My kiddo wants the skirt of her Belle costume to really stick out, so I decided on a hoop skirt because I really didn't want to make a crinoline. Here is how I made it.
supplies:
underskirt fabric
overskirt fabric
boning (sew-thru boning recommended)
ribbon or twill tape or similiar (wide enough to make a casing for the boning)
waistband elastic
lastin or trim
First, figure out what the finished length of the skirt will be. I decided on 22" (for my short 6 year old, who likes to pull skirts below her belly). Add 1" for elastic casing plus more for hem allowance.
*Alter measurements as needed!!
For the underskirt, cut a 60" wide fabric to 24" length. Sew the selvage edges right sides together, this will be center back. (The selvages of my satin was tighter than the rest of the fabric, so I made sure to serge it off.) Press the seam flat. Mark a line across the entire width of the skirt, 9.5" from the top raw edge. Mark another line across the width of the skirt at 7" from the bottom raw edge. Using the marked lines as a guide, stitch both edges of the ribbon to make a casing. Leave an opening and extra ribbon for overlap. (I ran out of blue seam binding, in case you're wondering why it's partially red). Finish hem.
Looking at the underskirt, decide how long the shortest part of the overskirt will be. Make it below the lower casing. (If you make the skirt wider, be wary of the length of the droop - you may need to raise the lower casing.) I made mine 18". Add half the length for the ruching fullness (18" + 9" = 27"). Set aside underskirt.
Cut the overskirt 60" x 27". Sew the selvage edges right sides together just like the underskirt. Hem and press. Lay skirt flat with center back seam right in the middle. Measure width of overskirt and divide by 4. My measurement was 56.75", so a forth of that is 14.1875" (14 and 3/16"). Divide by half (7 and 3/32"). To check measurements, take the last number and measure that amount from center back and center front. The amount of fabric in between those points should be 1/4th of the skirt width (14 and 3/16").
Mark a line from raw edge to hem, at 1/8th of the width of the skirt (7 and 3/32") away from center front and center back. Flip skirt over and repeat. These are the ruching guidelines.
**If adding optional swag, you can do it here. See instructions at the end.
If using trim, cut 4 pieces the length of the shortest part of the overskirt (as determined earlier) + 0.5" (so 18" + 0.5" = 18.5"). Fold one end of trim a half inch and stitch down if necessary. Gather overskirt at ruching lines and stitch trim down.
If not using trim, cut 4 pieces of lastin the length of the shortest part of the overskirt (18"). Stretch lastin along ruching lines and stitch.
Serge overskirt to underskirt at waist, matching center front and back. Make a typical elastic waistband, folding 1" over. (Picture shows the skirt on an adult dressform.)
I bought some plastic boning, which became a bit of a problem when I needed to join it together. I recommend getting the sew-thru kind instead.
Round the end of the boning and insert into lower casing, until it stretches the fabric out to the maximum width. If you are using sew-thru boning, cut a bit of an overlap and stitch together. (using the plastic boning, I cut 5" extra overlap and just shoved it into the casing.) The upper casing will need substantially less boning, I used 36" plus overlap - use more if you want a more rounded Cinderella type skirt. This is where the sew-thru boning really makes it easier, I ended up drilling small holes through my plastic boning and hand sewing thick thread to secure. The reason the boning needs to be connected together at the top casing is because the width of the fabric is much larger than the "hoop", you can avoid this by using an A-line skirt pattern for the underskirt. Always round the ends of the boning, you don't want jaggedy points poking holes in the ribbon. After inserting boning into casing and connecting ends, overlap ribbon and sew shut to encase the boning entirely.
The skirt needed something, so I added some fancy trim that ties the colors together.
Here is a view of the skirt from underneath.
**OPTIONAL SWAG: To add a swag to the skirt, cut your accent fabric 10" x 60". Fold in half right sides together the long way, so you have a 5" x 60" piece.
Sew a straight line all along the long raw edge, leaving ends open. Turn right sides out and move seam so it's going down the middle of the piece. Press the seam slightly, try to avoid making a hard pressed edge at the folds.
Stitching very close to the edge, sew the open ends shut. Fold in half so it's half the length and pin a small seam allowance along the raw edge (the seam allowance will be hidden under the trim). Next divide the swag in fourths and mark (mark the top and bottom of the folded edge, then match that mark to the pinned seam allowance and mark the top and bottom of the two new folds).
Decide where to put the swag. I made mine at 9" up from the bottom of the trim.
If you haven't ruched up the overskirt yet, you can add the swag right before that step. Fold up the swag to about 3" at the marks and at the raw ends, folding raw ends under. Stitch down. Finish the rest of the skirt as above.
If you added trim, unpick about 2" of stitching where you want the swag (I unpicked at 8" to 10" from bottom of trim). Thread the swag through the trim, matching trim to the marks. Play with the folds until it looks nice. Hide the ends of the swag under one of the lines of trim, folding it to fit. Stitch trim back down over swag. If you don't have trim, just fold up the swag at the marked areas and ends to about 2" and stitch down, folding the raw ends under. If you don't have trim, it will probably look better if you cover the attached areas with rosettes or bows.
I hope this helps someone!
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Originally Posted by ShannaW
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