delia creates

baby, sewing, tutorial ·

Nesting: Easy Baby Skirts

So, today’s project is …..EASY.

Hence why it’s in the title:

These skirts are easy to make, easy to wear, and incredibly easy on the pocketbook.

I am sure there are a hundred tutorials on skirts like this, but I’ll show you what I did anyway.

Here we go…

You take a T-shirt.
{I show two different ones in the tutorial because I made each one a little differently.}

Again, I almost never throw a knit shirt away. There is always a use for them it seems. You can make an entire baby skirt out of a small/medium woman’s shirt and have some scraps leftover for another project.

Cut off the bottom of the shirt and then cut a piece about 6 inches by 13 inches {mine is shown cut on the fold}.

The 6 x13 piece is the waistband of the skirt. The bottom of the shirt is for the body of the skirt. No need to hem! 🙂

These measurements are for a newborn skirt and maybe even 0-3 months. The amount of stretch in the knit fabric you are using matters a lot, so my measurements are approximate. For 0-3 months I recommend cutting a 6×14 inch piece to be safe.

Sew/serge the waistband together. Fold it over itself.


Now, gather the T-shirt bottom piece, which is the skirt piece. You can pleat it and pin it to the waistband.

Or gather it first.

To gather the skirt, crank your tension and your stitch length up all the way and sew all the way around without back stitching. Pull it off the machine leaving long thread tails. Using those tails gather it even more until the skirt is about the width of the waistband.

Then pin.

Oh…and be sure that any side seams from the original shirt are evenly spaced to the sides of the skirt.

I like to have the waistband right side out, then flip the skirt piece wrong side out {so you have right sides facing}. This ensures that everything sews the way it should and that the waistband doesn’t have to stretch during sewing.

When sewing the waistband use a zig zag stitch or serger. I don’t want so many pins near my serger blades so I sew it with a straight stitch {to sort of baste it together} and then serge it.

Sew all the way around.  Add a tag at this step if you like.

Flip it all right sides out and you’re done!

You can roll the waistband down or leave it long.

So easy.

Here’s the pleated one…

I like that it can be worn as a high waist-ed skirt, making any onsie look more like a dress.

{The silver shoes are a bit bigger size but I couldn’t resist adding them to the picture. My mother-in-law took me girl clothes shopping at the Children’s Place when we found out the gender}.

I love this waistband because it’s soft, flexible and so comfy for little baby bodies.

As I mentioned before, I used other skirts and onsies to guesstimate the width I should make the skirts. I’ll be curious to see if they will be able to last through more than one size because of the very flexible waistband.

I had fun playing “dress up” with all the skirts. Can’t wait for a real baby to try them on. 🙂

This brown skirt was kind of an experiment. I used the length of an XL men’s t-shirt and folded it under for more of a bubble skirt. It is A LOT of fabric for a baby and made for a quirky skirt. I’ll still try it on her though. 🙂

I also made one with some cotton fabric as the skirt piece, and a scrap of knit for the waistband.

Also lots of fun. The only drawback is that I know I’m going to have to iron it with each wash.

I didn’t really measure the length of the cotton. I just gathered it with my hands and eyeballed how wide I wanted it. More fabric gives more body and poof to the skirt. So it’s all up to you.

It makes these originally boy-ish onsies more girly.

I think with the right headband, you won’t even be able to tell they were once boy onsies?

I put Reid in this blue striped one a lot. It’s kind of strange yet exciting to see it girlie-fied.

So…I think I might have gone overboard with all the pictures and outfits. 🙂 ha…This girl is lots of fun already.

Have a beautiful day!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. Is that elastic on the collar of a onesie to make it more girlie like a v-neck? GENIUS!! I love the skirt, but that bit of elastic just blew my mind.

    Reply

  5. This is just what I was looking for today!! I've been making jersey dresses for my little girl and am about to cross over into too many. I was looking for a way to use my knit to make a comfy skirt that can go with the little leggies I've been sewing, and this is it! Can't wait to get started! 🙂 Thanks!

    Reply

  8. I Love this idea! So easy for mixing and matching and as you said turning boyish or plain onsies into a cute outfit. And I love the comfy factor too, perfect for squishy littles 🙂

    Reply

  9. Haha! I LOVE IT!!! I love that you took so many pictures and that you're putting together outfits before the baby is even here. Girls are SO much fun to dress. Thanks for the tutorial, I'm thinking about making a bubble skirt for my 2 yr old girl. Love your series!

    Reply

  18. CUTE! love it, love all of it! I just sewed my first baby skirt yesterday (just from what I imagined in my head) and it turned out cute but I want to try this one for sure. and oh you are going to have SO much fun with a little girl!!!! I'm so exited for you!

    Reply

  19. These skirts are very sweet 🙂 I love how many outfits you laid out. It really motivates me to put together some of my own. I have some knits in my repurpose pile and now have a plan for this weekend. My three month old is going to look so cute in them! Thank you for sharing this tutorial. I love it!!

    Reply

  21. SO CUTE!
    Here’s the big fat moneysaving secret of girls clothes (and goodness knows we need one because there is so much goodness out there) … skirts last FOREVER! Well I mean, skirts last as long as they fit on the waistband. But just as an example, a similar knit waistband + cotton skirt skirt in a size 3t managed to fit long on Nicole as a 2t, knee length as a 3t, and above-the-knee as a 4t! I sewed her a skirt when she was one that was just a tiered cotton skirt with an elastic waist and because it started off so long, it fit her til she was three. mwahaha.
    Now if only little girl SHOES fit forever. Because that, my friend, quickly spirals into a terrificible addiction.

    Reply

  23. This is one of the cutest remakes for a t-shirt that I have EVER seen!! I almost cant hold myself back from grabbing a tee and some scissors right now and running off to start this project!!
    Thanks sooo much for sharing this one! Would love to have you join my t-shirt link up at http://www.mytshirttalk.com

    I will be having it every Tuesday and would love to have you add this post!!
    Have a great week – I promise to share pics when I finsh this one!

    Jaelma

    Reply

  25. Love this. Just made one in about two hours-ish. Happened to be making a t-shirt quilt and had lots of scraps that I couldn’t throw away. Your tutorial was so easy to follow. Thanks!

    Reply

  27. Delia,
    Do you have any recommendations for size adjustments for bigger sizes? I don't have girls, but I want to make a couple of these for a friend of mine who does have girls. 🙂

    Reply

  29. Love the skirt, made one for my 2 yr old who also loves it, BUT, I must be doing something wrong. Once the gathers are sewn, it eliminates any stretch the fabric once had. It’s very hard to pull up over my daughter’s diaper without breaking some stitches. Any suggestions??

    Reply

  30. jdk – hmmm. Did you serge it or sew it with a zig zag stitch? Those will allow the fabric to stretch enough without breaking the threads.

    I hope that helps!

    Reply

  33. @Kendra L. You just use regular thread. You gather the skirt by hand, and have the jersey for the waist band, so no need for any elastic.

    Theese are super cute, I wish i had cute T-shirts to make some of these out of, I think I might look for some at the thrift store next time, I'm hoping to have a new niece (they don't know the sex yet). Fingers crossed, but if it doesnt

    Reply

  36. Kendra – good question. No. Just regular thread is needed. The T-shirt waistband provides the needed stretch.

    Jacki – I just might consider it, or maybe another tutorial with a sizing chart?

    Reply

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  38. I’ve been eager to create a baby skirt for such a long time now, I’ve just never managed to take the plunge! I honestly no idea it could be so easy, or more likely you just make it look that way.

    There is a very specific dress I wanted to make for my little one, hopefully to come out as adorable as your creations.

    This is the t-shirt I am looking to create the dress from one of these tops http://www.greatplains.co.uk/category/womens+Casual+Tops/Tops.htm I was curious as to whether you thought the lace tops would cause an issue or if there could be a workaround?

    Keep up the great work!

    Reply

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  40. This is such a cute little skirt! Thankyou for sharing it. How long did you cut the T-shirt for the skirt part for a newborn?

    Reply

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