Sew an Easy One-Seam Skirt

This tutorial was originally published on Crafting a Green World in 2016.

 Remember my most favorite ever fabric print (that matches our favorite book series!), that Hobbit book cover panel that I turned into a fabric wall hanging? 

 There were actually TWO Hobbit book covers in that yardage that I bought! 

 The burning question that I asked myself then became: what ELSE can I do with this beautiful fabric to show it off to its fullest extent? 

 I think that this skirt fits the bill perfectly. It's made from that single panel, with a casing made from stash fabric, and its existence in my life is currently making me very, very happy. 

 Even if you don't have your own perfect panel, this skirt is super easy to make from one single length of fabric. You will need: 

  fabric. My Hobbit panel is 54"x22." Since the skirt is elastic-waisted, quite a wide margin of lengths will work well here. You will also need stash fabric for the waistband. 

  elastic. 

  1. Measure out your skirt. The selvage-to-selvage side will be the length of your skirt, so cut enough for the length that you want plus an inch or so for a bottom hem. The fabric's yardage will be the width of the skirt, gathered up by the elastic waistband. 

  2. Measure the waistband casing. The waistband casing should be twice the width of your elastic plus an inch for a seam, and the same length as your skirt's width. Fold the casing fabric in half lengthwise and iron to crease the fold.  

3. Sew the casing fabric to the skirt. Place the fabrics right sides together, and sew the casing fabric to the skirt. You'll be closing the casing and top-stitching it down after you sew the skirt's side seam. 

  4. Sew the skirt's side seam! I used a French seam for this, because I like the way that it encases the raw fabric edges and is so sturdy, but you can use your favorite seam. 

  5. Close the casing. Fold the casing back down along the crease line so that the wrong sides are together, then follow the exact same line of stitching to sew that side, too, to the front of the skirt. Leave an opening to insert the elastic later.  

Fold the casing up so that it's no longer folded against the skirt, then iron the raw edges down toward the skirt. Top stitch all the way around. Your casing should now look like the skirt's waistband, other than that hole you've left for the elastic. 

  6. Hem the bottom of the skirt. Use your favorite method. 

  7. Insert the elastic. Use a safety pin to help you feed the elastic through the casing, then sew the elastic together, sew the casing closed, and you're done! 

 I made this skirt for my younger daughter, but I really like the fact that since the width of the skirt is so generous, it really ought to fit her until she's an adult. I may have to replace the elastic a couple of times, but she should be able to walk around in her twenties in an awesome Hobbit skirt!