A skirt is the perfect beginner-friendly, cute sewing project. In this article, you’ll learn how to self-draft 11 different kinds of skirts that you can personalize to your personal style and preferred fit!
As a new sewist myself, I decided I wanted to make as many skirts as I could to gain confidence in sewing garments for myself and because I did a total style overhaul in my closet. Two things drove this style renaissance for me:
1. Realizing all my old clothes were made of plastic! (polyester, nylon, etc. – all hormonal endocrine disruptors)
2. Attempting to find a more classy, modest, elegant style as a mom of 2 (no more sweatpants sadly)
I have always LOVED wearing skirts, partly because I hate wearing pants and because they are the simplest way to feel very feminine. Long skirts, short skirts, fluffy skirts, straight skirts… I like them all. Thank the Lord they are some of the easiest garments to sew!
Supplies You Will Need
- Fabric for the skirt + optional lining fabric
- Fabric cutting shears (scissors or rotary cutter) + optional cutting mat
- Elastic waistband in your size of choice
- Sewing machine
- Thread that matches your fabric of choice, unless you prefer contrasting threads
That’s pretty much it! The hardest part might be honestly making the decision on choices in what style you think you will ACTUALLY wear.
Once you do decide, the process is super straight forward and can go relatively quick. When you get the hang of it, you will be able to make a skirt in less than an hour! If you’re a beginner, take your time though. 🙂
Okay, here are the different types of skirts you can consider sewing! I will try to list them from easiest to increasing in sewing difficulty.
Easy Skirts to Sew (Beginner-Friendly Clothes Sewing Ideas)
1 – Simple Elastic Waistband Tube Skirt
Skirts are simply tubes of fabrics when you conceptualize their shape.
Very simple, here is the step-by-step process to sew together the simplest, easiest skirt:
- Sew together the side seam(s) of the skirt + make sure to finish the raw edges (zigzag stitching, serger, or french seam)
- Fold over the top edge of the skirt (at the waist position) two times inward to IRON flat a channel for the elastic waistband
- Sew all the way around EXCEPT leaving a large-enough opening for you to later insert the elastic in through (remember to backstitch at the start + the end!)
- Measure + cut an elastic waistband fitted to your preference
- Use two safety pins to pull the elastic through the channel that you just sewed (one safety pin at front + one safety pin at back to prevent the elastic from getting lost into the fabric)
- Try on the skirt to make sure the elastic fits comfortably, then sew the elastic ends together (you can do a zigzag stitch generously back and forth on the elastic)
- Hem the bottom of the skirt to your preferred length (can fold over twice + iron flat to create a rolled hem)
- ENJOY!!! Wear!!! Tell everyone you made it yourself. 🙂
2 – Circle Skirt
Circle skirts are by far my favorite kind of skirts. They have more fabric at the bottom of the skirt, creating a beautiful drape that accentuates a woman’s curves. They are SO EASY and simple that you will definitely want to make a few in all of your favorite colors!
Mood Fabrics offers the perfect tool for you to calculate your waist radius, fabric length needed, and fabric width. Click here to use it.
You can customize the length: mini, midi, or maxi + the fullness: quarter, half, 3/4, or full circle. Then you just input your waist measurement for the final results.
The circle skirt calculator tool is offered in both inches and centimeters conveniently.
3 – Maxi Skirt
Maxi skirts are fun year-round, whether it’s chilly in the winter or sunny in the summer. The length is often very flattering, feminine, and classy. They elongate the figure and can keep you warm or can provide sun protection.
If you use a stretchier fabric such as jersey knit, you can easily sew together a foldover maxi skirt.
4 – Wrap Skirt
Wrap skirts are really actually just rectangles with two long strings to tie together.
There are no seams but you will need hem all the way around the rectangle, then decide on your preferred width for your tie. Make sure to cut a tie long enough that you can comfortably tie together. Optional would be extra ease for maybe even securely tying a bow.
5 – Tulip Skirt
Tulip skirts are fun. They are sort of like wrap skirts, but they do instead have seams. The tricky part is just making sure you overlap enough fabric to meet in the front.
6 – Mini Skirt with Slit
Adding a slit to a mini skirt will give the garment wearable ease to not feel too tight on the bottom hem so that you can walk comfortably.
You might want to consider choosing stretchy fabric or incorporate an (invisible) zipper for a mini skirt.
7 – Pencil Slip Skirt
Silky slip skirts are timeless capsule wardrobe pieces that scream timeless elegance.
Likewise for a more a-line skirt, consider stretchy fabrics or using zippers to get a snug fit.
8 – Bubble Skirt
Bubble skirts are SO cute and fun. They are actually two circles skirt sew together at the bottom hem to give the bubbly effect. The outer skirt is bigger, such as a full circle skirt, while the inner skirt may be a 1/4 circle skirt.
9 – Tiered Gathered Skirt
Both adding tiers and gathering a skirt are rather simple tasks, but they require your patience in time.
Gathering can be easily (but time-consuming down) with basting stitches that you later remove after attached tiers together.
The result is a very nice full skirt with a bouncy drape and plenty of walking ease.
10 – Ruffle Skirt
Ruffle skirts are kind of like gathered skirts but compressed. The feminine allure in skirts is really around how they highlight fullness in the bottom of a lady’s figure. Ruffle skirts do that in a very obvious way.
11 – Pleated Skirt
Pleated skirts are classic and they honestly are not even that hard. To get clean pleats, you can either sew the fabric down (after ironing of course) at the top and/or bottom of the pleat or you can sew along the pleat channel valley.
Your design may depend on how forgivingly similar your thread is to your fabric.
BONUS (Actually VERY EASY Skirt)
The last skirt worth mentioning in this list would be a patchwork panel skirt!
You can use up all your favorite fabric scraps that aren’t big enough to be garments on their own.
