“Whirl” (twirl) Skirt Tutorial

Ok….first I want to say, please forgive me if this sounds crazy or confusing.  This is my first tutorial.  Also please forgive the pictures.  I just have my little point and shoot. 

This tutorial is picture heavy, so it may load slow.  Again please forgive me if this is confusing.  I tried to write the directions down as I went. 

 

The inspiration for the skirt came from Heather Bailey's Blog. The fabric that I have used is by Patty Young. It's from the Andalucia line.

My daughters’ call this a Whirl skirt.  But most call it a Twirl skirt. 

Materials

1 yd main body (in my photos its the flower print)
1 yd solid fabric (the white fabric)
1 yd accent fabric (waist band and ruffle)
Elastic

You will have fabric left over.  I always buy 1 yd to be safe.

Thread.  Scissors.  Sewing Machine.  Ruler.  Fabric marker.

 

First you will need to decide the skirt length.  I measured my daughters’ from their waists down to their knees. 

Example:  (These measurements fit a size 7-8 possibly 9-10 in little girls).

Waistband A (accent fabric) 6” x 30”

Skirt A (main body fabric)  14” x 41”

Waistband B (solid fabric)  6” x 30”

Skirt B (solid fabric) 8” x 41”

Ruffle (accent fabric) 6” x 41”

Make sure the fabric measurements of A and B are equal.  My A fabrics equal 20 (6+14=20).  My B fabrics equal 20 (6+8+6=20).   For the waist measurement I added 5 to the measurement of my daughter’s waist. 

 

The cutting:

Cut 1 of waistband A
Cut 2 of Skirt A

Cut 1 of waistband B
Cut 2 of Skirt B

Cut 2 of Ruffle

Sew together the sides of Waistband A.  Then sew together Skirt A.

Do same with Waistband B, Skirt B, and Ruffle.

Iron open seams.

Take your Ruffle piece and iron 1/4” on bottom.  Fold over and iron.  Sew your hem in place.

Next pin your ruffle to Skirt B.  Matching centers and seams.  Sew together.  After I sew them together I like to top-stitch on top of the ruffle.  Gives it a cleaner look.

 

 

 

Gather the top of your skirt.  I actually just pin mine by hand because my sewing machine doesn’t have the length stitch I need.  But here is a great tutorial to show you how.  Gather Up  After you gather the top of the skirt, pin it to Waistband B.  And sew in place.  This is the bottom half of your skirt.

Now onto the main body.  Take Skirt A and sew a hem in place just like you did for the Ruffle.  After you sew the hem, gather up the top of the skirt and pin it to Waistband A.  Sew in place.  DO NOT TOP STITCH.  This will be done later on.  You should now have two pieces that look like this.

The next few steps are tricky.  But no worries you will get through them. 

Turn both of the pieces inside out.  Pin Waistband B to main body skirt where Waistband A and Skirt A meet.  Sorry I know that is confusing, but I am hoping the picture below helps.

After you get them pinned together, sew in place.  Make sure Waistband A is folded down into the skirt and doesn’t get caught in your stitches.  You want to sew just on the seam itself. 

After you sew those two pieces together, turn your skirt right side out.  Top-Stitch where Waistband A and Skirt A meet.

   

You should now have something that looks like this.

Next we are going to sew the casing for the elastic.

Fold over 1/4” of the waistband and iron.  Fold over again until the casing is at least 1”. 

 

Then sew in place.  Leave about an inch opening so you can insert your elastic. 

Cut your elastic to fit waist measurement.  My daughter’s was 25 inches, so I cut my elastic to 23 inches. 

Use a safety pin to insert your elastic.

After you thread your elastic through, sew the ends together.

Next sew up the hole you left for the elastic.  And you are done.