inside: Sew up a summer skirt for a beautiful wardrobe item you will want to wear everyday. Simple summer skirt with elastic waistband and optional pockets.
Have you been noticing the summer trend? I’m sharing sewing tutorials/patterns and ideas every Wed.. and I’m trying to go every other week with ME {women’s} ideas and kids sewing projects. This week I’ve got a super simple summer skirt sewing tutorial for you. If you have a sewing machine collecting dust, this is the perfect project to dust it off and sew something for yourself. The skirt is easy to sew and fully sizable based on measurements…
**Updated with new photos**
My favorite part? I put in pockets!!! Pockets make everything better!!!
Summer Skirt Sewing Tutorial
for this project you will need 3″ elastic – long enough to go around your waist, and 2/3 yards of light cotton fabric depending on fabric width. You can get great deals on beautiful fabric through Craftsy and Fabric.com!
Measure your waist {or where you want the skirt to sit}_______ {mine is 28} X 2=______ {me 56}
Cut two panels the x2 width {me 56″}. Measure from your waist to knee {or where you want the skirt to fall} ______ MY fabric was really wide and I was able to cut it in half and then have two panels. Add 3 inches for hem. total length_____
Now you should have to rectangle panels. The fabric should be 4x your waist. Cut pockets using the pocket template here. {just updated old link 4/22}
cut out 4 pockets… you can use different fabric if you don’t have enough of the skirt fabric left.
hold the fabric up to your front and estimate how far down you want the pockets on your sides. Mark where the top of the pocket should be and pin pocket there. Sew right sides together. Both skirt front and back should have 1 pocket side on each side.
Now, sew the side seams. sew down from top, AROUND the pocket, then down the rest of the side.
Trim the bottom if needed…
Sew your elastic waistband to fit your waist/hips as desired. Pre-gather the top of the skirt. I ran it though my serger to gather. You can also use your regular sewing machine. Gather to double the size of the elastic.
Mark four equal parts on the skirt and four equal marks on the band. Pin at these places, then stretch and sew the skirt to the elastic band. Back side of band to front side of skirt. The inside looks like this.
And you’re done!! I wore it with a tank here and the white shirt below and loved both. The skirt is really full, so a more fitted shirt looks good. Let me know if you have any questions while trying this summer skirt sewing tutorial, I’m here to help!!!
Here are a few more free sewing patterns and tutorials for women.
Melanie says
Is this just cotton fabric?
Emily says
yep, In the instructions it mentions that this is just light cotton…
Joy Candrian says
Thanks Emily, I’m going to try this tutorial this weekend. I’m thinking one of my old Hawaiian lava lava clothes would be fun to use since it’s light & airy.
Emily says
Oh it would be perfect with that material… so light!
Clare says
Oh I can’t tell you how much I love this skirt! I have a wardrobe full of thrifted dresses that i want to turn into skirts so I’m going to give this pattern a try, and I LOVE that it has pockets!
Emily says
great!! I would love to see photos of what you make!
Elise says
Super cute! I love this Emily. This looks like a sewing project even I might be able to manage!
Emily says
you can do it!!! An easy sewing project!! ;o)
Julia says
That’s so cute!!!! I think I might try it! <3
Emily says
you should! it’s not too hard! ;o)
Pam @Threading My Way says
Your skirt will be lovely and cool for Summer, Emily. Looks great on you!!!
Carmody says
Well done! Such a cute skirt.
susan broadhurst says
Beautiful fabric, skirt looks amazing im definitely going to try this
Kat says
I’m new to sewing. What type of stitch should I use if I don’t have a serger?
Emily says
You can use a zig zag or a regular straight stitch… If the fabric is fraying a lot I might do both down the sides… straight stitch, then zig zag…
Kat says
Thank you! Also, what do you mean by pre-gather the top of the skirt? Scrunch it together? Again, I don’t have a serger so whatever I can do on a regular sewing machine. Thanks so much!!
Patricia says
I love this skirt so much and can’t wait to try it! But I do have a question before I do anything…how long should the elastic be? Using your measurements, should it be 28 inches?
Emily says
measure your waist with the wide elastic and go by feel for the length. Add 1 inch for seam allowance…
Patricia says
Thank you for your amazingly quick reply, Emily! I will be sure to send you a picture when I complete it.
Lois says
Ty. Love it.Im going to try this. And I think I even have the fabric.
Emily says
yeah! its a great one!
Aaron says
I’m going to try this on the weekend, but i’m new to sewing, at which point do I sew the bottom hem?
Emily says
You can sew the hem last ;o)
Ashley says
Hi! I was wondering how much fabric I would need to make this skirt with a 38″ waist.
Gillian Cunningham Wright says
Lovely skirt, thank you for sharing it.
Michelle says
Hi,
Where do you find your 3 inch elastic? Is this something you order online or have you had luck finding it at JoAnn’s or Hancock Fabrics? Thanks so much for this adorable tutorial!
Lena says
Love the skirt and I’m very keen to make one. As a beginner, could you tell me how do you pre gather the material on a normal sewing machine?
Emily says
Sew around the top with a LONG stitch…you can check out this tutorial. http://prudentbaby.com/2012/05/baby-kid/clothing/gathering-how-to-gather-fabric/
Make sure its still bigger than your waist. THEN stretch and sew it to the elastic… hope this helps!
Lena says
That’s great. Thank you!
Lynda says
Emily – is this repurposed fabric that you used or do you have a site where we could find it? Very cute skirt- thanks for the tutorial.
Lynda says
Emily – is this re-purposed fabric that you used or do you have a site where we could find it? Very cute skirt- thanks for the tutorial.
Emily says
This fabric was given to me by a friend, but I THINK it was from IKEA a few years ago… I’m not sure though. Sorry I can’t help more!