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View Full Version : Pettiskirts--with a lot of pics of the process-dwn



sandrahd
07-07-2008, 01:01 PM
I don’t post much, but I really do lurk a lot, so I hope no one thinks “who does she think she is?” when you read this! I’ve been eying all of the beautiful pettiskirts, and came this close to buying during the latest group buy, but I’m impatient, and the 4-5 month estimated turnaround was just way too long for me to wait. So, I read all of the tutorials I could find and ordered 5 yards of light pink and 5 yards of dark pink nylon chiffon and a yard of light pink satin charmeuse, waited 5 days for it to come in and off I went.
I am going to include a lot of pics of the process here (This is the “who does she think she is” part), so if you aren’t interested in seeing those or in my blah de blah about the process, skip to the bottom for modeled pics.
I made 2 skirts: one for my 4 year old, and one for my 13 month old. For the 4 year old, I made each teir 6 inches long, the fluff 2.5 inches wide (ruffled and attached down the middle), and the waistband, 12 inches wide (it will be folded over to be 6 inches at the end—like the Martha tute) by 40 inches (2X her waist measurement of 20 inches). For ydd, I made each tier 4 inches wide, the fluff 2 inches wide, and the waistband 8 inches by 36 inches (her waist is almost 18 inches). For both skirts, the length of the first tier was 3 times the waistband measurement, so 120 inches for odd, and 108 inches for ydd (by the way, the fabric is 54 inches wide, so it was 2 strips of fabric for this tier of ydd’s skirt, which worked out nicely.) The 2nd tier was 3 times the first tier measurement and the fluff ended up being about 3 times that measurement—since I did it in the flat, I didn’t worry with exact measurements on the fluff.
The first skirt took a while to get the process down and work out the kinks, but the 2nd skirt really only took about 4 hours with interruptions, and the measurements to be gathered aren’t that much different between the two. (the length is the major difference)
First of all, I was amazed at how small 10 yards of this fabric is folded up!
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/sandrahd_photos/1.jpg
Ok, here are my tips for anyone who might want to make one of these:
1. Invest in a ruffler foot. If you have one, get to know it now! (There is a free e-book on YCMT that is really good for using a ruffler.)
2. Ruffle your strips and sew them to the tier above all in one step!
3. Don’t try to do this in the round. (I found that even when I had my ruffler calibrated correctly to a 3 to 1 ratio, the sheer amount of fabric to be ruffled caused it to end up with variances by the end. By doing it in the flat, I was able to trim off any excess and move to the next step.)
4. Cut your fabric w/ a rotary cutter and ruler and have it folded, so you are cutting through several layers of fabric at once. (I used a slotted quilting ruler, and that is by far one of my best investments—I use it all of the time!) When I was cutting the fluff strips, I was cutting through 10 layers of chiffon at a time, and it worked out fine.
5. When you are attaching the strips of fluff with your ruffler, pay attention to which way the fabric wants to curl on the sides. Place it through your ruffler so that the edges would curl down, not up. If you do it the other way, as it feeds through, it will want to curl in on itself, and you will have to fight to keep it from getting caught up and sewn.
6. Oh, and I figured this one out on the 2nd skirt I made, and I’d say this one saved me soo much time: Don’t bother with sewing your strips of fabric together on the ends. As the strip being ruffled runs out, let it go all the way through the ruffler, and then put a new one in, so that they butt together or overlap just slightly. As the piece tier not being ruffled runs out, just place a new one under the foot with the ends overlapping slightly, they will be joined at the bottom this way, and then they will be joined at the top when that tier gets ruffled and attached to the one above it. Trust me, you can’t tell on the finished product.
So, here’s what I did. Like I said, cut the fabric folded. For the fluff, I cut the strips lengthwise, so each of my fluff strips are 5 yards long. I made 2 skirts: for the big one these were 2.5 inches wide, and for the small one, I made them 2 inches wide. I used between 6 and 10 strips for each skirt—if you do it in the flat, it doesn’t have to be an exact science.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/sandrahd_photos/4.jpg
I started at the bottom, attaching the fluff to the bottom tier. The ruffler at work.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/sandrahd_photos/10.jpg
Then, I attached the bottom tier to the 1st tier.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/sandrahd_photos/14.jpg
Repeat the process until you get 2 skirt pieces (2 tiers and fluff+ skirt piece). Ruffle/Attach each skirt piece to the long sides of your waistband. This isn’t a very good picture, but when you are done, it will look like this.
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/sandrahd_photos/17.jpg
Now, fold this piece in half top to bottom and sew from the bottom of one skirt piece up across the waistband and to the bottom of the other skirt piece. Leave a small opening slightly off-center on the waistband to insert your elastic (like on the Martha tut). Fold the waistband in half, wrong sides together, so that one of your skirt pieces in inside the other one. Sew the casing for your elastic and insert it.
And VOILA! Here they are hanging, and some modeled pics. I do like the proportions better on the smaller skirt, so next time, I may make the ruffle factor higher on the bigger skirt or add 1 more layer, but I am happy with the result, and with the fact that it didn’t take nearly as long as I expected it to. (Please ignore the toy clutter.)
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/sandrahd_photos/22.jpg
twirling
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/sandrahd_photos/24.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/sandrahd_photos/27.jpg
http://i248.photobucket.com/albums/gg177/sandrahd_photos/28.jpg

I’m planning solid red ones for Christmas. By the way, I was able to get both of these out of 10 yards of the nylon chiffon (5 of each color). I may up that and order 15 of the red to accommodate an extra layer or two for odd’s skirt, but it doesn’t take as much as a lot of the estimates I’ve seen.

Mommatothebear
07-07-2008, 01:09 PM
They look great Sandra! :) Where did you end up buying the chiffon?

Deepgreen29
07-07-2008, 01:13 PM
Ooh they are so cute!! Great job! Thanks for posting:)

sandrahd
07-07-2008, 01:15 PM
I got it from http://www.murielleroy.net. The shipping was high, but it got to me really quickly.

I hope your DD has been able to enjoy her outfits this summer.

Sillyronnie
07-07-2008, 01:16 PM
Adorable!! Thanks for posting....gorgeous

tinapica
07-07-2008, 01:18 PM
They are darling !! Great job!!

Misty589
07-07-2008, 01:29 PM
awesome job

Mommatothebear
07-07-2008, 01:30 PM
I got it from http://www.murielleroy.net. The shipping was high, but it got to me really quickly.

I hope your DD has been able to enjoy her outfits this summer.

She has. Have you gotten to use yours?

Kori
07-07-2008, 01:35 PM
Wow, awesome job! I'm impressed. :yes:

shelly
07-07-2008, 01:39 PM
They look great! Lots of twirl factor there. :D

fiddlestitches
07-07-2008, 01:41 PM
they look wonderful.
Kelley

shellybean
07-07-2008, 01:42 PM
impressive indeed! I've been keeping the whole pettiskirt thing secret from my youngest 2 because I knew they would drive me batty wanting one. There was no way I was going to sew one but the way you did it makes it seem like a reasonable project. Maybe they will get them for Christmas.

Island~mom
07-07-2008, 01:43 PM
You did a fantastic job!!

Lujain
07-07-2008, 01:50 PM
:thumbsup:

Vanessa
07-07-2008, 01:52 PM
They look really great! Awesome job. :)

Tiredmama
07-07-2008, 02:02 PM
Those look awesome. Maybe I need to figure out the ruffler and make one.

TracyNoelle
07-07-2008, 02:18 PM
Wow! I am way impressed!

Aurelie
07-07-2008, 02:28 PM
That is fabulous. and 10 yards doesn't seem like that much to make something so stinking cute. love it!

Pam
07-07-2008, 02:29 PM
Wow those are beautiful! Nice work!

LAB
07-07-2008, 02:36 PM
Adorable! They would be so cute for Christmas! Thanks for the tutorial!

Laura :)

stephs
07-07-2008, 02:37 PM
Those are so adorable!!! Nice job mama! Not sure I have the patience to work that all out and put it together but you go girl!

tommyzmommy
07-07-2008, 02:43 PM
You are so kind to show us how to do that! I tried to follow Martha's (Stewart that is) instructions but your's makes far more sense. And super, super cute work!!

kpfjpf
07-07-2008, 02:44 PM
so cute!!!

MissShannon
07-07-2008, 03:00 PM
oh my goodness!!! cute cute cute. I'm going to have to do this too.

thanks for the post and the pictures.

mtandg
07-07-2008, 03:08 PM
Wow you did a really fantastic job!

just peachy
07-07-2008, 03:12 PM
Awesome work!!

bazzyll
07-07-2008, 03:16 PM
now THOSE adorable! Thank you so much for that awesome how to!

sarah ruth
07-07-2008, 03:17 PM
I am so completely impressed!!

sandrahd
07-07-2008, 03:19 PM
Thank you all so much! I have more pics of the process, but I didn't have time to post them--plus, I really wasn't sure how this would be received, so I didn't.

I'm glad you like them :)
Sandra

brevans02
07-07-2008, 03:37 PM
I agree with the pp - the way you explained it actually made it sound do-able! I just got a ruffler foot...I'm really tempted to try this. Maybe a Christmas gift....

mommy2three
07-07-2008, 03:54 PM
gorgeous job! They are adorable!

marzipan
07-07-2008, 04:11 PM
You did a fantastic job with those!

kmccloud
07-07-2008, 04:45 PM
Absolutely stunning work. I don't know if I have it in me to try this :)

Tonya
07-07-2008, 04:52 PM
Those are wonderful! I want one for my dd so badly! If you make a tute, send me a link pls!!!!

flourishes
07-07-2008, 04:56 PM
Great job! My hat is off to you; I gave up about halfway through mine. :lol:

Bluhimmy
07-07-2008, 05:04 PM
Fabulous! You did a wonderful job on them.

Cathi
07-07-2008, 05:14 PM
They look fantastic!

skalafut
07-07-2008, 05:17 PM
Awesome! Thank you so much for the tut - I've been wanting to try my hand at these for my granddaughters. They LOVE TO TWIRL!

caz
07-07-2008, 05:29 PM
awesome. Thank you.

HappyMrs.W
07-07-2008, 05:49 PM
OOH! AHH! Those skirts are too darling ! Hmm, wonder if an overweight 35 yr. old sahm could get away with wearing one, prob. not. <sigh>

Sneeches
07-07-2008, 08:32 PM
They are fantastic, thanks for posting, I have wanted to make these for ages and am being a big chicken!!!

michellep742
07-07-2008, 08:47 PM
Love them!!!

ADD Housewife
07-07-2008, 08:48 PM
those are AWESOME!

any chance we can get this in a tutorial on the website for future reference ????

knittymama3
07-07-2008, 08:58 PM
love it!

kimsansf
07-08-2008, 12:56 AM
sigh... if only i had a girl...

They look fabulous!

JustImagine
07-08-2008, 03:40 AM
Wow! Those are adorable. Thank you for sharing.

KiarasMom
07-08-2008, 03:55 AM
Awesome! Thanks for sharing/posting!!!

Karrie
07-08-2008, 06:08 AM
Adorable! Thank you for the tutorial. It doesn't seem so difficult in pictures!!

sweetzinnias
07-08-2008, 06:53 AM
Beauiful!
Nylon Chiffon is wicked cheap! I had no idea! Thanks for the link.

meliatx
07-08-2008, 07:18 AM
You just saved me like hours of work. I did not think you could use the ruffler. And the 3 to one ration, fold over pics, and not doing it in the round.
I am giving you a standing ovation here in Texas.
THANK YOU.
Now I can cut that chiffon that has been screaming at me. I was just like a deer in the head lights.

sewingmel
07-08-2008, 08:07 AM
You just saved me like hours of work. I am giving you a standing ovation here in Texas.
THANK YOU.

I was just thinking that Melia needed to see this. :lol: We were just talking about this.

Great work! I think pretty much any tutorial is accepted around here because we always love to learn new stuff. I especially love the baby's one with all those layers scrunched together! Maybe I will attempt one as well.... Do you have any idea of how much you used on the small one?

sandrahd
07-08-2008, 10:35 AM
I don't know how to quote, but to answer your question sewingmel about yardage requirements for the small one:

For the satin charmuese you need 8 inches (my waistband is 8X36, so the width of the fabric accomodates the 36".

For the skirt color of the nylon chiffon, you need 2 strips of 54" fabric for the first tier and 6 strips of 54" fabric for the second tier, so 8 strips that are 4 inches wide--total is 32" (I think you have to buy in 1 yard increments, so you should get 1 yard.)

For the fluff chiffon, I did a ruffle factor of between 2 and 3. For a ruffle factor of 3 and using 2 inch strips, you can get them all out of 1 whole yard of 54" fabric. And I do mean 1 WHOLE yard. It will use every piece. If I were buying, I would buy the 1 yard of this and use the extra 4 inches of the skirt chiffon that I bought to practice on w/ my ruffler.

Let me know if this doesn't make sense.

sandrahd
07-08-2008, 10:47 AM
oh, and one more thing/tip: I did not prewash my fabric--the care instructions are to air dry, so I decided I could live with a little bit of shrinkage, but I don't expect any. I just thought after washing, this stuff would be impossible to get to cooperate.

Here's the tip :yes: : After you have cut your strips, and they are all folded nice and neat, don't unfold them to look at how pretty they are and let them end up in a messy pile (don't ask me how I know! :yikes:). It will be much easier if you leave them folded and use them one by one that way--this way you can just feed them through the ruffler without having to work with them to keep them from getting twisted on the way through--this goes along with the tip about making sure they curl to the bottom as you feed them through the ruffler. I did it both ways, and it is much easier if you pay attention to this before you start :D

3boysandaprincess
07-08-2008, 10:54 AM
They look awesome!

starkl
07-08-2008, 11:00 AM
Those are FANTASTIC!!!!! And I have to say, your little one is so SO cute, what a doll baby :heart:

kanaha
07-28-2008, 02:59 PM
Fold the waistband in half, wrong sides together, so that one of your skirt pieces in inside the other one.

Can you please explain the last part about getting the rectangle to be a skirt?

I just can't visualize it right now.

I love the thought of not having to do it in the round.

Thank you so much!

ktlady
07-28-2008, 03:10 PM
Looks great! Thanks for the tutorial - I would not have thought to attach the two skirts to either side of the waist piece.

devida
07-28-2008, 03:24 PM
They are beutiful mama! my little lady would go nuts over a pettiskirt like that! :heart:

Dee
x

sandrahd
07-28-2008, 03:40 PM
:hithere: To answer your question about turning the rectangle into a skirt, position your rectangle, so you are looking down the satin middle with the chiffon peices to the right and to the left, right sides up.

Take the bottom and fold it up so the bottom edge is even with the top edge (right sides together). Sew across hte top edge. (As you are sewing, you will sew across one layer of chiffon skirt, then across the waisband, and then across hte other layer of chiffon skirt.)

Turn it right side out and grab the middle of the waistband in a couple of places. Then make one of your chiffon skirts fall to the inside of hte other one.

Is that clear as mud? :wink:

kanaha
07-28-2008, 04:31 PM
I think I got it. I'm sure it will be clear once I'm at that step.

Thanks again! I'm so excited to make this tonite.

April1930s
07-28-2008, 04:34 PM
FAB-U-LOUS!!!!! So, so, so cute on your girls and you are very talented with lots of ingenuity! Great job!

sewsewmama
07-29-2008, 07:49 AM
I really hope this is being moved to tutorials!!! I know I'm going to want to find it later. Any other way to save it?

Mom 2 5 girls
07-29-2008, 08:25 AM
What a great job! Too cute!

MyEmilyMarie
07-29-2008, 08:39 AM
I am SO IMPRESSED and you have given me the courage to try it!! :thumbsup:

rosiestreasures
07-29-2008, 01:30 PM
I love them. Thanks for showing the process too.

pinkebody
07-29-2008, 08:20 PM
Thank you so much for the directions. I have been dying to make one, but greatly intimidated. I think I will give it a try now. My girls love all things twirly :)

kreenZart
07-29-2008, 08:35 PM
wow! that is a completely worthwhile project! i commend you on your perserverence!

SewSomething
07-29-2008, 10:07 PM
Oh wow!!! Wish I had the skill to give that a try for DD...so very cute!!!

Stephanie
08-12-2008, 07:14 AM
Love them!

girlfactory
08-12-2008, 02:09 PM
quick question: when you are sewing the fluff to the bottom of the tier, are you stitching in the middle of the strip? That's kinda how it looks in the first picture. I have to make one today for my dd's bday tomrrow!!

CheekyBabies
08-12-2008, 06:35 PM
Your dds are darling and the pettiskirts are perfect!

theclap Thank you! Fabulous tutorial. :yes: I will definitely be making more this way. Now to get my hands on a few bolts of chiffon. :lol:

sandrahd
08-13-2008, 10:28 AM
To answer the question about the fluff, yes, you are sewing down the middle. It is very forgiving though in the end, so don't sweat it if you get off-center some here and there! :)

CutieCupcake
08-13-2008, 10:29 PM
they are so cute! and i like that little amy butler clutch you have hanging too... :)

3chickadeesandme
11-20-2008, 09:18 AM
That looks great!! thanks for sharing!!

KKDJLJA
11-20-2008, 09:25 AM
Great job!!!!

catmom9
11-20-2008, 09:27 AM
Wow - those are just gorgeous!

ialady44
11-20-2008, 10:12 PM
WOW!!!!! I'm speechless. If you had not posted the progress pix, I would have sworn that was RTW. Those just rock!!!!

keikiangels
11-20-2008, 10:31 PM
Beautiful job

Chrisnkelley
11-20-2008, 10:36 PM
Those are adorable!

sweetpeaboutique
11-21-2008, 12:10 AM
they are so cute!!

*Christina*
11-21-2008, 12:31 AM
Beautiful!!

luvbug1975
11-21-2008, 02:00 PM
Wow--those are great! Sooooooooo fluffy!

stephs
11-21-2008, 02:15 PM
Those are G R E A T ! ! ! Way more patience than I have...I decided going through the group buy was much better for me...if only that last box would get in already! Adorable models!!!

rebz
11-23-2008, 03:10 AM
Wow they look great! I've only just discovered pettiskirts and I have 2 DDs

Rebecca
London, UK

Sharron
12-16-2008, 01:51 AM
Great job. They just look so adorable and happy!

brookesmom
12-16-2008, 11:04 AM
Those are so cute!

nini02
12-16-2008, 11:43 AM
They are sooo cute!

Potters4
12-16-2008, 03:32 PM
WOW!:yikes:

kreenZart
12-16-2008, 07:25 PM
oh man, i wish i had the time to do one up for keoni. they look awesome! love the colours you chose!

kathy_sews
12-16-2008, 07:33 PM
Just want to say thanks again for posting this tut. I made two of these for my dd's for Christmas and they were super easy. Well, tedious, but far easier than Martha made them look, LOL!! I made the first with a gathering foot and finally found a ruffler for the second one. You can't tell the difference between the two, but the ruffler was faster.

hershyyyy
12-16-2008, 08:23 PM
Wow! you did such a nice job! Thanks for all the tips:):)

Beka-H
12-16-2008, 08:47 PM
Those are so adorable!!!

jazzysteph
03-23-2009, 09:54 PM
Those are absolutely fabulous!!!!

Steph :)

sashapoo
03-26-2009, 10:10 PM
Wow! I love it...I think that will be my next project for my god daughters!

ToriLeslie
03-29-2009, 12:42 AM
Those are way too cute, and those models!!!

Sarahlilly
03-29-2009, 06:13 PM
That is amazing! Great job mama!

staceycanada
03-30-2009, 03:01 AM
Awesome! I have been wanting one of these for ages.

jennie2
04-04-2009, 02:38 PM
just wanted to say thanks so much for posting this! I don't think I ever would have tackled this project without the handholding this tutorial provided. My nieces are going to be THRILLED to get these!

Awesome, awesome tut :)

sashapoo
04-20-2009, 01:59 AM
those are great! u am going to have to make them for my godbabies.

shayshap
04-20-2009, 02:08 AM
very cute

Carmen74
04-21-2009, 10:10 AM
Cute cute cute!

CBx4
04-21-2009, 10:57 PM
Hi! Thank you so much for this tutorial, I have had all the stuff and am dreading working on it after reading ALL the comments on Martha's site.
I have one question though...The fluff, do you ruffle it first and then ruffle it again to that bottom layer? I guess I'm confused as to how a piece of fabric and another piece 3x it's length can be ruffled together and come out relatively the same length.
I have never used my ruffler to sew 2 pieces of fabric together. Does it work out or am I confused?
Thanks again!!

SewMeSane
04-22-2009, 09:22 AM
Thanks for the tutorial. . .like you I love the look and have come close to buying one but hate to buy it when I know I can make it. . .thanks for the instructions and taking the guess work out of it!

sms2178
04-24-2009, 03:31 PM
Those are... Amazing. When I've had a *tad* (Ok a lot!) more experience, I REALLY want to try to tackle this!!!

christy3burr
04-26-2009, 08:21 PM
love it!!!

sandrahd
04-28-2009, 06:44 AM
I have one question though...The fluff, do you ruffle it first and then ruffle it again to that bottom layer? I guess I'm confused as to how a piece of fabric and another piece 3x it's length can be ruffled together and come out relatively the same length.
I have never used my ruffler to sew 2 pieces of fabric together. Does it work out or am I confused?


Hi, if you haven't had a chance to download the free e-book from You Can Make This .com on how to use your ruffler, I can't recommend it enough! You can ruffle and attach in one step. Basically, the piece to be ruffled (the fluff) runs through the top of the ruffler and the piece you are attaching it to runs under the ruffle foot (between the foot and the feed dogs.

I hope that helps!

Tonkks
08-02-2009, 10:37 AM
Lovely!! Thanks for sharing!

trilla_marion
08-02-2009, 12:02 PM
That is so cool. And here one of my friends just bought the boutique pettiskirt pattern from ycmt and you've just created a free tutorial for us. lol This is so very cool. Thanks!

feelix
08-02-2009, 12:30 PM
Those are adorable!

bunnyslippers
08-17-2009, 08:18 PM
Amazing, I wish I had girls to make skirts like that for.

Becki

lesleyandsara
09-04-2009, 10:25 AM
those are all such great tips and they are the things i had to learn by trial and error. in the end they are such common sense. great posting!

Honey B.
09-22-2009, 01:45 PM
So adorable! I can't wait to attempt to make a pettiskirt! Thanks for sharing!!!

Milee
09-22-2009, 02:29 PM
Thanks so much for this. Finding this tutorial was the whole reason I found this site, and I'm so addicted. LOL I haven't tried this yet, but this one makes more sense than any other thing I've read/watched about making these skirts. I can't wait to try it.

yarnmom77
10-30-2009, 12:47 PM
WOW! Thank you for sharing! It would be a dream come true if I could manage these for my daughters!! :)

racha710
11-09-2009, 09:38 PM
very very nice, I am about to make my dd one, will def book mark this, thanks!

mysticwill
11-10-2009, 07:25 AM
I am stuck on the Charmuse. You only need one yard? In the final pics that doesn't look like just one yard.. Help! DD needs one of these for under her Christmas dress

sandrahd
11-10-2009, 10:20 PM
The charmeuse is the satin-looking material that makes up the waistband. You need much much more nylon chiffon for all of the ruffles. I hope that helps!

shelle007
03-15-2010, 12:23 AM
makes me wish I had a ruffler foot :yes:

watermama
04-01-2010, 01:08 AM
These look fabulous, my dds would love them!

3chickadeesandme
04-01-2010, 03:18 PM
those are great! Thanks for sharing!!

sames5
04-26-2010, 03:12 PM
Those skirts are sew very cute! Once our girl gets walking, I'd like to make one for her.