Jessica, one of my wonderful readers, contacted me last week with some advice on how to recreate a dress.
I had just bought some striped knit from Joann’s on clearance with the intent to make…something. Maybe a skirt. I didn’t really know. After I got her email, I knew I had to use it for her dress.
So I came up with this…
And here is the original inspiration.
I realize now that I should have not made it so tight! Whoops.I have updated and improved this tutorial. Find it HERE.
Still I liked this dress/skirt so much I made another one:
Still I liked this dress/skirt so much I made another one:
This skirt/dress is really very simple. It only consists of two pieces and three seams!
Let’s get started.
First, measure yourself.
1. Measure hip to floor to determine length.
2. Measure your waist.
3. Measure the widest part of your booty. 🙂 I mean hips.
4. Measure from your waist to the widest part of your hips.Now you can shop for fabric.
You’ll need a nice stretchy knit. It is ideal if it can stretch well against the grain and with the grain. If you do, you can get less fabric because you can use the width of the fabric and not just the length. You want a piece just a bit wider than your hips and as long as your hips to the floor plus about 20 inches.I got 1 1/8 a yd. of the green 58 in. wide knit and it worked great.
You’ll need a nice stretchy knit. It is ideal if it can stretch well against the grain and with the grain. If you do, you can get less fabric because you can use the width of the fabric and not just the length. You want a piece just a bit wider than your hips and as long as your hips to the floor plus about 20 inches.I got 1 1/8 a yd. of the green 58 in. wide knit and it worked great.
Now lay out your knit folded in half right sides together. I pinned my stripes so that it would stayed lined up from cut to finish.
Did I regret making that black dot in my fabric? Yes! But it doesn’t show on the other side – phew – so we’re good.
You want the top of the skirt to be 1/2 an inch larger than your waist {1/4 inch seam allowance} Take your waist to hip measurement and mark where the widest part of your hips should lie. Draw a curved line between these two points. Then draw a straight line to the end.
I had only a yard {which was unfortunately cut really crooked} which my hips were slightly larger than so I had to get creative with this. : /
Pin and sew with a narrow zig zag stitch which is great for knits. It will allow the knit to stretch a little at the seam.
Now cut a piece like this. Just the width of your waist and about 13-18 inches long {I did 13 inches for the striped fabric and 18 for the green dress}. The longer this piece is the more of a bunched top you get.
Pin and sew into a nice neat tube.
{Don’t mind the scissors. They were weighting the fabric down so it wouldn’t slide off my table.}
Pin with wrong side of tube facing right side of skirt/dress. Sew.
 This is what you should end up with.
When you put it on, you just slide the seam in the back and fold over the top. Like so.
Pretty easy. And really comfy.
 And as the name implies.
Versatile.
So…that’s it. My versions of the Versa Skirt Dress. I hope this tutorial helps you Jessica!
Have a beautiful day!
those are so cute and versatile!! i love things that can be worn more than one way!! i just made a skirt/ shirt a couple of days ago and i love it! i think your dress/ skirts are perfect for summer! the colors are really cute too!
OMG…I love it!! I just bought som knit fabric too and I wanted to try something like this, but wasn't sure where to start..LOL! The timing is perfect on this post…now I will attempt it. The both came out great!! Thanks for sharing.
Awesome, I love those versatile skirts… You really are a sewing inspiration to me, one day I may even learn how to sew.
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This is so cute and I love long dresses. Just one question? If I make this dress will my stomach suddenly look like the gal in the white skirt? I sure hope so.
That looks great! Do you think it would work with more of an a-line? I like swishy skirts. 🙂
I love the striped dress with your red sweater and belt! So cute. And I don't think it's too tight at all. You don't want it to fall off! Love the green to but I'm partial to stripes. You're adorable.
It's adorable! Great job, thanks for sharing, Delia!
I have that exact green jersey from Joanns and I've been meaning to make something from it! Great idea. Thank so much!
LOVE it! Adding this to my to-do list!!
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LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT! So adding this to my to-make list. Though with my current, and increasing, pregnant girth, I'm going to need a good amount of extra fabric to avoid any jersey cling.
Random thought – to erase that odd bump in the green one when you wear it as a dress — Do the SIDE SEAM… as in turn it to where the seam is on the side of your body. Lots of "professional" dresses have a single side seam, so it would not look odd. – HTH.
Absolutely adorable Delia! You and the dress. That is something I can totally try. I think I might make one for my trip to Utah! 🙂
this is awesome! I just bought some of that same knit too, so now I know what to make with it! Thanks for the great tutorial, Delia!
this is so awesome, thanks for the tutorial! i soooooo want to make a bunch of these now!!
Wow, I love it and it looks so easy to make. Ill try one this summer.
Thank You
I am obsessed with stripes too. I bought some of that stripe the other day for my girls and then carried it around again another day for like 10 mins and couldn't think what else to do with it! Headed back today with my 20%off entire order to get it!
cute!! love it! And love it on you. You look adorable.
Hi I just wanted to let you know that I featured this project on my blog. I absolutely LOVE it!!!
Delia, I have a quick question regarding the knit fabric you used. What is the material ratio of the fabric (just so I have an idea of what to look for when I head to the fabric store)? Thank you.
I saw this pinned last night and went out to get fabric and made the skirt today. I love it! Simple (although I still managed to mess it up a little) and I could even adjust it to accommodate my pregnant belly. Thanks for the tutorial!!
I'm new to the whole sewing world. Was just wondering what the black dots were measurements of? I noticed that there were a few black dots marked on your fabric and was wondering how you measured each one out? (ie: Is the one closest to the edge of the fabric for your hips??) This is probably a really basic question, but I am SO keen to make this dress – it beautiful!!!!
I love it! Why has it taken me so long to find your tutorial? I can stop stalking this skirt on ebay now! Thank you!!
I made this skirt… I used a cotton knit. I wouldn't suggest it, it doesn't stretch out and back together like a polyester jersey does. Also I found that making a straight line from the waist to hip line worked better than a curve, it got rid of the weird bulk :D… I'm going to replace the waistband with a wide elastic, other wise it's all stretched out and doesn't fit
Thanks dear…….u made it look so easy. I'm sure shot trying it.
Ok… This may sound silly. I'm also a newbie sewer who would really love to try this!
One question that I cannot figure out. In the step that you pin the waistband to the skirt, you pin the wron side to the right side of the skirt. When it is in the "upper/dress" position, it looks as though it is inside out? Did I miss a step somewhere? Or does tat get folded in half from
Minibux…good question! Yes, it will look inside out. When you wear it you fold it over so the waistband is right side out. Does that make sense now?
This is fun, just a little tip, I have made some of these with bed sheets! Easy to find at thrift stores and cheaper than buying fabric!
Thank you for this super clear tuto, just made it, it’s so easy to sew and comfy to wear with room for the belly,excuse my poor english, i’m french : D
Is there a hem at the top or just a raw edge? I’ve never used stretch knit fabric so I am not sure if this will fray. I can’t wait to make this!
I just made this today and it is a really cute skirt but doesn't really work as a dress. I have a more pear shape so the top of the "dress" doesn't stay up. But, very cute skirt.
Thank you for this fabulous tutorial! I have a question…you have 3 tutorials of this versitile skirt with 3 different fabrics. Are they the same? I want to make the white one, so is that the one for me to follow, or is your newest one recommended? I am new at this 🙂
Again, thanks.
Wow it’s great!!! I love this tutorial.