Dishtowel Skirt

First measure your child from waist to knee.  Add two and a half inches for the waistband. Cut off the excess fabric.  I’m making this skirt in size 7, so I’ll need to cut three identical dishtowels. Trim off any tags.

Pin two of the towels along one edge, right sides together.  Sew towels together, along the edge of the original seam.  Lay the last dishtowel face down on top of the sewn dishtowel.  Line up the free edge and pin. Sew together along the edge of the original seam.

Measure your child’s waist. For a narrower skirt, like the I’m making, add 1/2 of the width of your child’s waist.  For a fuller skirt, double the width. Now hem the raw edge. Fold your fabric down a half inch and sew. This is the size of your presser foot so you don’t have to measure and pin. When you reach a seam, spread it flat before sewing on top.

Now we’ll make the pocket for the waistband.  Fold down the top of the skirt two inches and pin in place. Sew right on top of the hem seam you made. Remove the pins.

Fold your fabric in half, right sides together. Line up the edge of the fabric. Pin the edges together. Start right below the pocket for the waistband, and sew down the length of the skirt. Remove the pins.

You’ll need elastic that’s 1-inch wide. You’ll want to cut it between two and four inches less than your child’s waist measurement, depending on how stretchy your elastic is.  Add a safety pin to one end. Then pin the other end of the elastic to the outside of the skirt’s waistband.  Use the safety pin to feed the elastic through the pocket.  Be careful not to twist the elastic.

Pull the elastic through the pocket’s hole.  Remove the safety pins, then overlap the ends of the elastic and pin in place. Sew the elastic together using a zig zag stitch. Now fold the waistband so that it lines up with the skirt’s side seam.  Stitch to close the pocket.

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