Hey guys!
I’d like to share with you my super sweet **homemade** Lolita/cancan skirt… not only that- here’s an illustrated tutorial in 10 steps!! No pattern and barely any measuring needed!
Sorry if I made the pics too small in the effort to make this load quickly ^^;;;
What you’ll need:
- a skirt that fits you well
- sewing machine, scissors, ruler, tape measure, chalk, pins (I suppose you could sew this by hand if you don’t have a sewing machine but it makes the difference between spending 1 hour and 5 hours)
- a BIG shirt with a cute print- MUST be stretchy! (mine was size XXL, cost $6 at a thrift store)
- mesh tulle/crinoline (optional)
So, here’s the biiiiig shirt and the skirt I am using. (cute apple print!!)
Step 1: Lay the shirt flat and cut off the sleeves. This will be your waistband.
Determine the width of your waistband (I liked the width on my original skirt- 4”) and just cut the sleeve piece into the shape of a waistband (it should be doubled, folded at one end) Each sleeve is 1/2 of the waistband.
Stitch these two halves together at both ends.
**use a small seam allowance- only 1/4 inch is needed- for all the following instructions. This fabric should not fray when it’s cut so no finished is needed either!
Step 2: Lay your original skirt on top of the shirt, as close to the neck as possible. (see how I’ve folded down the waist, and pinned up the length I wanted) Cut out the shape of skirt. Sew the sides together.
Step 3: Pin the open end of the waistband to the skirt, right sides (printed sides) together, matching side seams. Sew them together.
Step 4: Try the skirt on. You may need to take it in depending on how stretchy the fabric is- make sure you can still get it on.
You could probably stop at this point- and have a cute miniskirt! But why stop here?? Keep going!
Step 5: Remember the rest of that huge shirt? Cut it into strips the width that you want your ruffles to be (I managed to get exactly 4 equal strips of 4” wide) Since this skirt has three tiers, I’m going to use 1 strip as the top tier and the other 2 tiers are 1 1/2 strips. (so they will be fuller) Make sense? So cut one strip in half and sew it to the other strips.
Step 6: Sew a running/gathering stitch (your sewing machine’s largest stitch) near the top of each strip.
(now the tediousness starts)
Step 7: Determine where your tiers are going to go on the skirt- mark it evenly! (it’s nice if the tiers overlap) Make sure the bottom tier is at least an inch above the hem of the skirt if you want to follow my last tip for a full skirt!
Step 8: Match the half-point of each strip to the skirt’s side seams and pin in place. Gather the strip evenly by pulling the bobbin thread (that’s the thread on the side that was facing down when you sewed it, yo) and pin in place. Make sure you’re not overgathering the strips and cinching in the skirt- and you also want the gathers to be evenly distributed.
Step 9: Sew it all together! Check it out! You can quit now and still have a nice skirt, but I recommend giving it a little bit more *oomph* with the next tip.
Step 10: Repeat the same process at the bottom of the hem with a strip of tulle. It should be sewn just underneath the bottom ruffle. With tulle, a little bit of gathering goes a long way.
So awesome.
Please tell me if you enjoyed
Super-Cute Lolita/CanCan skirt-- TUTORIAL!
