Green Mama: sew twirling skirt

To make a twirly skirt you will need:

Main skirt fabric (between 3/4 and 1 yard, depending on size).
Contrast fabric (1/2 yard)
1/2" elastic (enough to go around the child's waist, plus a little for overlap)
Sewing machine
Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
Ruler
Thread to match
Pinking shears (optional)
Safety pin

Cut your fabric according to the sizes below. ALL PIECES ARE CUT WITH THE CENTER ON THE FOLD. WHEN YOU UNFOLD YOUR PIECES, THEY SHOULD BE TWICE AS WIDE AS STATED. The pieces in this photo are still folded. You should have two pieces for each part: skirt, casing, hem. The waist tie is made the same for each size. Of course, you can always make your skirt longer or shorter to suit your own needs.

This pattern uses European sizing (similar to Hanna Andersson). To ensure a good fit, you need to know the child's height.

90cm (34-38 inches): 2 skirts on the fold (19"w x 9"l each or 38" wide by 9" long each when unfolded)
100cm (38-42 inches): 2 skirts on the fold (19.5"w x 10.5"l each or 39" wide by 10.5" long each when unfolded)
110cm (42-46 inches): 2 skirts on the fold (20"w x 12"l each or 40" wide by 12" long each when unfolded)
120cm (46-50 inches): 2 skirts on the fold (21"w x 13.5"l each or 42" wide by 13.5" long each when unfolded)
130cm (50-54 inches): 2 skirts on the fold (21.75"w x 15"l each or 43.5" wide by 15" long each when unfolded)

For the waistband, cut 2 pieces on the fold 2.5" long by the width of your skirt (e.g., size 120 = 21"w x 2.5"l)

For the hem band, cut 2 pieces on the fold 3.5" long by the width of your skirt (e.g., size 120 = 21"w x 3.5"l)

For the waist tie, cut 1 piece on the fold 1.5 " long by the width of your fabric (42-44") and 1 piece (not on the fold) 1.5" long by 12" wide. Or you can use ribbon - approximately 65" in length.

OK - let's start. All seam allowances are 1/2 inch unless stated otherwise!

Pin skirt pieces right sides together. Using a 1/2 inch seam allowance, sew right side seam. On left side, start sewing your seam 1 1/2 inches from the top.

Press open side seams and pink or zig zap the edges.

With right sides together, sew both side seams of the hem band.

Press seams open and pin to bottom of the skirt, right sides together, lining up side seams.

Sew hem band to skirt bottom.

Press seam towards hem band.

Turn edge of hem band 1/4 inch towards wrong side and press.

Fold hem band towards wrong side of skirt. Line up the edge you just pressed with the seam stitches.

Press and pin in place.

Staying 1/8 inch from edge, sew hem band in place.

I suppose most people would topstitch instead of sewing on the wrong side. I don't think it matters with this skirt.

Sew right side seam of waistband together and press open

With right sides together, line up the seam you just sewed to the right seam of the skirt. Pin in place.

Fold back seam allowances on open end of waistband so that they match the skirt seam. Press and pin in place.

Sew waistband to skirt.

Press seam towards waistband.

Fold top of waistband 1/4 inch towards wrong side. Press in place.

Top stitch open end of waistband 1/8 inch from edge, pivoting at the bottom corners.

Now fold the waistband towards the wrong side of the skirt aligning it with the seam stitching - just like you did on the hem. Press and pin in place.

Sew waistband 1/8 inch from edge to form casing.

Time to make your tie. If you prefer to use ribbon, you are almost done
Sew the small strip of 1/2 inch wide fabric to the longer piece right sides together. Fold both ends in so they meet in the middle and press

Fold each end in 1/4 inch and press.

Fold the strip in half. Press and pin.

Stitch 1/8 inch from edge to close the tie.

Using a safety pin, attach your tie (or ribbon) to the elastic.

Pull the tie and elastic through the casing making sure that the tie (or ribbon) stays towards the right side of the skirt.

Gather it up and pull the safety pin through the other open end.

Try the skirt on its new owner to determine where you should sew the elastic together. The ends should overlap about 1 inch. I mark the both ends of the elastic with a pen or pin them together so I know just where to sew.