Land's End Fuschia Silk Shell (similar here)
Charlotte Russe Navy Cardigan (similar here)
DIY Feather Print Skirt (similar here)
Nine West Snakeskin Print Flats (similar here)
Okay, first things first - this skirt is not actually this short on me - I guess I pulled it up really high when I took my picture.
Second things second - I print mixed! Feathers AND snakeskin! Whooo, buddy! Haha, I bought these shoes right after I was offered my job - and then my mom told me I shouldn't wear them to work because people would think they are real. I quickly learned that animal prints are encouraged when you work at a zoo - or at least my zoo!
Also, I made this skirt! Which means there's now a tutorial! Obviously I'm not a pro sewer, but if you are interested in my tutorial, just click below!
Ashley's Easy-Peasy Smocked/Lined Skirt Tutorial
Supplies:
1-2 yards of a fabric of your choice (I typically wear a size 8 skirt, and I use less than 1 yard, but it's always better to have too much fabric than not enough! Also, a fabric without stretch is best - I've used a really basic cotton, and this is a polyester satiny material)
1-2 yards of a lining material (this part is optional, but it will make your skirt hang better)
Matching thread
Spool of smocking thread (it's usually found in the notions area of a store - it's basically a very thin covered elastic. I always buy white, but it comes in black, too. It stays on the inside of your fabric, so the color really doesn't matter)
Straight Pins
Tape Measure
Sewing Machine
1) Wash and dry your fabric. Iron it if needed. Don't skip this step. I know you are excited and want to get sewing, but fabric always shrinks!
2) Measure yo' self! It's a lot easier if you have someone help you, but you can do it yourself with the help of a mirror. You need to make two measurements:
Your waist (or hips, depending on where you want your skirt to hit. If you aren't sure, just put on a skirt you already own and see where it hits!
And the length. Since this is a DIY skirt, you can make it as long or as short as you want! Make sure you measure from where you measured your waist!
3) Now, here comes the tricky part (not really). You need to cut a total of four pieces of fabric (two of your pretty fabric and two of your lining). Each piece of fabric should be as wide as your waist measurement minus two inches.* The length of the outside pretty fabric is the length you want your skirt plus one inch.* The lining fabric will be the length you want your skirt minus one inch.*
I'm really bad at cutting so I always just cut one really neatly and then use that to measure my others. I told you, I'm not a professional sewer. No Etsy shop will be opened up any time soon by this girl!
And this is how I measure my lining....also not very professional. Do as I say, not as I do.
4) Okay, so now that you have your four pieces, you get to start pinning! This is when your dog will get very interested in what you are doing, just a warning.
You want to pin the "right" sides of your lining and outside pretty fabric together. You want to pin them along what will be the waistline (so just one line of pins per pairing of piece).
5)Sew along that pin line!
6) When you are done sewing, you'll have two pieces that look like this (only with your own fabric). If it doesn't look like this, you might have screwed up.
7) Now you want to take the right sides of both of your sewed together skit halves and lay them together. So you have the right side of the lining facing the right side of the other half of the lining, and the right side of your outside fabric facing the right side of your outside fabric. Got that?
Once you figure out what I mean, then pin together the long sides. I recommend starting in the middle where you sew line from the waist line is, because that's the most important thing. If your ends are uneven, you can always trim them later. Pin both of the long sides.
8) Sew those lines!
9) One you have sewn both of those sides, you can flip your skirt around so the lining is on the inside. Yay, you made a skirt! Just kidding, it looks like crap still. You should probably go ahead and iron all your seams at this point. I forgot, so I obviously don't have pictures.
10) Oh, but hey, I did remember to do this!
You can fold down the waist of the skirt about half and inch and iron it there - that way when your skirt is done and smocked, you can't see the lining on the waist. It's personal preference, though - it's not that obvious if you don't do it. So basically this is the most pointless step ever.
11) So this is that smocking thread. It comes in a spool and looks like this - I've always seen it in blister packs, but who knows what it looks like in your store.
12) When you wind your bobbin with the smocking thread, you shouldn't do it on the automatic thing on your machine because it messes up the way the elastic is pulled.
So you want to wind it by hand. I've always used a bobbin and a half for a skirt, just a heads up.
13) BUT before you put your bobbin in the bobbin case, you want to go on the side seams of your skirt and just sew a few regular stitches at the waist. This will keep your waist from getting all out of whack when you smock it. Trust me, this is a good thing.
See, this is what it looks like. I highly recommend you use a thread color that matches your fabric, I just did this with white so you can see it.
14) Now stick that smocking thread bobbin in the bobbin case and start smocking! I always make my stitches a little bit bigger and loosen my tension a bit.
Your first line of smocking is the easiest - just sew in a straight line along the waist about a quarter inch from the edge.
15) Once you do the first line, you're all set. Just line your presser foot up with that line, and sew in a straight line again!
16) Oh, and after you finish each line, you want to back stitch a bit, and then tie off the smocking thread on the inside. I know it sucks, but it sucks more when your skirt comes unravelled when you are wearing it.
17) Oh, and sometimes you run out of smocking thread mid-line and that sucks. No worries, just pop another bobbin in and back stitch a couple times where you ran out, tie those ends, and continue on your merry way!
18) Keep on smocking. As far as when to stop, it's kinda whenever you feel like it. SO exact, right?
Also, this is pretty easy since it's all straight lines, but sometimes I get distracted and sew all crooked - you can really see it in this picture. Smocking is SO forgiving, though, you guys!
19) Once you are done with all your smocking, try your skirt on. Odds are good that it will be too big - but here's the beauty of that elastic thread: grab your iron again and put it on the high heat/steam setting. Once it's sandwich-making hot, use it to press where your smocking is. The elastic will start seizing up some and it usually takes about 2 inches off the size of the waist - so cool!
20) If you want, you can fold your smocking over - this makes the waist a little smoother and tighter...just see if you like it or not!
21) If you like it folded over, you should probably iron the new edge and just put a couple stitches in a few spots around the waist to hold it like that.
22) Now put your skirt on and make sure the hem is about where you want it to fall - if it's way longer than where you want it you might want to chop some length off the bottom. If it's way shorter...well, sorry, Charlie.
23) To hem your skirt you just want to fold the end up 1/4 of an inch, iron it, then fold it up another 1/2 inch, iron that, and then just sew it in a straight line (make sure you take your smocking thread out!) (you should fold towards the inside of the skirt). For the lining I always just zigzag stitch the bottom of it because I'm lazy, but you can hem it if you want. I'm a goon and forgot to take pictures of this step, but if you have questions, let me know!
24) You made a skirt! Now wear it and brag about it, because in our homemaking-challenged society people are REALLY impressed by DIY skirts!
* Okay, how much your fabric will shrink with the smocking really depends on the fabric. The plain cotton I used the first time seized up A LOT more than this poly fabric. If you are that worried about it, get a scrap of your fabric, smock it, and see how much it shrinks - or just be like me and wing it. And if you fold over your waistband like I showed above, obviously you will need to make your skirt a little longer because that takes up length.
**Also, I wanted to add that I didn't come up with this all on my own. I read some patterns, did some googling, and watched some youtube videos, so my skirt tutorial is definitely inspired by a lot of different people and just influenced by me.
**Also, I wanted to add that I didn't come up with this all on my own. I read some patterns, did some googling, and watched some youtube videos, so my skirt tutorial is definitely inspired by a lot of different people and just influenced by me.
