Fabulous Free Pattern Friday

For those of you who have been following along for some time, you will remember that when I first started the weekly rectangle series, it began as "Rectangles, Squares and Circles." Not a very catchy title. My intent has always been to encourage people to sew and to show just how easy it is to create wonderful pieces with a minimal amount of effort.. I'm sure that I am no different than many of you, if sewing had not been a part of my life, well first of all, there was a time that I would not have had clothes to wear and I am not exaggerating. But more importantly, I have made friends and opportunities have come to me through people I have met along the way, all of which have enriched my life in such an abundant way. So much so that I hope to pass along the joy of sewing and hopefully others will gain what I have along the way.Today's post is pulled out of that original series but I would like for it to be included in the Fabulous Free Pattern Friday series as well. Actually, the two series are the same, just a different title. You can see the original post here.

The fabric for this skirt was purchased at High Fashion Fabrics in Houston, Texas, a wonderful store.
Making this into a skirt only takes a few easy steps.

Begin by sewing the center back seam. Divide the waist line into four equal parts. For the waistband, I like a 1 1/2" wide elastic. Take the elastic and put it around your waist, pull it until it is comfortable to you. Cut it and sew it together. Divide the elastic into 4 equal parts and match this up to the divided waistline of the skirt.

To attach the elastic to the skirt, I like to serge the 2 together. You can also use a sewing machine and zigzag the 2 together.

For this particular skirt, I tacked the waistband to the center back seam and made a few tacks around as I did not want stitching to show.

The finished piece as a skirt, which I might add that I no longer own. My niece took one look at it and fell in love. I couldn't resist, so the skirt went home with her. I love to make her smile!!

Now you can see why I didn't want a stitching line around the top. It's really cute as a strapless top, or it can be worn with a t-shirt underneath.

It also makes a fun little poncho!

I found another piece of the same type of fabric in a small store in Granby, Colorado. I got to keep this one!

I did not totally cop out today and just pull up an old post. I bought this piece from High Fashion Fabrics as well. So pretty.

It's just a little different from the other pieces as it is one continuous piece. If you are interested, they do have a number of pieces of this fabric and they do ship. In order to make the skirt, cut the piece in half which is the white area in the picture above. Rather than just 1 center back seam, you will have 2 side seams. Divide the waist line into 4 equal parts as in the other skirt and do the same with the elastic.

Serge the elastic to the top of the skirt.

For this piece, I zigzagged the elastic waistband down.

The skirt is really pretty, but I have a problem. It's confession time. I didn't try on the skirt before I sewed in the elastic. Once it was finished, I put it on and it is miles too big. The elastic is fine as that was measured, but the skirt is swimming on me. So a word to the wise, try things on before you finish them. I can easily fix this, but I will have to take out the elastic and then take up the side seams and then put the elastic back in. Bummer, but all my own fault.
Wishing you all a wonderful start to the weekend.
Rhonda