Easy Peasy Skirt

Of all the 'quick-makes' I've encountered for small people, the easy peasy skirt is one of my favourites, and thereby merited the breaking out of some deliciously cute fabric I'd been coveting for the right occasion. And so, came about the Princess and the Pea skirt !

It is a super simple design that is suitable for any age, (even grown up girls!) and constitutes a single piece of fabric, (or 2 for an adult version), and an elasticated waistband. It is one that can be made over and again too and in under a couple of hours.

I started by taking two simple measurements, these being a waist measurement and a length measurement from the waist to just below the knee. I added half an inch to this length measurement for the bottom hem and another 2 inches to allow for the elastic casing of the waist band. I also doubled the measurement taken for the waist when cutting out my fabric, in order to add extra volume to the skirt, you could just as easily multiply it by 1.5 for a little less fullness.

With regards length of elastic to use, I started with the waist measurement and then subtracted an inch for a snug fit, but ultimately ended up taking away a smidgen more. You can play around with this once you have fed the elastic through the casing, securing each end of it with safety pins before having a few 'try on' sessions, wiggling the elastic looser or tighter through the casing until you get a comfortable fit. Then you are almost good to go! Sew together the open sides of your fabric and then create the casing for the elastic by folding over the top edge of fabric by half an inch and then folding over again by an inch and a half to create a channel for your  inch wide elastic. Sew the channel in place, leaving a gap at one end through which you can feed the elastic using a safety pin to guide it through. (Once all the way through, it is at this point that you can secure both ends of the elastic temporarily to slip the skirt on to intended wearer and check the fit).

Another useful tip once your elastic is in place and you have adjusted the gathering of the fabric on the waistband to make it even, is to run another row of machining through the waist band and elastic. This prevents the elastic from twisting inside the waist band. This may not happen whilst being worn, but you can more or less guarantee it once it goes in the washing machine! You will need to stretch out the waist band with both hands as you feed it flat through the machine.

Create a small hem at the bottom and it's ready to wear!