Twirly satin chiffon skirts X 7!

I made some satin chiffon skirts for my girl and her friends at school for their year end graduation concert.

I got a real bargain at the Sultan Road shop.  All the 4 yards Satin and 4 yards chiffon for only $30! All the cutting and sewing took me 2 full days but I'm happy with the result. 

Want to try make one? It's quite simple but could be a tad bit messy because of the slippery chiffon and fraying satin. But I'll share a tutorial here if you are still keen. I'm sure you will be happy with the end results!

The skirt is for a skinny tall 6 year old girl.  You can always adjust the length to suit your girl.

Waist = 21"

Length = 14.5"

Material

0.5 yard of Satin

0.5 yard of Chiffon

1" elastic band

matching threads

Cutting Instruction

• For main satin skirt, cut a rectangle of 14" X 56".  The width of the satin is 56" so I've used the entire width and just cut the length that I want.
• For waistband, cut 2 long stripes of 4" X 33" each.
• For chiffon overlay, cut long stripe of 11" X 45".  The width of the chiffon is 45" so I've used the entire width. The length of the chiffon overlay should be about 3" shorter than your main skirt.
• Cut elastic band of length 21".

Sewing Instruction
Main skirt
1. Fold the skirt Right Side Facing so that the short edge are aligned. Pin and sew with 0.25" seam allowance. You can serged or zig zag the seams. Press seams open.

2. Serge the hem and waist area. Then, create a narrow hem by folding 0.25" and press. Then, fold 0.25" again and sew.

press with low heat iron to create a nice crease

sew the narrow hem

3. Turn your tension dial to 6.5 and move to the biggest stitch on your sewing machine.  Sew close to the top of the skirt and your skirt will gather automatically. Adjust the tension accordingly on your machine to make a nice even gather.  Set aside first.

Waist Band
1. Sew the 2 waistbands Right Side Facing together along one of the short edge with 0.25" seam allowance. Serge all the raw edge and press seams open.

2. For the other short edge, first pin them together, Right Side Facing. Measure 1" from the top and make a marking with your disappearing pen. Make another marking at 1" marking from the first marking you've made.

3. Start sewing the edge with 0.25" seam allowance and stop at the 1" mark. Remember to back stitch at the beginning and end of the stitch.  Then snip off your thread.

4. Place your needle to the next marking and start sewing from there to the end of the edge.  You've just sewn the waistband loop with a 1" gap in the seam. Press seam open.

5. Fold the waistband, Wrong Side Facing, into half along the long side to make 2" X 33".  The opening that you've just sewn will be just below the folded line. Press with iron to form fold line.

6. Measure 1" from the folded line and pin. Then, sew the 1" line along the waistband loop. You have just made a casing for the elastic band. Set aside.

see the opening at the seam of the waistband?
later you can insert the elastic band here.

Phew! I hope I've not lost you. If you are still with me, continue to read on...

Chiffon overlay
1. As I'm using the full width of the chiffon, I only need to take care of the top and bottom edge. Using the narrow hem option on my serger, I serged the chiffon using a different colored thread.

It's a bit tricky but just hang in there and you will get yourself a decent narrow hem. Your serger will give you more instruction on how to set the tension dials and stitch length. If you do not have a serger, don't panic, you can also manually sew a narrow hem.

2. For the raw side of the chiffon, fold in 1/8" to the wrong side and sew. Do the same for the other seam. Or you can also use your serger to treat the edge if you like.

3. Sew a gathering stitch (up the tension and biggest stitch width) along the top edge of the chiffon, just like what you did for the satin main skirt. Try to keep close to the top edge. Adjust the gathers so that the chiffon is about the same width as the waistband.

Assembly
1. Adjust the satin skirt width to be the same length as the waistband. Then, attach the waistband to the satin skirt, align raw edge, with right side of the fabric facing each other.  The folded part of the waistband is towards the bottom.

Try to align the side seams. I've used clips for this purpose as I'm afraid pins will leave markings on the satin. Clips are also stronger and helps to prevent the fabric from shifting.

2. Once you are satisfied with the gathers, attach the chiffon overlay on top of the satin skirt, align raw edge. You will need to remove the clip one by one and insert the chiffon between the waistband and skirt.

I've arrange for the chiffon side seam to be at the side of the main skirt, overlapped slightly. You can choose to put them in the middle centre if you prefer.

3. Using a slightly bigger stitch (2.5), Sew the waistband to the 2 skirts, using 0.25" seam allowance. Try to hide your gathering stitch in the seam allowance.  You will need to remove these loose stitch after you have sewn the waistband together.

4. It's quite thick here so sew slowly. Serge the raw edges so that it is keep neat. You can also zig zag the edge.

5. Flip the chiffon out of the way and top stitch the satin skirt down so that the seam allowance are sewn down. I didn't sew the chiffon together as I wanted the chiffon to be free so that it will be more bouncy.

6. Insert the elastic band and sew the edge down.  As the opening on the waistband is treated, it is easier for you to take out the waistband and change the length anytime you want.

Ta-da! Your pretty twirly satin chiffon skirt!  All 7 of them!

Oh! I even made one for the teacher. Since I've run out of fabric, I've inserted the chiffon as a layer after the satin to lengthen it. Still looks good : )

Enjoy