Twirl Certified Skirts

So here are the ingredients:
1. one measuring stick (or substitute for a 3x5 index card)
2. one of something to cut with (utility knife, sissors, teeth)
3. one sheet of cardboard at least 18"x5"
4. material (I use 5 different colors) - you'll need 15 inches of each
5. pineapple.  Not sure why that's there, but it looks good, right?
6. 1" elastic - cut to however round your waist is
7. pencil
8. sewing machine
9. stitch ripper (not because *you* need it but because *I* need it)
10. paddle (to threaten children who take your scissors to bring them back)

So, use the index card here to mark your 5" spot on your cardboard (the 5 inches is the wider part of the 3X5 card, the skinnier part of the card is exactly 3 inches - funny how that works, right? - so you don't really even need a measuring stick!) I show you using the 3X5 card because I'm open to substitutions and adaptations.

Now, you have to determine how long you want the skirt - I opted for 18 inches (you will add another 5 inches later - so the total length of the skirt will be from waste to bottom - 23 inches)

Draw a line from the 5" mark to the 3" mark that is 18" long - so, it's not really a perfect rectangle more like a trapezoid - not that I remember that from 10th grade geometry - maybe it's rhombus?  But I know it's not a rectangle.

Pull out the handy dandy cutting utensil - my utility knife was very dull - we installed sod this fall - and that's the utensil of choice to square up the extra sod & go around the landscaping & stuff - it was frustrating to use - so I ran around the house looking for scissors - my kids took them - they think they can take whatever is in the house - except my haircutting scissors - so I took those to cut the cardboard with - I did this for your tutorial - don't laugh at my husband next time you see his hair cut  mkaythanks.

See the shape of the thing I cut?  Okay - so that's what you want to draw on your fabric - and you double up on the fabric - so you draw 3 of those odd shapes, but really you're cutting 6.

Look closely above, you can see my pencil lines - I change that cardboard shape back & forth so the skinny end is against the fat end on the next cut - so when you draw/cut three rhombi (or trapezoid, whatever it is) you're really only have to cut one line between the two pieces, you get? At this point, I have to stop again, because I'm feeling guilt about using my hair cutting scissors to cut cardboard & material - I run around the house for another 15 minutes looking in all the kids' special hiding places for them - and didn't find them.  Nope, nowhere.

BUT, I did find my rotary cutter in the fish food drawer.  YAY - seriously - if you guys don't have one of these - GET one - and then hope that some rotten kid didn't damage one part of the wheel so that you have a nice 3 inch cut with a little itty bitty not-cut - causing your material to be more perforated than cut.  But either way - this this is like buttah.

So, here's what you end up with...I cut 6 of each color (12 of the orange, because I used it between each of the fruit patterns) - so I have "4" colors

Sew these pieces together, alternating however you like. - right sides together, obviously - I don't need to tell YOU that...(that note is for ME - which is why I put a stitch ripper on my ingredient list)



At this point, you'll be needing to stop and answer the phone, no not that one, the battery is dead...go find another one...yah, that one's battery is dead, too...get the one stuck to the wall...okay - now that you answered the phone, you need to go pick up a kid from school - cause he's sick - yep, the very one that did something to your rotary cutter, and now you can't yell at him, because, well, he's sick.  And he already feels bad...So pick him up - but don't let him watch TV, that'll show him to mess with your rotary cutter...now, back to sewing.

look - it's so easy - even an 11 year old hippie chick can do it!

Okay - so now we have all the vertical pieces sewn together - this is an OPTION - you add this for length - or if you want a "cleaner" place to thread your waste-band - I used gingham here - because it has those cool grids on them (and it was part of my inheritance from my mom - it's like 40 years old - and coming back into style - I can totally use it here, it matches!) anyway - so I counted the grids and then cut along the 15th one - cause that looked good.

then fold it in half - and make sure whatever thickness elastic you choose fits in the tube you're about to sew.

Now...sew the tube, and again, make sure that you can still thread the elastic into it!



Now, sew your tube to the top part of your skirt, like so....

Okay - so that was the OPTIONAL part - if you don't do that, then fold the top part of your skirt down about an inch & a half and thread your elastic through that part.

Next: take another piece of gingham - this is going to be about 15 squares wide - (lets say about 5 inches - if you're not doing gingham) and it will be pieced together so it's as long as the bottom part of the skirt.  Hem it.  But have the stitch ripper handy, just in case you do something stupid...

like hem it into the outside of the skirt - so - rip it out - careful not to tear your mom's scrap 40 year old gingham fabric up - and then try it again....

Then put another stitch right along side the first hem, it just keeps it cleaner through laundry - and running around & stuff.



Now, sew the correct side of bottom strip to the bottom part of the skirt - so you won't need the stitch ripper any more....(but don't put it away just yet)

now, close the skirt up - end to end - sew it - and now you have one big huge circle.

Thread your elastic through the tube you made on the top - and because you don't want to use the stitch ripper again, you'll be needing to cut two little slits; one on each side of the hem you just closed up with you made the skirt into one big circle.  But it's okay - cause it's on the inside - and you can't really see - just looks like a tag or something.

And there's your skirt - this one is for the almost 12 year old 5 foot tall girl - not the two pictured up top - I used 12 inch long strips for them - one I added the extra "optional" tube for elastic and for length - cause she's 3 years taller than the smaller one; and the smaller one, I just folded the top of the skirt over to make a tube for the elastic waist (it shortens the skirt - in case you hadn't figured that out already).

~Heidi