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The Beginners Sewing Summit – make a midi skirt with me!

Sew an Easy Midi Skirt with me!

We are teaching at the 2021 Beginner Sewing Summit, which is our first ever online sewing class! Come and sew an easy midi skirt with myself and Eve, it’s a great beginner project or take a look at one of the other classes – there are over 40 to choose from! Best of all the classes are FREE to watch May 3rd- 7th 2021, you could learn the basics and new skills while completing fun projects like fashion, home decor, and cute accessories.

UPDATE: Sewing Summit 2021 is over but this online class is still available to purchase with The Sewing Summit via the link below.

AD/AFFILIATE LINK: If you decide to purchase the lesson with Rebecca Page and the Sewing Summit through our link, we receive a commission.

CLASS DESCRIPTION | In this class you will learn to make a simple jersey midi-skirt with an elasticated waistband.

You will learn how to take your measurements, cut your fabric and create an easy to wear skirt to fit you and that you’ll love wearing. As sewing with knits can sometimes be a bit daunting, we’ll talk you through the whole process!

All of this information is in the class video but we thought it would be nice to have somewhere to refer to!

FABRIC REQUIREMENTS | 

Any knit fabric! We recommend using a cotton or modal knit fabric with at least a 5% elastane content. The elastane will help your skirt retain its shape.

SKIRT PATTERN |

The skirt doesn’t need a pattern! It’s just a rectangle that we can mark directly on the fabric and cut. The amount of fabric to buy will be based on your overall length of the skirt.

  • For simplicity we’ve used inches in the video but have added metric conversions below (we’ve rounded them up to make sensible measurements rather than exact conversions!)
  • SIDE SEAM ALLOWANCES | INCHES: we have allowed ½” seam allowance to join the side seams (so add 1″ seam allowances extra to width). METRIC: if you are team metric allow 1.5cm to join the side seams (so add 3cm seam allowances extra to width).

To work out your fabric requirement follow the guides below.

The amount of fabric to buy will be based on your overall length of the skirt plus some allowances.

When purchasing your fabric it’s a good idea to purchase extra fabric to allow room for cutting out and any shrinkage as you will need to prewash your fabric before before you begin.

LENGTH: Take your ideal skirt length and add 5″ (13cm)  to calculate the length of your fabric required. Not sure how long you want your skirt? Measure something you already own or allow a little extra and it can always be cut to length later.

WIDTH: Take your hip measurement, at your widest part, and add 1″ (3cm) for seam allowances to calculate the width of your rectangle.

  • For example – if you have a 40″ hip – you will need 1 rectangle measuring 41″ wide (40″ + 1″ seam allowance).
  • And in metric – 105cm wide rectangle (102cm wide + 3cm seam allowances)

Not covered in the video but…should your hip measurement be more than the width of your fabric you will need to cut 2 rectangles so buy twice the skirt length. Your skirt will have 2 side seams, just use the same method we describe in the video to join your seams. As you have 2 seams that’ll give you the option to have a split in each seam or on just one seam, whichever you prefer! The formula to calculate the width of each of  your rectangles will be – half your full hip measurement and add 1″ (3cm) extra as seam allowances.

  • For example – if you have a 66″ hip – you will need 2 rectangles measuring 34″ wide (33″ + 1″ seam allowance).
  • And in metric – if you have a 168cm hip – 87cm wide rectangle (84cm wide + 3cm seam allowances)

You will also need |

  • Polyester sewing thread.
  • Ballpoint, stretch or jersey machine needle.
  • 1″ (2.5cm) wide elastic – enough to wrap around your waist with an overlap (any width between ¾″ – 1½” (2-4 cm) will be fine if you have it in your stash!)
  • Safety pin
  • Marking tool – chalk or fabric pen
  • Ruler
  • Plus, the usual sewing equipment – sewing machine, scissors, tape measure, pins, iron

Looking for some tips on sewing with knit fabrics? Check out our tutorial here!

AD/AFFILIATE LINK: If you decide to purchase the lesson with Rebecca Page and the Sewing Summit through our link, we receive a commission. Thank you!