Round and Round Skirt

The whole reason for the party shoe redeux I showed you last week was because I knew that those sparkly pink shoes would look adorable with this circle skirt I made.

Even though it is a Christmas print, I love the Alexander Henry 2D Zoo in Yuletide.  It was the perfect fabric for our zoo themed party.  Once I saw the adorable animals dressed in scarves and the wrapped presents interspersed, I knew I wanted to use this fabric to make an outfit for my little one's special day.

After much thought, I decided to make a circle skirt.  My little girl calls it her round and round birthday skirt. There's something about that poodle skirt styling that screams PARTAY!

All of the circle skirt tutorials I looked at out there have the elastic waist band showing.  This wasn't the look I was going for.  I wanted the skirt to look tailored and dressy. I also wanted the skirt to be nice and full (to increase the twirling factor), so I added the white layer underneath. Paired with her matching party hat headband and a sparkly pink sweater from H&M, it turned out to be a darling outfit as evidenced in the picture below.   

Want to make a double layer circle skirt with an encased waistband for yourself or someone you love? Here's how I did it:

First, I had to figure out the measurements. This took a little math.   Nothing that an old English teacher couldn't handle though.  I used Dana's tutorial @ Made to determine my initial measurements and create my templates for the two different layers.

Once I had made my two templates, I folded the fabric so I could cut all four layers at once and cut the white underskirt into one circular piece.  I made this template an inch and a half longer than the printed fabric so the white would stick out on the bottom. 

Also, since I was working with a directional print for the top layer, I could not fold the fabric and simply cut the pieces at once like the white fabric.  I ended up adding 3/8" seam allowance to either side of the template so I could cut each panel separately (a total of four panels).  This is only necessary to do if you have a didrectional fabric like this one.

Once my pieces were cut, I sewed the four panels of the printed fabric together and serged the edges.

Then, I sewed the two layers together right sides facing one another around the inside circle. Here is what it looked like at this point:

Next, I turned the skirt inside out and pressed it.  It gave it a very crisp circular edge in the center like this:

Once it was pressed, I used my purple erasable fabric marker to mark  1 1/4" all around the waist.
Using the dots as a guide, I topstitched all the way around, leaving a  2" space in the topstitching to insert my elastic in between the two layers.

A safety pin helped me guide the one inch elastic into the casing once it was cut to my daughter's waist measurement.  I always subtract an inch from the waist measurement to make sure it is snug but not too tight. Once the elastic was in place and both ends sewn together,  I topstitched the remaining hole in the casing closed.

Finally, I decided to play around with my serger to create a rolled hem.  I was able to make the fabric ruffle a little as well.  I think it adds a fun and flirty detail to the skirt.  If you don't have a serger, you can fold over the fabric twice and create a small hem on each layer.

It's a fun skirt to go round and round in:)

Easier Than I Thought!

Linked to:  Thrifty Decor Chic Mon.: Skip to My Lou Tues:  Tip Junkie,   Sugar Bee Crafts,  Today's Creative Blog,   Homestories AtoZ Wed:  Gingersnap Crafts,   Sew Much Ado,  Between U & Me, Thurs: 36th Avenue,  52 Mantels,   House of Hepworths, Friday:Tatertots and Jello,  Serenity Now,  Whipperberry,  Sat: Classy Clutter,  It's Overflowing  Sun.: I Heart Naptime,