DIY Ruffle Skirt

I am not an expert at sewing, I just know the basics. So I know that if I can do this, you can too! Last summer, I was astounded with the price of cute little girl skirts. Ridiculous! I figured it can't be that hard to make an elastic ruffle skirt, so I went ahead and tried. I was so happy with the result and received so many compliments that I wanted to do it again this summer. I'm hoping to do at least one more set (I have two toddler girls) before baby boy arrives, but who knows. I'm going to start by assuming you know the basics of sewing, such as how to cut fabric, pin a seam, finish a stitch by reversing, etc. Also a few notes on my example:
1. I do not have a normal sewing machine. I have a mini machine that weighs about a pound, does only a simple basic stitch, and doesn't even reverse.
2. Do not ask your husband what color thread you should use for a certain fabric print. I had pink and white, my husband said white, so that's what I went with. As you will clearly see, I should have gone pink, as white emphasizes mistakes and makes it very obvious that I am working with an inexpensive machine. (Use a color that matches your fabric.)
3. I made two skirts for my girls as well as two skirts for their dolls. The pictures are of the doll skirt because I thought seeing the entire project would help explain the instructions.
4. You can change the measurements to fit your needs. I have tall girls, and the picture above is my three year old's skirt. You can make it as short or as long as you want. And all it takes to add more "ruffle-age" is to add length to the rectangles.
5. I apologize in advance for my super long instructions. I hate vague DIY instructions, so I did my best to explain everything thoroughly.

Materials: 1/2" elastic, fabric (for 2 girl and 2 doll skirts, I only needed 1.5 yards), thread - I'm going to assume you have pins, a needle, fabric pen, measuring tape, sewing gauge

** I did 1/2" seams and used pinking shears on every seam. If you have a normal sewing machine, I recommend using the zig-zag stitch or a different stitch stronger than your basic stitch.

Ok, here we go:
1. Cut a bunch of rectangles. Here are the measurements I used: (click to enlarge any of these images)

2. With the right sides of the fabric together, sew the main skirt pieces together on the sides, forming a tube. Here, I've already sewn them together and used the pinking shears on the seams. 

3. Iron open seams. (From now on, I'll assume you do this with all your seams.) This ensures that your fabric will lay correctly.

4. Create tube for elastic at the top of the skirt. Do this by ironing down 1/4" all the way around and then ironing again at 3/4". Pin where the 1/4" is doubled, and this is where you'll stitch. Leave a 2-3" hole for inserting the elastic. This picture is of the ironing and pinning. 

 First picture is of the stitching that is most of the way around the skirt. Second picture is showing the hole which we'll use later. (Saving the elastic for last will make adding the ruffles much easier.) Click to enlarge photos if needed.

5. Taking two of the ruffle pieces right sides together, form a tube just as you did with the main part of the skirt. Repeat this step with the third and fourth ruffle pieces, as there are two layers of ruffles. 

6. Hem both ruffle 'tubes'. There are lots of ways to do hems. Some machines have blind hem stitches - obviously mine doesn't. You can do a decorative stitch using your machine (I would do this if I could). You can do a slip stitch by hand (who has the time for that?) or just do what I did: use your basic stitch, but realize it's going to be visible on the outside of the skirt. I wanted to save on fabric as much as I could, so I ironed the bottom down 1/4", then again 1/4", pinning after the second go around, and then sewing that hem.

First picture is of the ironing and pinning, second is what it should look like when you're done - if you've done your hem the way I did. Again, make sure you have the best color thread possible!

7. Gather the ruffle pieces. The loose stitches from gathering is how you're going to create the ruffles. This may sound daunting, but it's not. To gather fabric, you create two very loose stitches side by side. You can do this on your machine if you have the option of adjusting stitches, but even if I could, I wouldn't. I have always hated gathering by machine. I much prefer to do this by hand using a needle and thread. If you're doing it by hand, make sure you have enough thread for the entire length of the fabric, knot one end, and get started. This is what the loose stitches will look like if you do it by hand. Obviously, a machine's loose stitches will look differently.

8. Mark where you'll be attaching the top ruffle. (If you're changing the measurements of the skirt, you're going to need to recalculate where you mark your fabric and attach the ruffle.) Using a fabric pen, mark the RIGHT side (the outside, what everyone will see once the skirt is finished) of the main skirt 2.5" from the bottom, all the way around the skirt. [For the doll skirt, I marked 1.5" from the bottom.] You'll see by enlarging the photo how I mark the fabric - purple dots using the fabric pen and sewing gauge.

9. Pin the ruffle in place. I start by pinning the side seams of the ruffle to the side seams of the skirt, which ensures that you have the same amount of ruffle in the back as the front. Then go crazy with your pins as you pull the threads from gathering. The reason I like doing the gathering by hand is because I can evenly distribute my ruffles. After you've pinned the ruffles in place:

10. Remove the thread from gathering and then mark where your seam should be. (because the bottom of the skirt will be covering your needle plate) Once again, I used 1/2" seam for everything.

 11. Stitch all the way around the skirt, using the marks as your guide. This will attach your top ruffle. Since you're making ruffles, the fabric will not lay flat and will look very messy - it's supposed to. Sewing ruffles is not for the perfectionist! This is what it will look like after sewing and removing the pins. I added the second picture just to show you that no matter how messy the inside looks, the final product of ruffles is pretty cool!

12. Using the same method as step 9, right sides together, pin the bottom ruffle in place along the bottom of the skirt. (Nice thing about the bottom ruffle is that you don't have to mark where the ruffle goes or where your stitch is going to be.)

 13. After pinning the bottom ruffle in place, remove the thread from gathering, and attach the bottom ruffle, sewing all the way around the skirt. Once I did this, I used pinking shears on both ruffle seams and ironed down the ruffles.

You're almost done! All that's left is to add the elastic to the top of the skirt!

14. Cut your 1/2" elastic to your desired length. For my 3T skirt, I used 18"; for the doll skirt, I used 13". Insert your elastic into the tube at the top of the skirt - my mom always used a giant safety pin, so that's what I've always done. Once you get close to the end of the elastic, use another safety pin to keep the elastic from going all the way inside.

 15. Once all the way through, stitch the ends of elastic together. (I used a fabric pen to mark 1/4" from the end on both ends and that's where I pinned and stitched.) Make sure you make this a very strong stitch as it's going to be getting pulled on quite a bit. Only having a basic stitch, I just went back and forth over it several times.

16. Pull the now stitched elastic into the tube and slip stitch it closed. This is a horrible slip stitch, but as I mentioned, these pictures are of one of the doll skirts, and by the time I was on my second doll skirt, I really didn't care about what the inside of the skirt looked like! I promise I did a much better job with my 3T skirts!

You're done!! Just even out the elastic, turn it right side out, and you're all set! Since these images are of the doll skirt, here is a picture of one of the girls' dolls (a special gift for them when their baby brother is born) wearing her skirt. I found a matching onsie and attached some flower buttons to make it a little cuter. This is a reborn doll, and the amazing artist who did these for us is found here on facebook. The girls have already worn their skirts and tops (with matching hairbows I made) and looked adorable! I just can't wait to give them their dolls!

If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I'll do my best to explain!