Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Ruching for Skirt Week

crafterhours

Crafterhours is one of my all time favorite blogs.  Not only do Susan and Adrianna share amazing things to make and admire, but they are seriously entertaining.  I love reading their posts and especially their little on-going conversations in the sidebar.  You know they’d be a riot to hang out with.  Or at least they pretend convincingly.  But really, I love Crafterhours, respect Susan and Adrianna so much, and I’m honored to be a part of their Skirt Week this year. 

Maxi skirts and dresses.  They are comfortable and flattering, and so easy to wear.  The maxi is a total staple in my wardrobe these days.  Today I’m going to show you a really quick and easy variation you can either add to an existing skirt or throw in as a fun detail while making a new skirt. 

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All you need is a yard of 1/4” elastic and a few minutes of time to make your basic maxi skirt a little bit more unique and fun

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And to prove how easy it is, I did the bulk of mine with a small child tied to my body. 

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It’s like my baby is my shirt.

So. 

First you need the skirt.  For my skirt I started with my Pregnant Panels Skirt.  Only I’m no longer pregnant (see baby shirt above), so I used fewer panels and made it extra long (my panels were 45” long for this skirt). 

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After nearly completing the skirt, all but the hems, I cut two strips of 1/4” knit elastic 11 inches long


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Starting about an inch from the unfinished hem (if working with a finished hem, start directly above the hem), pin the elastic in place at the side seam.
 

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Stretching the elastic as you sew, use a stretch-stitch to sew the elastic in place along the side seam.  I find it easiest to firmly hold the back of the fabric/elastic with one hand, while pulling the unsewn elastic with the other hand in front of the foot/needle as I sew things in place.  Use your side seam as a guide, staying as close to the actual seam as you can with your stitches.


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Repeat for other side seam.
And you’ll have this on the inside

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And this fancy fun on the outside

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Ruching, add it to a skirt in your life today!

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11 comments:

crafterhours said...

A) I love this skirt.
B) You are so sweet.
C) We are probably not as fun in person as we pretend to be on the sidebar. Especially if half of our brains are attending to children while trying to do anything else.
D) Back to the skirt. I love a maxi length, but have shied away since kids because the volume can be cumbersome whilst chasing said kids. I love that this makes it harder to trip over while still adding style.
Susan

Corinnea said...

Very cute, Love the panels skirt. The shirring modification is fun!
I'm going with a maxi this year too. Let's see if I can get mine done in time....

Christie said...

It is totally cute!

lakaribane said...

I apologize for having nothing to say about your skirt...I only have eyes for your SHOES!!!!!!

Disney said...

Oh how pretty! Such an easygoing style.

Delia said...

This is gorgeous Sabra. Love it! It looks comfy too.

Delia said...

Oh and can I ask where you get your knit?

KimnSam said...

LOVE the rouching, very original.

MikenDesi Furness said...

My favourite skirt is a ruched skirt I bought in a boutique in Seattle. It has ruching on every seam and I love it! I call it my wedding cake skirt. I can't wait to have my own sewing machine so I can make tons of them. Thanks for this!

Sachiko Aldous said...

This is such a pretty skirt, and looks confortable too. Great job!

Stacey said...

I love seeing this detail on maxi skirts, but I was a little stumped on how to make one myself, so thanks heaps for your tutorial!

P.S. I absolutely the love the "it's like my baby is my shirt" photo. Pure sewing gold.

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