Free Tutorial Tuesday: Rachel's Tiered Ruffle Fabric Skirt

OMG. We can't even tell you how EXCITED we are for this pattern!!!! We came up with this skirt last year and kept meaning to make it a pattern but then we decided that it's so simple we should just do it as a free tutorial. Did I mention we decided this in like December of last year?!? lol. Behind much??? Well, here we finally are with our FREE Rachel's Tiered Ruffle Fabric Skirt. Woot! Better late than never right? 

Difficulty Level: Advanced Beginner--working with Ruffle Fabric can be a little tricky
 

Materials Needed:

• Fabric
• Scissors or Rotary Cutter and Cutting Mat
• Ruler
• Pins
• Thread
• 3/4” Elastic

Size of Waistband to Cut:
12-18 mos/2T - 3" x 36"
3T/4T - 3" x 38"
5T/6T - 3" x 40"

Size of Ruffle Fabric to Cut (Cut 2--one for both colors):
12-18 mos./2T- 4" x 36"

3T/4T- 5" x 38"
5T/6-6" x 40" 
Note:If you would like to just use 1 fabric for the ruffle skirt multiply the skirt length by 2. That will become the length of the fabric and the width will remain the same. For example, if I wanted to make the 3T out of one fabric I would take 5" x 2= 10". The same is true if you would want to use, say 3 fabrics instead of 2. For the 3T, divide the 10" by 3 strips and each strip will need to be 3.333", which I would just say 3".

Length of Elastic to Cut:
12-18 mos.- 17.5"
2T- 18"
3T- 18.5"
4T- 19"
5T- 20"
6- 21"

Step 1: First we will take the waist band piece and lay it on a flat surface with the right side of the fabric facing right side up. Then take your first ruffle fabric piece and begin pinning it to the bottom of the waist band right sides together as pictured to the left. Once pinned, sew in place.

Step 2: Now we will take the piece we've just sewn and lay it on a flat surface with the right side of the fabrics facing right side up. Then take your second piece of ruffle fabric and begin pinning it to the bottom of the first ruffle fabric piece right sides together. Once pinned, sew in place.

At this point, your ruffle fabric may extend past the width of the waistband by an inch or so due to stretching while sewing. If this is the case, feel free to trim it so that it is the same width as the waistband.

Step 3: Now fold the skirt panel in half width-wise with the right sides of fabric facing and the raw edges lined up. Match up all the ruffles and seams while pinning the whole way down. Once pinned we can begin sewing making sure the ruffles match up and are straight. We suggest sewing from the top of the waist band to the bottom of the skirt as it will be easier to keep the ruffle fabric straight as we sew.

Step 4: Starting at the side seam of the skirt, fold back the waistband and press 1/4" down all the way around. Now fold back an additional 1" and iron, pinning as we go making sure to match up seams at side.

 
Step 5: Now we can sew an 1/8" up from the bottom of our fold all the way around the waist being sure to leave a 1" opening as shown to the right.

Step 6: Using a safety pin, thread our 3/4" elastic through the waist casing making sure that it doesn't twist while doing so. When we reach the end, sew the two elastic ends together again making sure that it is not twisted. Once sewn together, pull the waist and spread the fabric around so it is evenly distributed. We can now sew the 1" opening close.

 Step 7: We can now topstitch our waistband.This step is not necessary, but we feel that it really completes a garment and makes it look more professional. In this waistband in particular, topstitching will help it lay flat. To topstitch, sew an 1/8" up from where we attached the waistband, being sure to catch the seams.

And that's it! You're done. Simple right? Here's what it should look like completed. Isn't Natalie the cutest? lol. 

Here's one more pic of it using the fabrics we show in the pattern for a totally different look!

 Definitely not worth paying for this pattern when you can get it here FREE! Now get your hands on some ruffle fabric and start making yours today! Share your creations with us on Facebook and feel free to Pin this, Tweet this, blog this, or share it, just give us credit please :)

Happy Sewing!
Shannon and Tiffany