Basics: Easy A-Line Mini Skirt with Frill Hem

My day job, travel, and god knows what has gotten in the way of my sewing over the past couple weeks. This past weekend I finally had a clear agenda and didn't leave my sewing space for hours.. It was beautiful. Never try to sew something elaborate & complicated after a sewing break, risks are high. This is a perfect warm-up project.

Tutorials take a lot of time & effort to create, and I choose to make mine available for free. If you enjoy this guide, you can support me with a donation that feels right for you, here.

TOOLS:

Fabric, 1.5 m half-width or 1 m full width (I used 100% Japanese cotton)  |  Scissors  |  Invisible zipper  |  Thread & Sewing machine  |  Pins

I. First I cut out my skirt pieces (I'm a EU36/US4, waist 70 cm). Almost identical back & front pieces, the back piece just slightly wider to accommodate seam allowances for the zipper/back seam.

II. Also cut out my waist band:

III. Then cut my back piece in half along the center line, and sewed the two halves on either side of the front piece (also decided to use the reverse of the fabric as the right side):

IV. Then pinned my waist band onto the skirt, and sewed in place:

Then folded the waist band in half, right side to right side, folding the seam allowances upwards, and sewed a straight stitch aligned with the edge of the skirt piece:

After cutting excess around the corner, I turned the band right side out and pushed the corner out. Repeated for the other end of the band.

Then just pinned the reverse onto the skirt, all seam allowances pointing upwards, and sewed on the right side in the ditch:

V. Next I finished the back edges with my serger, and pinned my invisible zipper in place. This is a super comprehensive video on invisible zipper installation. Pro tip: having the special presser foot makes all the difference.

Zipper done and seam pressed - just needed to hand-sew the ends of the zipper down:

VI. Last I measured the length of the hem (58 cm X 2 = 116 cm), plugged my number into the circle skirt calculator (half-circle option), and got 36 cm as my radius.

Drafted that onto my fabric folded in half, cut along the arch, and then marked the another line 10 cm out to finish cutting the frill piece.

VI. Last, pinned and sewed the frill onto the hem, and finished with a narrow double-fold.

I have some fabric left.. Maybe a matching top..:)

xo,

Julia