Thrifty Thursday

When I was in high school this skirt was very popular. I really wanted one, but for whatever reason, it just didn't happen. The skirt is very hippy-boho. I loved it then and I love it now.

I found the skirt pictured above on this website, along with a free pattern. Score!! The only problem was that I wasn't exactly sure how to print off the pattern. Now those of you who are more computer literate than I am(and that doesn't take much!), I'm sure know exactly how to do it. I struggled around for a bit and this is how I did it. I clicked on the images of the pattern and saved them. The measurements were given for the width of the top of the skirt, so I printed out that page first to see if I had the right dimensions. I did, so I continued to print out the rest of the pages. The nice thing about this pattern is that it is basically 1 size fits all and there are only 6 pages to print out.
Here's my version of the skirt.

As you can see, I did not make the skirt as a wrap. I decided that I would enjoy it more as a normal skirt. I am VERY pleased with how the skirt turned out.
If you decide to print out the pattern, this is what mine looked like once I printed it and taped it together.

 I also decided to not make my skirt a patchwork skirt, so once the pattern pieces were together, I simply pinned them together to make 1 pattern piece.
A few notes about the pattern.
1. There is no grainline included. Once I pinned my pattern pieces together, I folded the pattern in half at the waistline and created a grainline.
2. There are no notches. The notch that is the most important is where the tip of the "j" matches up to the previous piece. Once I cut out all of my pieces, I simply laid 2 pieces together as if I was going to sew them together and I marked where the "j" would join the previous piece and then I transferred that mark to the rest of my pieces.
3. If you look at the diagram above, you will see that if you make this a wrap skirt, you will need to cut off the lower end of the "j" of the last attached piece or it will hang below the hem of the skirt.
All of the above items are easy to fix issues.
If you decide to make this into a regular skirt as I did, you will need to add a zipper. The waistline will also need to be adjusted. Once I had my pieces together, I simply tried the skirt on and pinched it in around the waist until I had a good fit.
I did not line my skirt, just serged the seams and used a piece of bias tape to finish the hem.

The waistline was finished with a piece of petersham ribbon. Please do not confuse petersham with regular grossgrain ribbon.

 Prior to sewing the pertersham into my garment, I shape it with the iron.

 As you can see, it now has the shape of the waistline of the skirt.

To attach the ribbon to the waistline, I begin by sewing a stitch along the seamline of the waist of the skirt. I then lay the edge of the petersham right along the edge of that seam and edge stitch the petersham to the skirt.  

Once the petersham has been attached. I sew small tacks at each seam to hold the petersham in place.

The edges are stitched down along the zipper and I attach my hook and a thread loop.

 My skirt is finished and ready to wear!

If you decide to give the pattern a try, you can lengthen it at the waistline to your desired length. As for the the amount of panels you will need, simply measure your hips and cut the appropriate amount of panels.

I am going to post a picture of me in the skirt for Me Made Monday. Like I said, I REALLY like the skirt and I will be making another.