Thursday 8 August 2013

The Curtain Skirt: DIY

curtain skirt tutorial

Do you keep a list of all the projects you’d like to do?

Something from my project-in-waiting list was this ‘curtain skirt’, made from what I think is a curtain fabric sample, found at a charity shop!

skirt DIY

This post is a bit of a half-tutorial. The method for making this is really similar to my Swishy Maxi Skirt DIY. I don't want to bore you by repeating myself, so if you’re interested in the how-to, go here and read to the end of step 6!
Then come back for how to finish up to make this skirt.

dolly kei style skirt DIY

Create pleats in the top of your skirt, to bring it to your waist size. I made all the pleats face in the same direction, and each was about 1.5” wide.
Pin, and sew just the pleats.
The maxi skirt tutorial involves sewing on the entire waistband in one go, BUT with the curtain skirt, you’ll need to sew the waistband to the inside of the skirt first.
Pin and sew right side of the waistband to the inside top edge of the skirt, making sure one end sits just over the skirt fastening.
(Sorry, I didn’t get a picture of this.)

curtain fabric skirt

Fold the waistband over to the outside of the skirt, tucking the raw edge underneath and pinning. Sew together.
*I pinned the outside edge of the waistband a little below where the waistband was sewn to the inside of the skirt.
Why?
Curtain fabric tends to be thicker than your average dressmaking fabric. Experience has taught me that multiple layers of such mean broken needles (scary!)
Pinning this way does make a slightly thinner waistband, but it also means your sewing machine is happier with you!
skirt made from curtain fabric how to

Sew up the edges of the overlapping end of the waistband, add a snap fastening and a decorative button if you so desire!
*I hand-stitched the ends of the waistband as I didn’t want to accidentally sew through any zipper teeth!

Hem your skirt. I have no pictures of this stage with this skirt, because the fabric came ready-hemmed. Hooray!
 
how to make a skirt from a curtain

I’m thinking of all kinds of ways to style this skirt up, right through into winter. It will be a skirt for all seasons!

dolly kei inspired skirt using curtain fabric
Hairclip: handmade, top: bootfair, belt: Primark, necklace: handmade,
skirt: handmade, rings: H&M

This is the second curtain skirt I’ve made. You might remember I bought another piece of curtain fabric back in February, in order to make a skirt.

I don’t think I ever posted a picture of the finished piece, so here it is!

curtain skirt
(Yep, I love my cheap Primark belt)

This one was made using a different method (two pieces of fabric + side zip) as I didn’t have the width of fabric I needed.

Recently I decided to hand-wash it…bad idea. Multiple holes appeared!

don't ever wash old curtains. sponge clean only. it only ends in holes.

I spent multiple hours patching them up…

Lesson: Sponge clean only. ;)


Will be linking up to the fab parties listed below!

2 comments:

  1. Oh no, total bummer about the holes. Love your hair, by the way.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The first skirt is gorgeous *.* The whole outfit looks fantastic together and the self-made necklace is AMAZING! <3

    Hope you managed to patch up all the holes on the second one D:

    ReplyDelete

Reading all your sweet comments makes me happy! :) I appreciate each and every one and try to reply to all that I can!

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