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{Tiered twirl skirt with scalloped edge and tulle ruffle} Designed by Amy Bell @ The Bell Family

A couple of notes before you begin:

All seam allowances are ½” unless otherwise stated.

I strongly suggest reading through all of the instructions prior to beginning.

This skirt generously fits my daughter who wears a 3T, but I would say with

adjustments to the elastic waistband, she will be able to wear this piece

even into a 4 or 5T.

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All ready? Let’s begin!

The dimensions I used are as follows:

Waistband panel (cut 2): 5.5” x 14”

Upper Skirt Panel (cut 2): 6” x 29”

Scallop Panel (cut 4): 3” x 29”

Underskirt (cut 2): 4.5” x 14”

Underskirt Ruffle (cut 2): 4” x 29”

Tulle Ruffle (cut 3, or more depending on personal preference): 48” x 6”

¾” Elastic for Waistband: 20”

Match waistband pieces right sides facing, and stitch on the short sides to form

a tube. Serge or zig-zag seams to prevent fraying. Press. Turn right side out and

set aside.

Cut a 5” diameter circle from a piece of cardstock. Cut the top inch from the

circle (refer to photo below) to create a 4” scallop template.

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Working on the wrong side of one of the scallop panel pieces, fold piece in half

lengthwise to mark the center. Center scallop template on this center mark 1.5”

from the lower edge of the fabric piece and trace the curve. Continue tracing

scallops on either side of this first scallop, making sure the edge of each

consecutive scallop is just joined with the one before. (You will wind up with 7

scallops total per scallop panel, and you will have ½” left on either edge after

you are done tracing to account for the seam allowance.) Repeat this step with

one more of the scallop panel pieces.

Match one of the traced scallop panel pieces with one of the untraced scallop

panel pieces, right sides facing; pin in place. Carefully stitch along your traced

lines. Clip and notch your curves, turn right side out, and press. Edge stitch along

the scalloped edge of this piece. Repeat with the remaining scallop panel

pieces.

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Join the long edge of one of the completed scallop panels with the lower edge

of one of the upper skirt panels, right sides facing, lining up the raw edges.

(Either side of the scallop panel can be used as the right side.) Stitch. Serge or

zig-zag seams to prevent fraying. Press seam toward the skirt panel, and edge

stitch above the seam. Set aside, and repeat with the remaining scallop panel

and skirt piece.

Join the completed skirt/scallop pieces, right sides facing, making sure to line up

the seams joining the scallop panels to the skirt panels. Stitch along the short

sides to form a tube. Serge or zig-zag seams. Press.

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Run gathering stitches along the top edge of the skirt piece from one side seam

to the other, breaking at the side seams. (Running two separate sections of

gathering stitches makes matching the skirt panel to the waistband much

simpler.) Or, alternatively, use your machine’s largest zig-zag setting and run

stitches over a strand of dental floss to create an easy gathering mechanism, as

I chose to do here. (For a great description of this gathering method, visit

http://izzynivydesigns.blogspot.com/search/label/Gathering.)

Join skirt to waistband, right sides facing. Pin together at the side seams. Pull

gathering threads to distribute fullness of skirt evenly and pin, working between

one set of gathering stitches at a time. Stitch. Iron seam toward waistband. (Be

sure to remove your floss before ironing!)

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Match underskirt pieces right sides facing, and stitch on the short sides to form a

tube. Serge or zig-zag seams to prevent fraying. Press.

Fold skirt panel up toward the waistband, so that the right side of the skirt is

facing the right side of the waistband. Slip the underskirt tube around both of

these layers, with the right side of the underskirt facing the wrong side of the

outer skirt. Pin, making sure all edges are even and that the side seams match

up. Stitch. Serge or zig-zag seam. Iron seam toward waistband. Edge stitch on

waistband side of seam.

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Stitch lower ruffle pieces together on the short sides to form a tube. Serge or zig-

zag seams. Press seams. Zig-zag or serge one of the long edges of the ruffle to

finish. Set aside.

Working in 48-inch long sections, fold tulle in half lengthwise and pin. Using a

pressing cloth with your iron on its lowest setting, press. (The number of sections

required for your skirt will be contingent upon your desired ruffle fullness. For the

skirt pictured here, I used just shy of three 48-inch sections.)

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Using the dental floss technique detailed above, run rows of gathering stitches

on folded edge of each tulle section.

Working with one tulle section at a time, line up folded edge of tulle with

serged/zig-zagged edge of ruffle piece. Gather tulle to desired ruffle fullness,

and pin to ruffle piece. When you come to the end of one tulle piece, simply

overlap the edge of your next tulle piece by 1 inch and continue your

gathering/pinning/overlapping process until you reach your starting point.

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Stitch tulle to ruffle layer. Carefully press the seam toward the top of the ruffle,

running the tip of your iron just above the tulle to prevent scorching. Edge stitch

on ruffle side of seam.

Run two sets of gathering stitches along top edge of ruffle, breaking at side

seams. Join your ruffle/tulle layer to your underskirt, right sides facing. Pin

together at the side seams. Pull gathering threads to distribute fullness of ruffle

evenly and pin, working between one set of gathering stitches at a time. Stitch.

Iron seam toward underskirt. Edge stitch on underskirt side of seam.

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For the elastic casing, fold top edge of waistband down 1/4” and press. Turn

under again 1 1/4" and press. Sew along first folded edge to form a casing,

leaving a 2” opening to thread elastic through. Edge stitch along top edge of

casing. Attach a safety pin to the end of your elastic to help thread it through

the casing. Note: At this point, I highly recommend trying the skirt on the little girl

if possible to ensure a proper fit.

Adjust elastic length as necessary. Sew elastic ends together. Sew casing

opening shut.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments regarding this

tutorial. I would love to see your creations!

Blessings,

Amy

amylayne717@gmail.com

© Amy Bell 2010 at http://the-bell-family.blogspot.com

For personal, non-commercial use only. Thank you!