Summer Skirt Beginner Sewing Tutorial

Hello! Today I’m sharing this easy Summer Skirt Sewing Tutorial. This skirt is perfect for beginning sewers, and is lightweight and comfortable even in the heat. Let’s get started!

You might also like our easy summer top sewing pattern!

Summer Skirt Beginner Sewing Tutorial

Supplies:

• Sewing machine
• Light cotton fabric. You can either get 1 yard or pick up these little quarter yard packs.
• Matching thread
• 1 inch elastic
• Measuring tape
• Scissors
• Two safety pins
• Pins

Start by measuring around your child’s waist, and from their waist down to just above their knee. You’ll want to cut your fabric twice as long as the circumference of your child’s waist, and as tall as the measurement from their waist to their knee. My child’s measurements were 21 inches around the waist, and 16 inches from waist to knee. My fabric came pre cut at 21 inches long, so I’ll have two side seams where I’m sewing two pieces together. If you’re using just one piece of fabric, you’ll only have one seam in the back.

Lay your cut fabric out and iron it smooth. If you’re using two pieces, lay them right sides together and pin both sides. Then stitch them with a 1/4 inch hem. If using one piece, fold it in half with right sides together, pin the seam together, and stitch it with 1/4 inch hem.

If you have a serger or a overcasting stitch on your sewing machine, go ahead and trim that hem (or hems) to 1/8 inch and serge (or overcast) both edges. If not, you can just do a zigzag stitch on the open edges or cut them with pinking shears to finish the seams so they don’t fray.

Go ahead and iron your seams flat. We’re still working with this fabric wrong side out, through the entire project. Now we’re going to work on the top of our skirt where the elastic casing will be. Iron down the top 1/4 inch all the way around.

Then fold it down again 1 1/2 inches and iron again. Place two pins about two inches apart. This marks the spot where you’re not going to sew, so you have a place to thread the elastic through. Now go ahead and sew your casing down with a 1/8 inch seam, making sure to leave the area between the pins open.

Now cut a piece of elastic the length of the circumference of your child’s waist, plus one inch. Put a safety pin on one end, and start threading it through the casing we made for the elastic.

When the back end of the elastic is close to the opening, secure it with the other pin so it doesn’t disappear. Keep threading the elastic through until it comes out the other side, bunching the fabric as you go. When the end comes out, remove both safety pins.

Overlap the ends of the elastic by an inch, making sure not to twist the elastic. you want it flat all the way around. Now go ahead and zigzag stitch both ends of the overlapped elastic. Then slip the elastic into the casing space and sew the casing shut along the 1/8th  inch seam.

Now just adjust the bunched fabric so it’s fairly even along the elastic, and your waistband is done! Now let’s do the hem. My girls like longer skirts for running and playing, so I kept mine the length it was. You can trim the bottom of your skirt to the length you want it to be, making sure to leave an extra 3/4 inch of length for our hem. When you’re ready to hem, just turn the bottom up 1/4 inch and iron it in place. Then turn it up a 1/2 inch again, iron, and stitch in place with 1/8 inch seam.

Turn it right side out, and you’re all done! These skirts are so comfy and lightweight in the summer, and super affordable to make.

I hope you found this Summer Skirt Beginner Sewing Tutorial helpful!