Awesome Spinning and Twirling Skirt! Pinned it and Did it

Who doesn't need super-cute summer skirts for their little girl?  A few months ago I collected a few DIY skirt tutes on Pinterest and I finally made one.  It was called the "Circle Skirt" but my daughter calls it her "Spinning Skirt." (Actually, it usually comes out "Sfinny Skirt"but I thought you may not be able to translate that last remaining vestige of her toddler lisp.)

This Pin by Made is quoted in multiple tutorials and after digging around on her blog, I can totally see why.  She has some really fun tutorials all over the place.  (insert the"Danger, Batman!" warning to anyone who loves good DIY tutorials that don't require purchasing anything)

Here is the link to her tutorial.

Source: danamadeit.com via Carrie on Pinterest

Armed with that Pin, some awesome knit fabric, 1.5" wide elastic, and an unplanned Saturday evening, I was able to tackle the mathematics, make a pattern and....drumroll.....a skirt!

Ta da!

Can you tell how much she loves the twirl power of this skirt?

For the most part, I followed her tutorial.  The math involved is easy and worked great. My fabric was a directional print (meaning all the little rainbows went the same way, so I had to cut two pieces and sew them together to make the circle.)  For fabric, I chose a knit, and although knit wasn't on her suggested fabric list. It worked great though.  The only other thing I did that she didn't do on her skirt, was to zig zag stitch over the elastic seam to provide a little extra durability and to make the elastic lay flatter.  Just be careful when you sew fabric to the band as it is a little thick in that spot and you don't want to break a needle.

I have now made five of these skirts and have a few more cut out.  They easily take less than an hour.   On the last one I made, I zig zag stitched the elastic to the fabric and was happier with the result than the straight stitch because I find it hard to sew perfectly straight lines and tug on the elastic.

5th Birthday at Walt Disney World Outfit!

Cinderella-inspired Cotton Costume with Twirl Skirt
I covered the waist-band on this one so I didn't have to dye the elastic to match. 

A side note on knits: Lots of people are afraid of knits since they can take a little more patience to cut and require a little finesse when you sew them.  However, I challenge you to conquer your fear of knits and try them.  Just pull on the fabric a little bit as you sew it to another piece and they will come out wonderfully.  It is actually a very forgiving fabric to sew with.

Happy sewing!

(And if you end up being inspired to make one, or ten, please let me know!)

On Pinterest:

Source: happylittlemonkeystree.blogspot.com via Carrie on Pinterest