Fun with elastic

I've been toying with the idea of folding a piece of fabric in half, cutting a hole in the middle for my head, sewing up the sides (leaving holes for my arms), and just adding an elastic band for shape. However, I've never made anything with elastic, so this skirt was practice.

I had some left-over linen, so I went to work.

I watched a few youtube videos to get a basic idea of what to do. What I realized is that you have to make the garment slightly bigger than your size (not a problem). Then, when you put the elastic through the machine, you have to stretch it while sewing. This terrified me because I was afraid of snapping off the needle (I shouldn't list all the clumsy things I have done while sewing, most involving pain to my fingers! So the fear was justified). Also if you pull on the front of the elastic band while sewing, this negates the dog-feed movement and you'll end up sewing in one place! Finally, I realized you have to stretch it out from the from and back of the needle. After that, I just watched the magic happen.

An elastic band in my skirt!


The finished product.


I made this skirt in the gathered skirt method with was a waste of time. The elastic band creates the desired ripples, just making the previous made waves mute. I wanted a skirt that was gathered looking and the elastic created that on it's own. I put a muslin lining in it, so I can wear colored underpants. :) And that's about it.

I see some pajama pants or even linen pants in the future!