Tulle Pettiskirt - now with tutorial

SCROLL DOWN FOR TUTORIAL...

I love pettiskirts. I don't love the boutique price tag. I also really love the soft, floaty chiffon but when your little princess would rather be out slaying the dragon herself than waiting around for some prince on a horse, you need something a little hardier. More stain resistant. With an el-cheapo price tag. Yeay tulle!

I only made this skirt one layer. Extra fancy pettiskirts have two, but I'm ridiculously pregnant (i.e. impatient) and one day sitting at a sewing machine is quite enough for this mama. As you can see, it didn't diminish the explosion of fluff.

The girl-monster herself...

TUTORIAL

(I really hope this makes sense...)

Tips:
*It's not hard, just time consuming. Though if you're like me, math = ouchies.
*Read through the entire tutorial first!
*There’s a shopping list at the end. Fill it out as you do your calculations.
*Finish your seams as you go – especially if you’re using chiffon. It’s not written in the tutorial, but you know how it goes. Use a serger / overlocker / sewing machine with an overedge or zigzag stitch so the whole thing is neat and fray-proof.
*When selecting chiffon, buy nylon. If using tulle, pick the softer stuff.
*If you use satin for the yoke, you may wish to iron down strips of fusible interfacing to the inside edges to prevent fraying.
*I didn’t add extra seam allowances to the yoke or tiers; if you wish, add an extra few cms [an inch]. It’s not necessary on the hem ruffle.

1. Measure

Waist: ___________________
Length of desired skirt: ________________
All the bounce makes the finished skirt appear shorter; consider adding extra length.

2. Work out how much fabric you’ll need.

Divide length by three______________ ___ = (a)
This is the width of the yoke and tiers. Are you adding extra seam allowance? Add it now.

Yoke
2 rectangles of satin, (a) wide and (waist + 4 inches) long.______________ ____

1st Tier
Strip of chiffon/tulle, (a) wide and (waist x 6) long.______________ _______

2nd Tier
Strip of chiffon/tulle, (a) wide and (waist x 18) long.______________ _______

Hem Ruffle
Strip of chiffon/tulle, 5 cms/2 inches wide and (waist x 36) long. ___________________ __

Total amount of chiffon/tulle to buy

Answer: A LOT.

Chiffon or tulle will come in widths of anywhere from 91.5cm [36 inches] to 162cm [70 inches]. How much you need will depend on that width.

E.g. I am making a SINGLE layer, little girl’s tulle pettiskirt for a 51cm [20inch] waist.

Adding up the length of the tiers, I need a strip of tulle 12.5cm [5 inches] wide and 1219.2cm, or 12.20 metres [480 inches] long! The ruffle is going to be 5cm [2 inches] wide and 1828.8cm – or, 18.29 metres [720 inches] long. That’s INSANE!

The store has 132cm [52inch] wide tulle. How much do I need to purchase?

132cm [52 inches] divided by the largest width I need – 12.5cm [5inches]

= 10.56 (or 10.4 if you’re using inches)

That means I’ll get 10 and a bit strips out of any length of that tulle.

Take the total length of tulle needed– the tiers and the ruffle. For me, that’s 3048cm [1200 inches]. Divide that by the number of strips I’ll get out of the fabric - 10.56. Answer? 288.63. Round it up.

I need to purchase 289cm [2.89m, 113 inches] of 132cm [52inch] wide tulle!

If I were making a DOUBLE layer pettiskirt I’d obviously double that.

Got all that? Go you!
Now have a little lie down. Treat yourself to a hot chocolate and a Tim Tam or six.

3. Cut out strips and yoke.

What to have handy:
Pieces of cardboard, an old box will do
scissors or rotary cutter
nice big pins
ruler or tape measure, chalk

The fabric you’re using is nice and thin so you can cut several layers at once. Fold your fabric over itself a few times. Pin at the edges so it won’t move while you cut. Measure out your strip widths according to your earlier calculations. Mark a cutting line with chalk. Pin occasionally to prevent movement.

Take pieces of that cardboard box and wind your strips around to prevent twisting/tangling. Use one piece of cardboard for each section – i.e. 1st tier, 2nd tier, hem ruffle.

Sew as you go – joining strips together to make up your total length. Make sure your seams all face the same way!

Cut out your yoke pieces as calculated earlier.

4. Get the yoke ready.

Put your two rectangles wrong sides together and sew the long, top edge.
Make a casing for your elastic: press down the top edge about 1cm [1/2 inch], then another 5cm [2 inches]. Stitch that down. Give it a press. You’ll have a tube casing with two layers of extra fabric on the bottom. Set aside.

Constructing the skirt – working from the bottom up

5. The Hem Ruffle

Ruffle the entire strip of your hem ruffle, right up the middle. It needs to end up about half the size it is now.

You can do this several ways:
*By hand with a needle and thread. (Good luck, ye brave and faithful)
*By machine, with hand wound elastic thread in the bobbin or a gathering foot.
*With a ruffler tool.
*By machine, just scrunching up the strip as it goes under the presser foot (worked fine for me! SEE PICS.)

Attach the hem ruffle to the bottom edge of your 2nd tier. Lay the ruffle on the 2nd tier strip and sew right over the top of your gathering stitch.

6. The 2nd Tier

Your 2nd tier strip will now have a ruffle attached to one end. Yeay you!

Gather the top edge of the strip. Use whatever technique you used before.

Lay the 1st tier over the 2nd, right sides together, matching edges. Sew. Lay out, right sides up.

7. The 1st Tier & Yoke

The bottom of your 1st tier strip now has a very fluffy and ruffled attachment. Hurrah!

Gather the top edge of your 1st tier strip. This will attach to the yoke, so be precise. You may need to switch from machine gathering to hand work.

Tips:
Work in sections to ensure accuracy
Mark out the halfway points on the yoke and the strip so you have a guide to match up to.

Sew the top edge of the gathered tier to the bottom edge of the yoke –

If you want a SINGLE layer skirt, you can sew both layers of the yoke, then move on to the next step.

If you want a DOUBLE layer skirt, sew only to one yoke layer. Then, repeat steps 6-8 with your second lot of strips and sew that to the second yoke layer. Make sure your seams are all facing the same way!

Simply lay the yoke over the rest of the skirt, right sides together, and sew the appropriate edge.

8. Finishing the Skirt

Turn your whole pettiskirt right sides in. Join up the back seam and sew, leaving the elastic casing open.

Cut your elastic to fit, thread through the casing. Stitch the elastic together securely. Neatly hand stitch the opening.

Cut the satin ribbon (twice the waist length works if you’re not sure). Heat seal the edges (melt with a candle flame, lighter etc) to prevent fraying. Make a big pretty bow, sew to the centre front of the skirt.

Congratulations, you bundle of gorgeous twirliness!
You’ve made yourself a pettiskirt!

Shopping List:

Satin for yoke............... ................... ...........
Pettiskirt fabric (tulle or nylon chiffon).............
Fusible interfacing (optional)................... .......
Satin ribbon............. ................... ................
Elastic............ ................... ................... .....
Thread............. ................... ................... ...