How to Sew a Reversible Wrap Skirt

July 28, 2017 · 4 Comments

How to Sew a Reversible Wrap Skirt

In my quest for a neat and tidy house, I have realised that the best way to achieve this is to have less stuff.

With 6 of us in a small house, this is not easy! But I know that there are things I can do to make things much better.

Having too many clothes can be an issue. How many of us have opened a wardrobe bulging with clothes and immediately thought, “I have nothing to wear!”?

I’m trying to cut mine right down to a few things I wear all the time and get rid of things that hardly see the light of day (or refashion them into something else, like I did with this top!).

So to maximise on wardrobe space and keep actual outfits to a minimum, I’ve made a reversible wrap skirt, so it’s 2 skirts in 1!

The good thing about a wrap skirt is that they are easy to adjust. All you have to do is check that the button is in the right place. And if you gain or lose weight, it’s easy enough to move the button.

It’s a good project for a beginner as it’s easy to make and it doesn’t matter too much if your measurements are a bit off.

Making a Reversible Wrap Skirt

I have included some affiliate links.

You Will Need

Some large pieces of paper (pattern paper is ideal but you could use newspaper), pencil, ruler, tape measure, french curve (optional) cotton fabric for the outside, contrasting cotton fabric for the inside (2 metres of each will be plenty), bias binding, 2 buttons.

Drafting the Pattern Pieces

To draft the pattern pieces for a reversible wrap skirt, you will need your waist measurement and your measurement from your waist to your knee. You’ll also need to decide how wide you want the skirt to be at the bottom.

On a folded piece of pattern paper, measure down the fold the same length as you would like your skirt to be. Now draw a line outwards from the top of where you marked. The length of this line will need to be your waist divided by 4, and it will need to go upwards slightly.

From the bottom of where you marked on the fold, draw another line your desired skirt width. This will also need to go upwards.

Join the end of this line to the end of the other horizontal line. Both the horizontal lines will need to curve gently.

If you are unsure about drawing the bottom edge, take your tape measure and find the halfway point along the waistline. Measure down to your desired skirt length. You could do this ¼ and ¾ of the way along as well. This will help you to draw the curve so that the skirt is the same length all the way across.

This is half of the skirt back. To draft the skirt front pieces, you will need to draw around this so that you have one complete skirt. Using a French curve (or a plate if you don’t have one), round off one corner.

Cutting Out

From both outer and inside fabric, you will need to cut 2 skirt front pieces on folded fabric, and 1 skirt back piece.

You will also need to cut a waistband 10 cm wide and long enough to go around the top of the skirt, plus 40 cm extra for tying. You might need to cut this in a couple of sections and sew them together.

For the ties, cut 2 more pieces 10 cm wide and 40 cm long.

Sewing Up

1. Take the outer skirt pieces and sew the front sections to either side of the back. Make sure you sew the straight edges as the curved edges need to be at on the outside. Trim the seams and press them

Do the same with the inside skirt pieces.

2. Pin the outer to the inside with the wrong sides together, matching the seams.

3. Starting up at the top of the skirt, pin one end of the bias binding to the inside of the skirt. The raw edges will need to line up and it will be easier if you fold the bias binding in half lengthways before sewing.

Don’t worry about pinning it all the way round. Just pin it at the start then sew, keeping close to the fold.

4. Fold the bias binding over the raw edges and top stitch all the way round. If you remembered to fold the bias tape in the previous step, you will find this much easier!

5. To make the waistband, join the sections together if you haven’t already.

Fold it in half lengthways and press. Open it out, then fold the raw edges into the middle. Press again.

Fold it in half lengthways again and press.

6. Starting at the left side of the skirt, fold the end over, then pin the raw edge of the waistband to the top of the skirt on the inside. Sew it to the skirt. Don’t worry about the extra for the tie at the moment.

7. Fold the waistband over the raw edges and pin. Top stitch all the way round. When you get to the tie, keep going, stopping 3 or so cm before the end. Tuck the end in, then stitch over it.

8. Make the ties in the same way as the waistband. Fold the strips in half lengthways, press, then open them out. Fold the raw edges into the centre and press again. Tuck the ends in a couple of cm, then sew along the open edge.

9. Sew the ties to the waistband at the left hand side seam. You will need to sew one to the outside of the skirt and one to the inside.

10. Try the skirt on so you can establish where the buttons need to go. If your measuring was accurate, it should be roughly where the other side seam is. Sew a button onto both sides.

On the part of the skirt opposite the button, make a loop by making chains with doubled thread. Attach the end close to where you started. If you need a tutorial showing how to do this, there’s a good one here.

Run the iron on your reversible wrap skirt one last time and it’s ready to wear!

This reversible wrap skirt could be adjusted to make a lined skirt for the colder months.

If you liked this post, you might also like these:

Making Trousers Without a Pattern

How to Draft a Bodice

Cherry Blossom Dress Without a Pattern

Circle Skirt Tutorial

Linking up here.

Easy Backpack Tutorial

October 4, 2016 · 8 Comments

An Easy Backpack Tutorial

When my boys were tiny, I always had a bag of stuff for them. Little cups with milk or water in, an extra blanket, nappies, wipes, a bib, a change of clothes, spare socks, it was easy to fill a large bag!

As they got older, I thought I wouldn’t need to bring so much stuff for them whenever we went out.

Unfortunately, as I have discovered, this is not the case. They still need stuff, it’s just different stuff! They don’t need cups of milk anymore. Now it’s macs, jumpers, bottles of water, snacks, not to mention all the stuff they collect while we’re out.

Thankfully though, now they are not babies any more, my boys can carry their own stuff.

This is where the easy backpack tutorial comes in!

Making 4 of these meant that I didn’t have time to do anything complicated, so I’ve kept things as simple as possible.

The backpacks are quite small, but large enough to hold a microfleece, a mac, a bottle of water and a camera.

They are made of cotton, so they fold up small enough to be tucked into a little suitcase when we go on holiday.

The backpacks close with a drawstring.

I lined the backpacks I made, but if you are in a hurry, you could leave the lining out. I just wanted to make sure that mine were strong enough to hold the rocks they will probably end up holding!

The straps are padded for comfort and using webbing with a strap buckle means they can be adjusted. If you are pretty sure that you won’t need to adjust the straps, you could just cut the fabric strips a bit longer and sew them straight onto the bag.

There are other tips at the bottom of the easy backpack tutorial if you need to make a backpack in a hurry!

How to Make an Easy Backpack

This tutorial contains affiliate links.

You Will Need

Half a metre of cotton fabric for the outer, half a metre of cotton fabric for the lining, 1 metre of bias binding, elastic cord, toggle (for the cord), wadding, webbing, 2 strap buckles.

Making the Outer

1. Cut 2 rectangles from cotton fabric 38 cm x 48 cm. If you are using fabric that does not have a directional print, you could just cut 1 rectangle 38 cm x 94 cm and fold it in half.

2. With the right sides together, sew along the sides and the bottom. Trim the seams.

3. Take one of the corners. Open it out, then squash it flat so that the seams are together. Measure 5 cm up from the corner and pin.

4. Sew across the corner at right angles to the seam. Cut the corner off. Repeat with the other corner.

Making the Lining

Make the lining in exactly the same way that you made the outer.

Before you sew the side seams, just check your measurements so that the lining ends up being the same size as the outer.

Joining the Lining to the Outer

1. Pop the lining inside the outer so that the right sides are together and pin.

2. Sew around the top of the bag, leaving an opening of about 10 cm.

3. Trim the seam, then turn the bag the right way out.

4. Push the lining inside the bag and press it around the top edge so that the lining is not visible on the outside. You could do this with the iron, but your finger will do.

5. Tuck the raw edges of the opening inside and pin.

6. Top stitch all the way round the top of the bag.

Making the Straps

1. Cut 2 rectangles of fabric 12 cm x 35 cm and 2 pieces of wadding 4.5 cm x 26 cm.

2. Take one of the rectangles and one of the pieces of wadding. Fold the rectangle in half and crease it with your finger.

3. Open it out and place a piece of wadding on top of it. One of the long edges needs to be next to the crease and one of the short edges needs to be 3.5 cm from the top.

4. Fold the rectangle in half again. Fold the raw edges of the long sides inwards. The easiest way to do this is to fold the bottom edge round the wadding and pin it, then fold the other side over, fold the edge inwards and pin it all together.

5. Sew along the open edge. To make the straps symmetrical, you might like to sew along the folded edge too.

6. Sew along the short edges where the wadding ends. Then sew down the length of the strap along the wadding so that you sew the wadding but keep the ends of the straps clear.

7. Find the top end of the strap and tuck the raw edges inwards. Pin, then sew across the short edge.

Attaching the Webbing to the Straps

1. Cut 2 pieces of webbing 26 cm long. You might want to check that this will be long enough, especially if you are making the bag for an adult.

2. Melt the ends of the webbing to prevent fraying. The best way to do this is with a candle. Light the candle, then slowly pass the raw edge of the webbing over the candle about 1 cm away from the flame. Remember you are not trying to set fire to it! You just want to get it hot enough so that it melts a little bit.

3. Slip one end of the webbing into the open end of the strap. Pin the strap round the webbing. There might be a neater way of doing this, but this way was the quickest and least fiddly!

4. Sew the webbing in place. I did this by sewing at the top and the bottom, then across in both directions.

5. Repeat for the other strap.

Attaching the Buckle to the Webbing

1. Cut 2 pieces of webbing 11 cm long.

2. Melt the raw edges as you did for the straps.

3. Slip the buckle onto the webbing and fold it over.

4. Sew in place. I sewed it in a couple of places and then went back over it to make it stronger. To get close to the buckle, you could use a zip foot.

Making the Casing For the Cord

1. Cut a piece of bias binding long enough to go around the bag, plus a couple of cm extra.

2. Fold one end of the bias binding under, then pin that end to the front of the bag on one side of the centre, about 1 cm down from the top.

3. Pin the rest of the bias binding all around the bag until you get back to the centre of the front. Fold the end underneath and pin.

4. Sew along the top edge of the bias binding, then again along the bottom edge. Where the ends meet, you might like to sew over it a few times to strengthen it.

Attaching the Straps

1. Take one of the straps and pin it to the top to the back of the bag, just under the bias binding and about a cm from the centre.

2. Sew the strap in place. I’d recommend sewing over it several times! I sewed the top and the bottom, then across to make an x.

3. Repeat for the other strap.

4. To attach the pieces of webbing with the buckles, identify on of the corners on the back of the bag. Pin one of the webbing pieces to the the bag, just above the corner and at an angle. Sew in place. Repeat for the other piece of webbing.

This part is a bit fiddly but I actually found it easier than I was expecting! With each strap, instead of pulling the bag out each time, I lifted the needle and the foot and moved it to where I needed to sew next. When the strap was attached, I then pulled it out and trimmed the threads before moving onto the next strap.

Threading the Cord

1. Cut a piece of elastic cord long enough to go round the bag.The stuff I used was thinner that I was expecting, so I doubled it over.

2. With a safety pin, thread the cord through the casing you made with the bias binding.

3. Thread the ends through the toggle and knot them.

Tips

I hope you’ve found my easy backpack tutorial helpful! Here are some tips.

If you’re in a real hurry, you could skip the lining. This will also make it smaller when folded up. However, it might be less strong. I lined mine because I’m pretty sure they’re going to be used for carrying rocks as much as macs!

Using a print that doesn’t have a direction will also save time as you can use a long rectangle instead of 2 smaller ones.

If you have a bit more time, you could add pockets on the front and a flap to cover the top.

Obviously cotton isn’t waterproof! If you need your backpack to be waterproof, you could try oilcloth or laminated cotton, but this might make it thicker. Another alternative would be ripstop, which is much lighter. Or you could buy waterproofing spray, which would at least keep your stuff dry in a shower.

Linking up here.

How to Make a Shirt Without a Pattern

August 20, 2016 · 2 Comments

How to Make a Shirt Without a Pattern

The full tutorial showing how to make a shirt without a pattern is here on the Minerva Crafts Bloggers’ Network.

My third little boy, Barnabas, took a fancy to wearing shirts a couple of years ago. I don’t know the exact reason but I’m guessing it’s also why my second boy, Aidan, won’t wear trousers unless they’re tracksuit bottoms (apart from his school trousers, which he has no choice about!).

As I had never made a shirt before and it was something I wanted to try, I decided to have a go at making a little shirt for Barnabas.

Children are an easy shape to make things for and, being small, the things require less fabric.

I also wanted to try to make a shirt without a pattern. I thought it would probably be doable as long as I kept things simple.

Officially I should probably have taken all his measurements and made the pattern that way. However I did not fancy chasing him round the house with a tape measure. This would probably result in me tripping over the cat and mangling myself on Lego.

So instead I used one of Barnabas’ t shirts as a guide for making the pattern.

How I Made the Shirt

You can read the full tutorial showing how to make a little boy’s shirt without a pattern here, including how to make the pattern pieces.

Barnabas likes his shirt and I’m very happy with the way it’s turned out! It is very simple, nothing fancy. The main part of the shirt is three sections. There are button bands on the front, but they’re easy to do and they solve the issue of the front bits needing to be wider than just the back cut in half. The collar has a collar stand so that it sits nicely and doesn’t distort the shirt.

The collar was the only slightly tricky bit. I made a dress with a collar a few years ago from a pattern. It was a disaster! The instructions were totally confusing and I got into a right muddle. This time I did it my own way. It’s turned out okay but I’m going to experiment a bit more next time to see if there is a really easy way to get a nice neat collar.

The fabric I used is this superhero print from Minerva Crafts.

Linking up here.

The Truth About Sewing Your Own Clothes

March 8, 2016 · 19 Comments

The Truth About Sewing Your Own Clothes

Sewing your own clothes is a lot of fun. I have been making clothes for myself since I was 10, both with using a pattern and without one.

Things don’t always go perfectly to plan! In this post I am going to share with you some of the truths I have found out about sewing your own clothes.

1. The sizes on the pattern bear no relation to actual dress sizes. The key thing here is to check your measurements against the measurements on the back of the pattern envelope before buying the pattern. I have made this mistake myself and bought a pattern that went up to UK dress size 14 assuming it would be ok. It was not. I had to let the seams right out, abandon the darts and patch an extra piece in at the front. Yes it’s a little depressing to have to buy something in a size 20 when you’re usually a size 14, but at least you’ll end up with something that actually fits. Which is the point, right?

2. You have to keep trying it on. You really do. Even if you have checked your measurements and adjusted the pattern. The pattern will have been made with a particular body shape in mind and yours might be different. Obviously this is even more necessary if you are not using a commercial pattern.

3. The thread you use matters. I would say Gutermann all the way (affiliate link). Some cheaper threads are fine to use, some are really not. If you are unsure, take a look at the thread. The Gutermann ones are perfectly smooth and even. The cheaper ones often are not. I had some thread that was awful, noticeably thicker in places and thinner in others. What ends up happening is that where it is thicker, it snags, and where it is thinner, it is more likely to break. This means having to rethread your sewing machine a bazillion times because the thread keeps breaking, which is very annoying. It can also result in uneven stitches.

4. You probably won’t use most of the stitches on your sewing machine. I use the straight stitch, the overcasting stitch, a couple of the button holes and the stitch for knits. That is pretty much it. My sewing machine does dozens more that I never use. So when buying a sewing machine, this is something to consider.There’s no point in paying for a machine that has lots of stitches if you only use a few. If you were thinking of buying a fairly basic sewing machine, Hobbycraft are selling this Janome machine with £20 off at £69 (affiliate link).

5. Sometimes things go wrong. It’s just one of those things. It happens even to people who are experienced in sewing. Which leads me onto the next one!

6. Sometimes mistakes can be fixed. This is where having an unpicker comes in handy! Just undo it and have another go.

7. Sometimes mistakes can be disguised by adding a ruffly flower. This is what I did with this green dress. It was the first time I’d made something without a pattern and the bit on the front with the hook, where the bodice meets the skirt at the edge, was a bit of a mess. The ruffly flower hides the messy bit and adds a pretty detail!

8. Sometimes a project can’t be rescued. I don’t have many things that go horribly wrong because I either unpick the mistake or disguise it! Sometimes, however, a mistake is neither fixable nor possible to hide. In that case, it goes back on the fabric pile and gets reused in another project. The carseat cover fiasco is an example of this. There was no fixing that. So off it went upstairs, and last summer I turned a chunk of it into a water bottle holder.

9. Stretchy fabric can be difficult to work with, but some are easier than others. The best stuff is thicker cotton jersey. This stretches enough but also holds its shape well, making it easier to sew than other knits. Just make sure you use the right stitch (a zigzag will do if your sewing machine doesn’t have an actual stitch for knits) and try not to pull on it while you’re sewing.

10. Zips are easy to put in if you do them the easy way, not the proper way! The easy way to put in a zip is to sew up the seam and press it open. Then pin the zip over the seam, face down on the wrong side. Tack in place, making sure that the teeth are lined up with the seam. Sew it all the way round, take out the taking stitches and unpick the seam that is covering up the zip. Perfect results every time! For more detailed instructions for how to do this, visit this tutorial here.

11. Darts are also not scary. A dart is simply a triangular shaped fold in the fabric that gives something a bit more of a shape. The best way to work out where the darts need to go is by pinning somtehing to yourself and just seeing where there is extra fabric that needs to be taken in.

12. Making clothes without a pattern is completely possible providing you keep it simple. It’s the same as baking a cake. It’s easy if you know what you’re doing and you can change things up a bit. A good place to start is a circle skirt as they are super easy!

If you want to sew clothes without using a pattern, you might like my ebook!

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How to Attach a Waistband

July 23, 2015 · 8 Comments

According to my mum, the first skirt I ever made was when I was 9 or 10. It was a rectangle of fabric sewn together along one edge, with a hem and casing for and elastic at the waist.

Unfortunately now, as a slightly chunky grown up, I am not going to get away with wearing skirts with elasticated waists. Those are best left to children and the very slim.

Thankfully attaching a waistband to a skirt is pretty easy once you know how! I’ve included three slightly different methods.

How to Attach a Waistband

You will need to sew in the zip first! For instructions how to sew in a zip, you can read this post here.

Ribbon Waistband

You will need a piece of ribbon slightly longer than the distance around your waist and 5 – 6 cm wide.

1. Fold the ribbon in half lengthways. You will need to crease it so you could iron it, but pressing it with your finger will probably do the job well enough.

2. Fold the ribbon in half widthways to find the middle.

3. Starting opposite the zip and with the middle of the ribbon, put the ribbon over the raw edge at the waist and pin. Carefully top stitch the ribbon to the skirt. Leave a couple of cm either side of the zip.

4. Fold the raw edges of the ribbon underneath so that they match up with where the fabric of the skirt joins the zip. Sew in place.

Fabric Waistband

1. Cut a piece of fabric as long as the distance round your waist plus a bit extra, and about 10 cm wide. You might need to join 2 pieces together, that’s fine. If the fabric is quite lightweight or creases very easily, you might want to add some fusible interfacing to make it a bit thicker.

2. Fold the fabric in half lengthways and press it, either with the iron or with your finger. Open it out, then fold the raw edges into the middle. Press again.

3. Start opposite the zip and with the middle of the waist band. Pin the edge of the waistband to the wrong side of the fabric so that the raw edges are together and the right side of the waistband is next to the wrong side of the fabric. Sew all the way round, leaving a couple of cm either side of the zip. If you need to finish the raw edges, now is the time to do it!

4. Fold the waistband over the top of the skirt and fold the edge back under. Pin, then top stitch round the waist again. still leaving a couple of cm at the zip.

5. Fold the raw edges underneath so that the edge of the waistband is aligned with where the skirt meets the zip. Sew in place.

Bias Binding Waistband.

To make a waistband using bias binding, you will find it easier and probably more comfortable if you use wide bias binding.

The process is exactly the same as the one above, except that you don’t have to faff about with folding in the raw edges! Just cut it to the right length, then fold the bias binding in half lengthways. Follow the steps above from step 3!

You might also like this post here about making a circle skirt, and this post here about upcycling a shapeless old dress into a skirt and this post here about making a skirt with godets. You don’t need a pattern for any of them but knowing how to attach a waistband will be useful!

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