Fabulous Free Pattern Friday

Today's pattern is a fun skirt, at least I think so! The top portion of the skirt is just a tube and the lower portion of the skirt has all the interest. It was a makeup free day, so no face!

The Faux Ruffled Tiers Skirt

 

 The lower portion is simply rows of strips that are sewn so the it gives the appearance of ruffles.

 Each strip graduates in circumference. As you can see in the picture below, the strips form a circle, but they are just rectangular strips sewn one to the other.

To begin, you will need your hip measurement and the length that you would like the top portion of your skirt to be.  I made my skirt out of a knit, so I did not add ease. You can also see in the above picture that I took my skirt in along the sides at the waist as I wanted a smooth fit around my waist.
Once you have made the rectangular tube for the top portion of your skirt, cut strips that are at least twice your hip measurement by 2" wide. You can see in the above pictures that I did not finish the seams. Be sure to use a fabric that does not fray unless that is the look you want. If you want 5 rows as I have, you will need approximately 8 strips. The last 3 tiers will require more than one strip.

 Once you have the top portion of your skirt completed, and your strips cut, use a marking pencil and place a small dot at 1 1/2" intervals around the lower portion of your skirt.

You will sew the strip to the lower edge of the skirt with a 1/8" seam allowance for 1 1 /2". The next 1 1 /2 " will be left unsewn. Look closely at the picture above and you can see that I am holding a portion of the strip in the unsewn area. The strip will be 1" larger than the opening, so 2 1/2". Continue around the skirt until you come to the end. Sew the ends of the strip together and move to the second row.
For the second row, you will alternate the open section with the sewn section so that the open sections on the second strip are not in line with the open sections of the first strip. For the second row, you will have 2 1/2" of the strip in the open section, which is just below the sewn section of the first row, and 2 1/2" that will be sewn as you did in the previous row.
For the third row, you will alternate as you did for the second row. The open section will measure 3 1/2" and the the sewn sections will measure 2 1/2". The reason for this is that the open section just above only measures 2 1/2".
For the fourth row, the open section will measure 3 1/2" and the sewn section will measure 3 1/2".
For the fifth row, the open section will measure 4 1/2" and the sewn section will measure 3 1/2".
If you would like more rows, keep going in this manner until you have reached the length that you want.

 I'm wearing last week's Sleeves On Saturday top. Sorry that the pictures are clearer.

You can see how light and airy the tiers are. The lower portion of the skirt really moves when you walk. It's very easy to do,the tiers just take a bit of time.