Project Run and Play Sew Along Challenge #1

Circle Skirt Remake!

So I don't know about you but I am a big fan of the show Project Runway.  My problem...I make kids clothes.  I have never even tried to make anything bigger than a size six.   This means any dream of project runway is lost.   However, I found this great blog called project run and play.  If you haven't seen it you need to.  I am going to try and put the button on my page, we will see how it goes.   They pick designers who are bloggers and give them challenges and everyone votes.  I love it!  Also they allow those of us who are quite there yet to sew along at home and enter the sew along challenge.  This week's challenge was the remake of Dana's Circle Skirt.  I have sent you here before because I really love this tutorial.
http://www.danamadeit.com/2008/07/tutorial-the-circle-skirt.html
So I was excited.  I have already been doing this.  I was going to enter my remade tutu skirt but alas I forgot to take a picture of it before I gave it to the lady I made it for....Sigh!   So I decided I would make a complementary skirt to the Snow White outfit that I made for my daughter (let's be honest there are only so many days that I am going to convince her to wear those pants).   So during the course of several staff meetings, my mind wanders a lot, I drew up a very ambitious design for myself.
Loved it....but reality eventually sunk in and I realized that I am not there yet in my sewing techniques.   Sigh!  One of these days I will figure out how to make it work.   So I modified the design into a three tiered circle skirt.  Here it is my first tutorial. (Hooray)

To start with you need to follow the tutorial on Dana's circle skirt page to determine how you would make the first layer of the skirt.  
For me I wanted a skirt that was 10inches so I followed the description and this is what I got.   I found that if you glue two pieces of legal sized paper together it is about the right size to make a kid sized pattern with.

Now that I had the pattern for the bottom skirt, I folded my fabric so that I wouldn't have to sew and seams and cut out the bottom layer.  It works best if you pin the pattern to the fabric and it is okay if your cutting is imperfect like mine because we will be hiding it.

Now that the pattern is cut for the bottom layer, it is time to do some math to determine the next two layers.   For the top layer I took the length and cut it in half giving me the desired length for the top layer. Mine was 5 inches.   I used the same arching technique to add that to my pattern. (As you will see I only used one pattern and kept cutting it, mostly because I ran out of legal sized paper :-)).  Then to find the middle layer I took and split the difference between the top layer and bottom layer.  For me 7 1/2. Then I put that on to my pattern as well.  Below you can see what my finished pattern looked like.

Since I have already cut the bottom layer, I trimmed my pattern so that I could cut out the middle layer.

Finally, I trimmed my pattern again and cut out the top layer. 
Now you have all three layers and it is time to do some edging.  You could do a rolled hem to the bottom of the skirts but I haven't figured out how to do it without pulling my hair out.....so I use bias tape.   If you know how to make bias tape you could make your own (extra wide is preferable) but honestly for the amount that you need, it is just as easy to buy it.   I got a whole box at a garage sale for $1.00 (thanks mom!).  This is the brand I was using.

Now there are two ways to do the bias tape.  Either you can pin it all the way around the skirt and then sew..........

......Or you can just sew it on as you go.

Personally, I found that I made less mistakes when I sewed it around as I went.  Maybe because I had to take my time more.  Make sure you measure first so you don't end up like I did, having to make a patch.

Do this technique to all three skirts.  I liked using contrasting bias tape to make it more interesting. 
Once all three skirts have the bias tape layer them on top of each other and pin them.  There is a good chance that you will have accidentally cut one slightly larger than the others.  That is okay, with a little bit of pinning and stretching and folding you can usually get them to fit together in an unnoticeable way.   Once you have them binned do a basting stitch to attach them all together.   I use the basting stitch because it is really easy to pull out when you accidentally sew part of the skirt to the waistband...lol.   Once you are happy with what you have done I like to use the zigzag stitch on the edges to clean them up and make sure they are secure.

I didn't take pictures of the next several parts....I was tired, it was late, I had no caffeine...enough said!
Once you have sewn the skirts together pick a material for the waistband.  I used the same blue as the bottom layer.   With your iron fold over the two sides and hem, then fold in half and iron so that you have a casing.  Measure the casing with your skirt, sew the ends, ad trim off the excess.  Then attach the waistband to the skirt sewing at the bottom edge.  Be sure to leave a small opening for the elastic.   Measure the elastic to the size of your child and cut.   Using a safety pin on one end, feed the elastic through the skirt.   Sew the ends of the elastic together and sew close the opening.  Go back and make sure that everything is secure.  I had to fix a few places..........like I said it was late.  

Finally, just try it on your daughter.   It is a perfect twirly fun skirt that your daughter will absolutely love.  I paired it with some bow tights and the same jacket and apple shirt from the previous picture and it is perfect.   She looked at me and said...."Mommy I am a Cinderella"  (Snow White but close enough!)

My model was quite grumpy and did not want to take pictures today!

So this would have been my entry into the sew along challenge had I finished it Thursday Night instead of last night.....oh well.  On to the next challenge....sportswear and this time I think I am going to make something for my son!