Versa Skirt TUTORIAL

I’m all about pink today in my new…

Versa skirt for Color Your Summer 3!

I actually first made this skirt/dress two years ago – see it HERE.

Today, I am sharing a new and improved version!

It’s still versatile as the name implies… Wear it as a comfy maxi skirt, make it a high-waisted skirt, or pull it all the way up to make it a dress.

This time, I think I have honed the construction steps to give a better fit and more polished finish. I still get questions about the original tutorial. Hopefully this one will clear those questions up! 🙂

Let’s get started!

MATERIALS

about 2 yards of light to mid weight knit fabric
matching thread
ball point needle and/or double needle (if not using a serger, these needles work best on knit fabric)
optional – fusible sewing tape

Notes about fabric –

*What fabric you choose will depend on how it looks on you. I chose a lighter weight knit with a lot of drape. Ideally you want a mid-weight knit (how could I pass up that print though! ;)). You could choose a heavier weight knit but it will hang very differently on your body and may not be as flattering. When you are shopping look for fluid “drape” for the most flattering fit. You can also choose a four way stretch knit (likely a spandex/dance knit) like I used the first time which gives a little more sleek silhouette.

*The 2 yards is a middle of the road guess as to how much fabric you will need. I will help you determine a more exact amount in the tutorial using your measurements.

* The knit fabric I used is from Girl Charlee (sponsor). HERE is a link to the listing.

MEASUREMENTS

1. Measure your true waist. This is the smallest part of your waist, usually right around your belly button.
2. Measure your lower waist – almost to your hips. The maxi skirt is meant to be worn around this area. *Be mindful, that if your bust is significantly smaller than your hips, you may only be able to wear this skirt as a skirt and not a dress.
3. Measure the fullest part of your hips. This will determine the width of your skirt.
4. Measure from your hips to the floor.

DETERMINE FABRIC AMOUNT

Take your hip to floor measurement (#4) and add 16 inches to it. For most sizes, this will determine how much yardage you will need.

If your full hip measurement is more than 54 inches, then you will need to get double the amount of fabric. So …hip to floor plus 16 inches multiplied by 2.

CUT YOUR FABRIC

This part always takes me the loooongest because I usually get a print and have to spend a lot of time getting it to all match up. If you get a busy print or a solid…no stress. Just line it up on grain and cut your skirt pieces.

If you got a knit with a graphic pattern, spend some time getting it lined up the best you can. Lay it out on the floor or on a large table to help you see where to match your patterns up.

You need FOUR pieces. 

2 – skirt 
2 – waistband

For the skirt, first cut a rectangle:

length = hip to floor measurement plus 2 inches
width  = full hip measurement

You will be cutting this rectangle in half, thus ending up with TWO pieces.

*You may also decide to divide the full hip measurement by two and cutting two pieces right from the start, like I did here…

Now take:

(full hip measurement [minus] lower waist measurement) divided by two = how much you need to cut away from the sides of your rectangles

Since you have two rectangles, you need to divide this difference by two so that you are cutting equal sized pieces away from each hip.
For me that was 3 inches or 1.5 inches from each hip for each rectangle.

Layer both rectangles together, fold them in half, lengthwise, and then mark 1.5 inches in from the width’s edge. Using a ruler, angle the skirt back out to the original width, then cut.

Open it back up and you have two sort rectangles that are tapered into the waist.

For the waistband:

Simply cut two rectangles, 16 inches in length and the width of your lower waist.

Now,

LET’S SEW!

You do NOT need a serger, although that is the simplest and cleanest way to go. If you do not have a serger, use the stretch stitch or a lengthened zig zag stitch on your machine (#3 and #4  pictured above, respectively, #2 is a stretch stitch as well but I have yet to try it).

1. Sew your waistband pieces up the sides, right sides together (RST). Sew your skirt pieces in the same manner. Keep your waistband inside out and flip your skirt right sides out.

2. Gather the top of the skirt with a gathering stitch. Lengthen your stitch all the way and crank your tension up to the highest number you can. Sew WITHOUT back stitching at the beginning and the end. Reset your tension back to normal and pull the threads tighter to pull and gather the top of the skirt. Distribute the gathers as evenly as you can until it is the width of the waistband.

3. Flip the waistband right sides out and slide it over the top of the skirt. The waistband should be wrong side facing the right side of the skirt.

4. Pin the waistband to the top of the skirt.

5. Sew all the way around with a serger or a lengthened zig zag stitch. Flip the waistband up so that the wrong side of the waistband is showing.

6. Now it’s time to hem your skirt. You can iron on some fusible sew tape (optional) to keep things in place without having to use pins.

7. Sew around with a double needle, a lengthened zig zag stitch, or leave it raw (knit doesn’t fray, but this looks less polished).

DONE!

Easy right?

You may be wondering why I have you sew the waistband the “wrong way.”

See?…it folds over. 😉

Folding it over allows you to better control over how it bunches and lays as you transition from skirt to dress to skirt.

Pull it up and wear it as a dress with a cardi….

Or without. I plan to use it as a swim cover up from time to time.

It makes a nice high waisted skirt with the help of a belt.

And my favorite way to wear it, is of course as a maxi skirt.

It’s a skirt so versatile, you can make it work for many occasions and almost every season. It comes together fast too. Annnnd…if you score your fabric from Girl Charlee’s sale section – you can make one for as little as $5-6! Sweet. (Disclaimer: Girl Charlee is a sponsor and I honestly LOVE them.)

Be sure to check out Kojodesigns as well who is rockin’ PINK as well with these lemonade popsicles!