Funky Fiji Fabric Skirt

A friend brought me back this fabric from her recent trip to Fiji. It is so me!

Originally I thought that I would make a cowl neck dress from it, but when I reviewed my cupboard I realised that I really didn't need any more dresses. I could make pantaloons, but they aren't really my thing. I decided on a skirt, for everyday wear.
The fabric is very light and I thought the best design would be to have a waistband of some kind to support it. I could try some folds to make it fit, to keep the bulk of the skirt. This fabric needed it, rather than a slim shape.
I looked through the refashion pile to see if there was anything I could use as a waistband or otherwise.

There wasn't, but it did inspire me all over again to get stuck into some of those projects!

I decided that simple was best. I was going to make a tube of fabric, then use elastic to create a comfortable waistline. This way I wouldn't have to cut the fabric at all.

I started by hemming the raw edges. the fabric was very slippery, so it was just as easy to hem it rather than overlock the edges.

Then I sewed the sides together to create a big tube.

I found the elastic that I knew I had in a box.. somewhere... Nice and thick.

I sewed a tube around the top of the fabric, just wide enough to fit my elastic. I left a hole at one point, so that I would be able to thread my elastic through. 

Using a safety pin on the end, I pushed the elastic through and

I pinned it roughly where I thought it needed to be, then tried it on and adjusted a few times until it fit. I like to wear these kind of skirts on my hips.

After I cut the elastic to length I sewed the ends of it together and then sewed the hole in the waistband closed. Then I used an existing skirt to determine the length that I wanted this one to be as it was dragging on the floor.

I cut it to length and hemmed the bottom. I'm sure that scrap will come in handy for another project!

The final result: comfy, funky skirt that only took an unhurried hour to make.

#lovelypennypatterns