I'm from the 60's and have been sewing 50 plus years . I'm overjoyed when I see young people using their creative talents the Lord gave us . Your an inspiration to your generation and everyone . I make clothes without patterns too but love watching your videos . Keep it up ! You have great talent !
As a prospective art teacher, I NEED this fabric! I've done circle skirts and square-circle skirts, but I haven't tried a rectangle skirt, or done gathers yet. Once I get my hands on that lovely fabric I'm absolutely doing this!
0:38 fabric, tools and materials 1:35 the pattern and the math 2:38 cutting the fabric 3:34 pinning and sewing the panels together 4:11 hemming the bottom of the skirt 5:45 cutting and sewing the waistband and lining 6:47 making bias tape 7:35 finishing the end of the waistband with bias tape 7:57 gathering the skirt 8:45 attaching the waistband 9:38 finishing the waistband with bias tape 10:29 attaching the zipper
Hey, a man here. Would it be charming to make my wife a nice skirt and surprise her with it? I know style and color contrast pretty well, and I've worked with fabric.
Isaac Yoder That would actually be a very cute and unexpected gift, and mean a lot more since you made it. As a girl myself that would definitely surprise us too. I think you should do it, good luck!
One thing about a center zipper. The material will cover the zipper better if you first sew the whole seam shut, sew on the zipper where it's supposed to go, then gently seam -rip the seam back open. Then you'll be sure the pieces meet exactly over the closed zipper.
I just sew this skirt, and it was my first time attempting to sew a skirt and I am so happy with the result and extremly proud of myself :) Thank you for this amazing tutorial! :)
This tutorial was very clear verbally even if all your camera angles weren't super up close. A very good balance. Now I know what to do make with the Stained Glass Legend of Zelda fabric I bought forever ago.
I used to follow you many years ago on Tumblr ans you inspired me to want to sew SO much! I asked my Nana if i could borrow her old machine and she kindly lent me it, i tried to sew even the simplest things but couldnt get the hang of it as everything bunched and balled up and it was crazy upsetting. Looking back, the machine was SUPER old and needed a good service and clean probably. I gave up, but recently i got my own machine and stumbled across this video while looking to make something that would challenge me. I made one successfully first try (finally!) now i have a functional machine, and am making another now. Thank you so much- you're really inspiring and I adore all your historical textiles videos!
Soooooo, based on the context clues you've provided me with, you love this skirt? If so, SAME! Angela did an amazing job, like always! You two ladies, both, are so beyond talented at what you do. I am such a big fan of y'all❤️
ok i think i need to find a tutorial on the terminology and such for clothes making before trying any of this because everything in this video went so far over my head they escaped orbit ;~;
Love the video, but I have to admit, I will need to rewatch it multiple times! I have a hard time keeping focus, and was constantly distracted by those enviable nails!!! 💅 the petticoat makes it look SUPER SWEET! I (as a man) have a hard time getting away with wearing skirts to begin with, but I REALLY don't think I could get away with the under-fluff! 😢😥
Do you find this easier than circle skirts? Cutting seems much easier, but the gathering is kind of daunting to me as a beginner. I'm not sure I understood what the bias tape is for either.
+Teresa - The point of this style of sewing is not to leave exposed seams. In general, the higher quality your garment, the less you are supposed to see of what is holding it together. Bias tape is used for that here - but you don't really need it for this task; a cleaner, more professional result could have been achieved by attaching the outside of the waistband to the skirt first, tucking the seams inside the waistband cavity, then enclosing them by sewing down the inner waistband ... like any pastime, we learn more ways to do things as we spend more time on them ... There are different ways of gathering too - I found machine gathering to be easier than by hand & after many years, even learned another way to gather recently. You just have to find what works for you, tho. Professor Pincushion do really clear videos for beginners, they might help too. Good luck.
I make tons of both style skirts, and there's pro's and con's to both. Circle skirts are much easier to sew up in my opinion, mostly because you don't have to gather. I've made enough that hemming them doesn't bother me, and if you spend a couple bucks on a rolled hem foot for your sewing machine they are just as easy as sewing any other seam. Gathered skirts are much easier to cut out though, and you aren't limited to fabrics who's pattern will work on a bias. Plus a gathered skirt usually only takes about 2 yards of fabric, where a circle skirt takes at least 3, so gathered skirts are cheaper to make too. Doing a zig-zag stitch over dental floss and using the dental floss to gather is a much easier way to gather (Gertie on RU-vid shows how in her rectangle skirt tutorial).
I did it! I watched and saved this tutorial about a year ago, seeing as how I live in skirts just like this from Modcloth and Unique Vintage. Well, I finally bit the bullet since I couldn't find any cute St. Patrick's Day skirts and made a shamrock skirt this weekend! It was SO easy, even though I winged it a little on the waist band and did the wrong thing on the zipper...but you'd never know, it's super cute and looks completely professional. Thank you SO much for making it so easy!
I made a black version of this skirt during quarantine, it took like a month because I kept stopping and coming back to it, but I think if I did it all at once, including the things I had to fix and redo, it would take me a total of 3-4 days. The skirt looks amazing and is exactly what I wanted, and this tutorial was so easy to follow. I even have a cute floral print bias tape on the inside
I finally know what to use some fabric ive been saving on! I found eeever so light blue "marble" patterned lightfast curtains for about 10 dollars, so nice and heavy bodied and lots of length 😁
using the bias gives it a most proffesional look, nice I really like it I'm gonna try it but I don't like them so 'puffy'' so I'll just adjust it to what I like
So I'm a longtime fan of yours and actually just finished my first non-ugly skirt yesterday. Went BACK to Jo-Anns today and found this fabric and cleaned them out! All of the Starry Night skirts I found online were not to my liking so finding this fabric along with a coveted McCall's pattern made for a lucky day. I had no idea about this video and I'm tickled pink because I planned on making the same kind of skirt! Yours is amazing, but everything you make is amazing
I recommend not cutting the video every time you announce a new item we will need, it's a bit disturbing for the eyes. This skirt is incredibly beautiful I am definitely going to make one one day. It suits you super well especially with those heels
Love this video. I have been sewing for at least 3years but I had never heard of pining the fabric not only by the hem where I am sewing but also a bit further down on the waist band to avoid the skirt from getting caught. Thank you so much.
If you use a ruffler foot on your machine, you can make those same gathers in a minute on your Singer Heavy Duty 4322 sewing machine, Angela. It also can be adjusted to make 20's-style pleats in a flash! 😊Thought you might be interested. Love mine! I subscribed to your great channel. You are a perfectionist like me!😇😍👗👚
this is very pretty! sewing is such a difficult task for me, ive sewn a blouse from scratch for a school assignment and even though i had a bunch of templates, teacher guidance, the end product was bad for sure. all the best for your future!
I have a small tip: when sewing on hook & eyes; or snaps; tie knots at each hole. If some of the threads gives you will not have a problem keeping the garment on until you can fix the issue.
I appreciate the ease of understanding in this video and the tips on using extra pins. Hand sewing the gathers is much easier for me, too. Also, I appreciate the bias tape instruction. What a great idea using the bias tape to cover the seams. Thanks.
This has been a favorite skirt style of mine since I began sewing my own clothes in High School in the early 70's. It's perfect for someone with a small waist and fuller hips, like myself. Super simple yet very versatile. TFS! Have to laugh. The skirt fabric is like my "Starry Night" poster I had in my UCDavis dorm room and apartments in '75-'80. I studied textiles and clothing manufacturing and marketing there, so this skirt design would have been too rudimentary for a class project, but great for everyday wearing. BTW, I kept my "Starry Night" poster long after I graduated. :)
When you thought circle skirts were the easy and good way out, but then this video appears. Thanks so much for this! Makes making (somewhat accurate) cosplays a whole easier for me lol
Excellent use of a horizontal print as well as bias tape to extend fabric for waistband! This is the correct way to cut & sew directional fabric- not in a circle!
Just a suggestion - I believe you should always cut away the selvage edges of your fabric. The reason for that is how that edge is a different and tighter "weave" than the rest of your fabric, and, when you wash your garment, the selvage edge is likely to shrink a bit more. Even if you prewash your fabric before making your garment, the selvage edge will possibly still "shrink" a few washes in. So, I would always suggest you cut the selvage off and bind that edge as you do the other edges. TYSM for sharing this video with us - it is very helpful as I was wondering how to make a "full" skirt like this. 😉
I love how clear you make these steps!!! When i make things, i like to have them perfected (cuz I'm a perfectionist) and you do a great job at making everything matter and perfect
I am trying very hard to understand what you meant when you showed you sewing bias tape at the edge seams of the waistband but I get confused every time since you did show how you folded it, can someone please explain?
You can buy pre-made bias tape. It’s essentially a folded-up strip of fabric thats been folded in half, and then each side is folded inward to touch the inside of the center crease. This allows you to sandwich the raw edges of the fabric in that center seam to keep the garment from fraying.
thanks for the tips!!! i will try this soon I' am beginner sewer no experieced at all just love to sew my own clothes so i just keep watching youtubes tuturials ..thanks a lot!
Thanks you so much! I made a circle skirt a while ago but wasn't impressed with the result. I started to think about a skirt made out of rectangles, googled it and found your tutorial ! This is exactly the kind of voluminous skirt I am looking for
Just finished my first rectangle skirt using your tutorial as a guide and I love how it came out! I’ll be making more in the future. Thanks for taking the time to explain the steps so well.
When I gather a skirt I use fishing line. I cut out a length and turn my machine to the widest zig zag stitch, and stitch over the line so it's trapped in the zig zag, like a curtain rod through a curtain. Then you can pull the line on either side and really control the gathers.
Hello, I was trying to make a puffy baby doll dress but all the other videos I watch didn’t help me with the skirt or gave me an idea how to attach the skirt to the top but this really helped me. Thank you so much!!
Very helpful video! I was looking for one like this for almost a year now. Thank you! I will gather courage now to finish the skirt for my sister, I promised to make for her !!!
This might already be mentioned somewhere in the comments, but making marks or cuts on the actual bias grain requires you to be 45 degrees from the lengthwise and cross grains, those "bias" lines seemed to be at a random and rather steep angle from the selvage edge, that is just off-grain and not on the true bias. If that's the case, it can lead to warping, twisting, and pressing issues in the bias tape. I apologize if it was at the correct angle, it is just how it looked on the video.
I made this skirt, and i'm not gonna lie, it was pretty simple. The only thing I found tricky for me, was attaching the zipper. Great tutorial though! It really helped me make a beautiful Easter skirt!
Thanks for the tutorial. This is great. No pattern needed and all I have to do is decide how long I want my skirt so I know how much fabric to by. I also make costumes for Renn Fairs and my daughter is into cosplay so this will really help. Thanks!
i have seen many videos but this has to be the best video of how to start and finish a design properly. I've been sewing since high school and now i have my own business but it is still good to learn new techniques. but thank you for this. your instructions were precise and it helped out a lot watching these instructions. You are amazing at what you do!! thank you again
What should I do if I need more fabric in the back of the skirt? My butt makes skirts shorter in the back (and longer in the front) because it sticks out. So how do I add extra length in the back so my skirt is even all around?
sablebeauty It's possible that you could experiment by cutting the bottom edge on a slight angle. You'd need to know how much to add to the back and subtract from the front, but it may look even this way. :)
Sable, first: figure out how much extra length you need to add so that them skirt bottom will be even all around. do this by putting a snug piece of elastic at your waist, where you plan to have skirt waistband and put on shoes you will wear with skirt. heel height changes posture. second: have a friend measure from your naval to the floor and from your back hip to floor. third: subtract the 2 numbers. this will give you the amount to add. fourth: add this amount to the back half of the skirt at the waist and angle the sides down to meet the front waist part. this way, you do not distort the hem or the print at the hem. the hem will be on the straight of grain. the extra fabric to cover a larger backside will be at the top. warning. gathers accentuate curves. maybe try large unpressed pleats instead.
You could try making the skirt a little longer than desired, and wait to hem it until the end. Then have a friend mark the hem length for you while you're actually wearing it.
I got a bit confused. At the beginning when you were cutting out pieces you had the fabric folded over is that because you then unfold it and the three pieces become the length you need? (Before you gather it)
Basically, yes. Think of it like this- you have to cut out a shape, like a heart, from a rectangular piece of paper, and it needs to be as even as possible. It would be easier to fold the paper in half, and cut half a heart shape, and then fold it open, rather than cutting an entire heart from scratch. It's the same idea with this :D
I made this skirt for my daughter... Before I saw this video! Patiently waiting for that fabric to come back in stock! (I made a handbag with this fabric too)
"Make sure the print has the same orientation on all panels before sewing." Sounds like advice given from experience! (I can guarantee you I wouldn't have thought to check if you hadn't mentioned it. And then I would have been quite annoyed at myself.)
because fabric get woven in a certain way. if you just take it the other way the less strong fibers get hurt easier. if she hadn made panels the pattern of the starry night would have been a mess and facing the wrong side. and preparing smaller pieces is faster and way less bulky in the process of making. if you dont have a seam you cant make a zipper, then youd have to do it with an elastic band. in circle skirts for example you often only need one seam. but how many you need depends on the design of the skirt and the fabric
I like Starry Night, but The Almond Tree is my favorite. I would love a skirt in that. Beautiful job. It just needs pockets to be perfect, but that's just me, I'm sure.
If I was trying to make a midi skirt following your instructions, would it still be a voluminous as yours is here? I'd like to make a midi skirt that doesn't 'poof' out as much as yours
The volume is dependent on how wide the panels are - if you didn't want the skirt to be as full, you could just cut them to be smaller (the recommended 3x waist measurement, instead of 5x or whatever I did)!
This was a great video! I made a skirt a while ago with some very cool fabric, only I used an overly complex printed pattern from the store and it came out way too big and absolutely horrible looking. A total waste of time, materials, and money. I wish I had seen this video beforehand. Next time, I'm using your tutorial. Thanks so much for making it!
Make the waist measurement maybe two inches bigger than your hips (So it will go over easily) and then make the elastic your waist size. Sew the elastic with a zig-zag stitch and then stretch the elastic and sew it to the skirt with a straight stitch. Make sure you stretch the elastic enough to fully fit the fabric of your skirt or it wont shrink propperly!
Cut elastic to fit around your waist. Line up the edge of the skirt and the edge of the elastic, right sides together. Sew with a zig zag stitch while pulling the elastic so that the end of the elastic reaches the end of the fabric :)
I like to make rectangle skirts with half-elastic waistbands (where the front is flat and the back is elasticated), but it involves A LOT of math. You can calculate the exact length you need the elasticated section to be so as to fit over your hips, but that's not really necessary. Doing half elastic / half normal is easier. Cut the waistband to a few cm bigger than your hip measurement. Make a mark ~1cm (3/8in?) away from one end for seam allowance. Then make another mark half your WAIST measurement away from the first, then mark out seam allowance on the other end. Substract half your waist measurement from your full hip measurement, add 1 inch and some for ease, that's the length your elastic needs to stretch to. Measure out half your WAIST measurement in elastic, don't add seam allowance so that it will be a teeny tiny bit stretched out when worn, and make sure it can stretch to the length calculated above. If it can't, you need the elasticated part to be more than half your finished waistband. When gathering the big rectangle, make sure to gather half the fabric into what will be the flat part of your waistband (the section that you marked out as half your waist measurement), and the other half into what will be the elasticated part (the remaining section) . This means that the gathers will look uneven at first, but they will look even on the finished skirt. Only interface what will be the flat part of the waistband. Attach the waistband normally, but leave out gaps at each end of where the elastic will sit, so that you can thread it through the waistband at the end. Attach the ends of the elastic to safety pins to make it easier to thread into the waistband. Then remove the safety pin and sew both ends of the elastic where they belong, and seal the gaps you left in the waistband :)
