Holly Jolly Scalloped Skirt

Course Instructor: Amy Chappell

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Looking for a new skirt to fancy up your holiday festivities?  Look no further- the Holly Jolly scalloped skirt is here!

  Ready to make one of your own?  Read on for full instructions. (the measurements listed are for a skirt sized 3T-4T)

Materials: 

Main fabric (waist band and over skirt) 3/4 yard

accent fabric (underskirt) 1/2 yard

scalloped border template

3/4" elastic

optional embellishments- in this case velvet ric rac

Cutting measurements:

From Main Fabric:

waistband- 32" X 5"

over skirt (cut 2) 27 1/2" X 9 1/2"

From Accent Fabric:

scalloped edge and connector piece (cut 3) 6" X 42"

Elastic: cut to measurement of waist + 1"

To get template:

Click here and print it out (make sure it's not scaled to fit).  The scallops should be 2.75" wide.  Cut it out of paper and trace it onto a stiffer material like a cereal box repeating the scallops as many times as you can to create a larger template.

Now we're all ready to go:

Take one of your underskirt pieces and draw a line 1/2" from one long edge, and one short edge.  Line up the scallop template with those two lines and trace.

Move the template down the strip of fabric, lining up the first scallop of the template with the last traced scallop to make sure the spacing stays even.  When you finish the strip there should be 1/2" of fabric at the end.

Take all four of your short strips of  fabric and sew the short ends together to make loops- we will be using a 1/2" seam allowance on all seams for this skirt.  On the long over skirt pieces, sew both short sides (right sides together) to make one large loop.  Sew over these seams with a zig zag stitch (or serge).  Press the seams to the side.  (if you have directional fabric you will want to alternate the direction of the seam on the underskirt pieces)

While we're at the iron, let's press our hems into place.  For the waistband fold over the top edge (check the direction of your fabric if necessary) 1/2" and press.  Then fold over another 1" and press.

For the over skirt hem, fold the bottom of the fabric up 1/2" (press) and then again another 1/2".  Press.

Now, back to the sewing machine:

Sew down the hems we have just created using a scant 1/2" seam allowance for the skirt hem and a scant 1" s.a. for the elastic casing- making sure on the casing to leave an opening to thread the elastic through. (approx 1 1/2")

Ready to make scallops?  Here we go:

Take your piece with the scallop tracing and leave it wrong side out.  Take another underskirt piece and turn it right side out.  Slide the second loop inside the first loop, lining up the seams so they "nest" together as shown in the picture.  Line up the edges of the two pieces and pin in place.  (it is helpful to pin in the "ditches" of the scallops so the pins are not in the way when you go to sew along the traced line)

Shorten your stitch length to a fairly small stitch and sew along the scalloped line.  Pivot at the "ditches".  Then cut out the bottom hem.  I use pinking shears so I don't have to cut the wedges into the curves, but if they aren't available to you, you can cut out the scallops leaving a 1/4" seam and notch the curves so they lay flat.

Next you will want to go into each of the ditches and notch them out as close as you can to the stitch line without actually cutting the threads.  The closer you get, the better your scallops will lay flat so take your time.

Turn the scallops right side out.  Don't worry if they look like this at first,  once you push out the seams they will even out. :)  Using a dull, slender tool (I use a blunt turning tool) slide along each of the scallop seams using your hand to pinch press the seams flat and even.  I usually do this at the ironing board, flattening a few scallops at a time and then pressing them down with the iron.

When you are done, top stitch the scallops to finish them off.  We're almost done now!

If you are embellishing your top skirt, now is a good time to do it.  I wanted to cover my hem stitch line with the ric-rac so I did it at this stage, but you could also do it before you even sew the loops together in the first step.  I ran two lines of stitching through the middle of the ric rac as close to the top of the valley as I could without sewing off the ric rac.  You could also sew along the curves (I'm too lazy) or use some fabric glue (I've never used it so I have no promises to make :) ), or skip ric rac altogether. :)

 Let's make a skirt!  Take your scalloped piece and slide it inside your last underskirt loop, matching the side seams.  Line up the top edges, pin in place and sew using a 1/2" s.a.  Zig zag the seam.  Press the seam up toward the single layer and topstitch in place.  Now you should have three loops: The waistband, the over skirt and the under skirt.

Take each of the loops and fold it in half, lining up the side seams.  Mark each of the folds with a disappearing ink pen or chalk.  (at each of the sides there should be two layers of fabric for a total of 4 marked points- make sense?)  This will help with lining up our gathers.  Make sure you mark all three loops.  Now take the two skirt pieces (over and under) and run a gathering stitch along the top, unfinished edge.  (So very sorry about the lack of pics for this part- I always get a little over-excited to finish).  Take the waistband piece and turn it right side out.  Line up the bottom unfinished edge with the top of the over skirt (right sides together) matching up the four marks (making sure the seams line up), gathering as needed to fit them together.  Pin.  Now slide the underskirt over the over skirt (right side of underskirt will be facing the wrong side of the over skirt.  Repeat matching up marks and gathering.  I re-use the pins so there aren't a million of them in the seam.  Sew down using a 1/2" s.a.  Zig zag the seam.

Now you will press the seam allowance toward the waistband and topstitch it down.  The last step is threading the elastic in the casing, stitching the ends together and closing up the opening.

Your skirt is finished.  Full and fun and perfect for holiday parties or going to church.

And perfect for opening presents too- if you're into that sort of thing. :)

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and I hope you'll stop by my blog Ameroonie Designs (pronounced Aim-er-oo-nie) for other projects, inspiration and some mom-style commiseration.  You can also find another tutorial I did of a different darling skirt using Riley Blake fabric here .  Thanks so much for letting me stop by today and please leave a comment or e-mail me if you have any questions or for sizing adjustments!

XOXO,

Amy

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