Hello! I make pettiskirts and sell them on my website. They are actually very easy to make- if you have a lot of time and patience. I also highly recommend a gathering or ruffler foot, do it by hand will make you crazy. Measurements are simple... dropwaist should be cut double the actual waist measurement (ex- if you have a 15" waist, cut it 30" wide X double the length of the drop + 1/2 inch more for seam allowance). The drop is your preference. I use 3-5 inches depending on the size of the skirt I'm making. I use satin charmuese or you could use a 40 denier nylon chiffon vs. the 15 denier which is what the rest of the skirt is made of.
Sew the short ends together to make a tube and then fold the tube in half WRONG sides together (right side out) and press/iron. Then sew your casing approx. 1" down from the fold line for 3/4" elastic or 1 1/4" for 1' elastic. Remember to leave a 2" opening near the seam (which will be the back of the skirt) to insert the elastic later! Waist is now done! [b
](TIP*** If you are using satin charmuese for your waist- it does fray! Don't worry, just get some very thin iron on (fusible) interface/stabilizer and cut 1" wide strips then length of your waist (you will need 2). Before you sew your waist into the tube, iron on the interfacing strips to both LONG ends of the waist piece on the wrong side. This will keep it from fraying and it won't be visible one the skirt is done!)Next step is to cut your NYLON CHIFFON- make sure it is nylon and not polyester- which will fray like crazy and make you nuts! TIP*** Using a rotary cutter is a HUGE help!
Decide how long you want your skirt to be, then subtract the length or your drop waist. Then take the leftover measurement and divide it in half- this will be the width of your 2 layers. (ex. if you want a 16" skirt and you have a 4" dropwaist, you will have 12" left over so you would cut your strips 6" wide (well, actually 6 1/2" wide including seam allowances of 1/4")
Cut 18 strips of chiffon that are 6 1/2" wide (from the example above, use your own measurement here) by the width of your chiffon- whatever it may be from selvage to selvage. 3 pieces will be for the outer top layer, 3 pieces will be for the inner top layer, 6 pieces will be for the inner bottom layer and 6 pieces will be for the outer bottom layer.
Now, I use a gathering foot but that is because it's easier for me and I know this is enough fabric to fit the waist based on the amount my foot gathers, your foot may gather more or less and if it does, you might need more or less lengths of chiffon to attach to the waist. This is where hand gathering is wonderful. You are in control of the gathers and you make them fit, not the case if you use a foot. You just have to experiment to get it right. If you do gather by hand, be prepared for it to take a long time!
Take 3 of the chiffon lengths and sew them together end to end being sure your seams are all facing the same way! Much like strip piecing a quilt. You don't have to be very precise, the chiffon is very forgiving and so is the skirt! All the gathering hides many flaws
! If you are going to hand gather, you would then sew 2 lines of stitching very close together but NOT overlapping each other down one long end of the strip on the longest stitch length your machine has- this is very important! You can get away with 1 stitch line, but you must be very careful when gathering to not break the thread! Sew these lines as close to the edge as possible, so that when you do your 1/4" seam later, they don't show! Pull on either both top threads or both bobbin threads (either will work) and start gathering the chiffon working from one end to the middle and from the other end to the middle. Keep gather until your gathered piece fits the bottom of the dropskirt circumference. You can then tie knots in the threads to hold the length. I usually then pin along the length to keep the gathers from slipping and sew between the 2 previous stitched lines. Remember to reset your stitch to normal! This will help lock the gather in place. You can fiddle with them as you go, but try to keep them uniform throughout the length of the piece.
You are now ready to attach this to your waist! Lay the gathered chiffon strip on the RIGHT side of the waist (inside layer or outside layered doesn't really matter which one you do first. Just make sure when sewing that you don't accidentally sew into the layer underneath! (Been there, done that!). Line up the raw edges and sew a 1/4" seam all the way around the first layer of the waistband. Over lap the ends at the seam line on the waist band (back of the skirt). Repeat the steps again for the inner layer of the waistband. You should then have the 1 layer of the skirt complete and it will have 2 layers, one inner and 1 outer.
Repeat the steps again, this time using 6 pieces of chiffon for the inner and outer layers of the 2nd tier. It's a little difficult to sew with the gathers, so take your time. I find that sewing a few inches, then stopping to "adjust" and sewing again really helps. It's very time consuming, but worth taking your time!
Making the "Fluff"
To make the "fluff" all you do is cut a ton of 2" wide strips for a smaller skirt, 2 1/2" strips for a larger skirt (or your preference) and sew the all end to end to end to end to end to end to end......... do a lot! if you have extra, you can always make a matching tank with it! This time, you will gether right down the center of the strip. If hand gathering, I would only stitch 1 line this time so that it doesn't show as much when you attach it to the skirt. Just be VERY careful when you are gathering! You can also break it up in to shorter pieces to make it easier- it will never show on the skirt!
Once you have all the "fluff" made. You will then sew it to the bottom tier of the skirt on both the inside and outside layers! This is what gives you all the fullness! Don't skimp on the fluff- gather it up tightly. Chiffon is very cheap, you can get it online for $2.25/yard so it's worth it to make good fluffy fluff, it will make for a much better skirt in the end!
For a final step, I always top stitch on the seams of the top ties where it is attached to the waist, that way the seam will lay flat towards the top of the skirt and not show through the chiffon. You can also sew satin ribbon over the seam of the tiers if you want like I did.
I would also suggest making the skirt from the bottom up as suggested on other posts. It's much easier to sew the fluff onto a flat piece than a gathered piece and the skirt turns out the same way!
Please contact me if you have any questions! I will be glad to help. Or, if this is all to much of a hassle for you- visit my website and buy one of mine!
www.kerriskreations.comHope this is helpful,
Kerri
Any Pettiskirt Tips?
