTOS TO ENLARGE if you can't read them***

















See?  It's easy. It took me ten minutes.  If you have questions, don't be shy!  Now I just need a gold tank to go with this, and some new shoes.  Man, how I wish I could just make THOSE.  Imagine..... making your own shoes.  I'd never leave the house.

♥Rose

9 comments:

  1. thanks for the tutorial Rose ! LOL
    lazy seamstress ..........

    Happy Birthday !!!!!!!

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  2. Wow, I think I could even do that! I do like to be fussy and follow patterns, but for some reason not with skirts. I want to make a skirt and I think I can just whip it up with no problem. And it always fails. This looks easy enough though! =)
    Happy Birthday again!

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  3. Lovely Rose. So easy and thanks for sharing.

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  4. 6 yards of fabric is far from lazy! I might fall asleep before I got through half of the hemming. Phew! :D

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