How To: Easy Midi Skirt with Front Slit & Shirred Waist

Shocking.. A midi skirt. But I swear this one is different. Instead of a regular elasticated waist, it has a revolutionary partially shirred/smocked waist, for unprecedented levels of comfort. It also has a center slit, which can be worn on the side or over one leg. Multi-use, guys.

I liked the combination of this fabric and a solid red, and my initial plan was to make a two-tone dress. Until I realized the red fabric bleeds when washed (always pre-wash your fabric kids). So a dress would not have survived a wash.. So did a separate top instead. The random seams you see on the top are because this was another leftover project.. Basically V2 of this one - I was already in shirring mode from the skirt, so I made sleeves with a balloon effect done with shirring as well.

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 m (1.5 m width)  |  Scissors  |  Pins  |  Thread (regular & elastic)  |  Sewing machine

I. My cut pieces (2 of each, total 4). The piece on the right looks like a rectangle due to the angle, but as you see from the measurements, is actually slightly wider at the hem. I first cut a trapezoid, and then cut it in half along the center to create the straight edges for the slit.

II. To make the slit I just sewed the two pieces of the trapezoid back together, leaving however much you want for the slit open.

Closer look at the slit:

III. Then I added the pieces that will make up the sides & meet at the back:

IV. And did a double-fold along the waistline, securing with a straight stitch.

V. To prepare for the shirring, I marked two lines down from the waistline, 10 cm to each direction from the center seam..

.. And shirred from the marked line to the edge on both sides, about 15 cm down from the waistline.

This is what I had on the reverse:

VI. To finish this part, I used my needle to pull the thread ends from the right side to the reverse..

.. Where I tied them in a knot with the elastic ends.

VII. Lats two steps were to sew the center back seam, and hem the skirt.

About the top.. I started with a shirred back and non-shirred front piece..

.. Then added as big sleeves as I could cut from the leftover piece I had, and used shirring to gather the sleeves at the neckline + at two spots along the sleeve to create the balloon-esque look.

xo,

Julia