This is a choose your own adventure post – for posterity, I’m going to include the instructions for how to make this skirt in the post, but if you aren’t interested in the details, feel free to scroll for pics instead.

We had a wedding to go to recently, and Three asked me to make her something. I’d picked up some traditional African block print fabric this spring and thought it would be the perfect thing to use for a skirt for her.

I kept this pretty simple – it was an afternoon wedding, and I started the skirt that morning. If I hadn’t been documenting my work and there had been no distractions, I’m pretty sure it would have been a little quicker, but it took about three hours, including me stepping away to take care of my other responsibilities.

I wanted a flat front, gathered back dress. Three wanted something that fell just below the knee.

I went with the full width of the fabric so I could use the selvage for the edges (and not have to finish any seams) and also so the skirt would be nice and full.

The fabric I used is cotton and super crispy with a terrible drape – if this goes through the wash, there will be ironing in my future. However, it makes for a fantastic, flouncy skirt.

You need six pieces, plus matching thread (I used black thread): two fabric-width cuts (selvage to selvage) at 20.5 in. long, 1 back waistband piece 7 1/8 in. selvage to selvage, and a front waistband piece 7 1/8″ x 17 1/2″ (roughly half Three’s waist measurement), 2 1/2 inch wide elastic (about half your wearer’s waist measurement – start with a yard), and one piece of lightweight fusible interfacing that is slightly smaller than the front waistband. I used a 1/2 in. seam allowance except for the gathering seams.

I based the length on what Three asked for – it would be very easy to lengthen or shorten the skirt. Just take the waistband into consideration when you estimate how long you want it to be.

After you cut your fabric, use a 5.0 width stitch two seams across the top width of the front piece of the skirt, one 1/4″ from the edge, and one 5/8″ from the edge. Leave nice long threads on both ends so you can easily gather the fabric.

Pull the strings at the edges until the skirt is gathered to the width of the front waistband (in my case, 17 1/2 inches). Make sure your stitch length is back to 2.5 or whatever length you prefer. Pin and sew the front waistband to the gathered skirt, right sides together. Press the seam upwards.

Sew the back waistband to the back skirt, right sides together. Press the seam upwards.Sew the front of the dress to the back, making sure the waistband seams line up and that the edges of the seam at the top of the skirt remain pressed upwards. Since my fabric wasn’t shifty, I only pinned at the waistband to make sure those seams remained pointing upwards.Here’s what the outside of one edge will look like if the seams are lined up properly:Cut and adhere the fusible interfacing to the front waistband. Give yourself about half an inch at the top and bottom of the waistband. Since you’ve already sewn the side seams, it’s OK to go right up to the edge there.You don’t want to sew through the interfacing any more than you have to – it gums up the sewing machine and slows things down.Iron the top edge of the waistband over towards the inside of the skirt a scant half an inch all the way around. Fold the waistband in half and pin the back half of the waistband down towards the inside of the skirt so that the waistband casing’s edge hits just below the waistband seam. Turn the skirt over to the outside and stitch in the ditch – the crease where the waistband meets the skirt. You’ll sew from side seam to side seam on the back half of the skirt. Make sure you caught the inside edge of the waistband along the entire seam.

Sew another seam just inside the top edge of the casing on the back half of the dress. This prevents the elastic from rolling.Thread your elastic into the casing and pull the end just past the side seam. After you remove the safety pin (or whatever you used to thread the elastic, carefully sew down the waistband’s side seam from the outside of the skirt to secure the elastic in place. You may want to lengthen your stitch a little (I think I used a 3.5 in. stitch length here) in case you either don’t catch the elastic the first time or have another problem. Since you haven’t cut your elastic, you can make sure that it’s pulled far enough through without worrying about the length yet.

After gathering the back, try the skirt on your kid and tighten the elastic if necessary from the free side, then secure it on the other side sewing from the outside of the skirt down the side seam from the top to the bottom of the waistband. Cut the elastic. I left about 4 inches of extra elastic threaded into the flat front waistband so that as Three grows, I can let it out.Pin and sew the front waistband in the same manner as the back. Pull out any visible gathering stitches. I hemmed the skirt by folding and pressing the bottom edge a quarter inch, then 5/8 inch, towards the inside of the skirt and used a 3.5 stitch width.

This skirt could easily be made to fit an adult (just use half the waist measurement plus 1 inch seam allowance for the front waistband piece) or a smaller child. If I made it for a smaller kid, I would decrease the width of the back piece so that it wouldn’t be too bulky, which would mean finishing the raw edge on one side. I see this as a summer staple for church and special gatherings, styled as my daughter did, with her Strata top, or with a plain black tank tucked in with the skirt worn high. In fall and winter, it would look great with a simple black long-sleeved shirt or a cropped sweater, black leggings, and boots.

Are your creative wheels turning yet?