Sewing: Week Seventeen Elastic Waist Maxi Skirt

Elastic waist maxi skirt – the perfect travel skirt. I made a maxi skirt a couple of years ago, but this upgrade of the thick elastic waist is just perfect for tucking in t-shirts or tank tops. Plus, it stays in place.

I found this 3 inch elastic at fabricland and it wasn’t costly at all; and I recently used it in the high-waisted mini skirt and I had some left over.

Okay, let’s get sewing!

What You Need

2 yards of jersey or rayon fabric
3 inch wide elastic, your waist measurement -1
serger
matching thread
scissors
chalk pen
ruler/measuring tape
pins

The first step is to double up your fabric and get the pattern cut.

Measure your waist and minus 1 inch and divide it in half. This is your top measurement.

Then, measure your inseam and add 11 inches. This is your length measurement. The waist band will make up the difference needed for the hem.

The width of your skirt will depend on your style. Mine measures 30 inches across, so 60 inches all around.

You can see exactly what I did in the photo below. I lined out my top waist measurement and then made the 1/2 mark. I made that same 1/2 mark at the bottom to keep the skirt alined and straight. Then, I measured 15 inches in either direction and make a chalk mark.

Then, cut on an angle from the top of the waist mark to the bottom outside mark.

Waistband Time

Serge your elastic together – and be sure not to twist it (which is actually really hard on elastic this wide). Then, cut the fabric. You’ll want to cut the fabric your full waist measurement and 6.5 inches wide.

Serge the fabric, right sides together, so it’s like a big circle. Now, encase the elastic inside the fabric, right side out and pin.

Serge the waistband.

Then, serge the skirt sides, right sides together.

With the skirt right sides out, put the waistband around the skirt, right sides together. You’ll serge the waistband to the body of the skirt. Be careful not to catch the elastic with your serger – you want the elastic to float inside the casing.

Time for the hem. I did this the new way I’ve been doing a few hems lately. Using my serger. I’ll walk you through the steps again here.

Fold the bottom up with wrong sides together 1 1/4 inch.
Pin.
Fold under.
Remove the first pin and pin again with the third layer of fabric.
Serge along the fold.

Done!

This skirt will be worn to many, many temples while we’re in Southeast Asia – be sure to check out my instagram account for more photos of me in this skirt – I’m sure I’ll be wearing it quite a bit.

Happy sewing and I’ll see you again soon.