Hey y’all – today I’m posting a tutorial for Skirting the Issue. For those of you who don’t know, Skirting the Issue is an annual event spearheaded by the ladies at Simple Simon & Co to sew a little handmade love for girls in foster care. You can read more about Skirting the Issue here.
I was so excited to team up with my friends Amy of Positively Splendid, Miranda of One Little Minute and Jamie of Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom to host a sewing bee for Skirting the Issue in Austin. We had a great group show up at The Stitching Studio last week, and together we got 30 skirts sewn for local girls!
I made these drawstring skirts with pockets. They’re pretty simple, but not as fast as the skirts some of the other girls were sewing, as I was the last one done! In my defense, Miranda is super fast at sewing and I did make 4 of them.
Want to make one? You’ll need two measurements – the waist size and skirt length. You can use  the chart you can download here to find waist and length measurements for sizes 6m-26w – such a handy reference!
You’ll also need fabric, 1/2″ wide elastic, and two buttons for the pockets.
Ok, so that the skirt gathers, you need to make it 1 1/2 times the waist measurement (and make sure the number you get is bigger than the hip circumference). Then divide that measurement by 2, so you have a front and back. Add 1″ to the width for 1/2″ seam allowances.
Add 2 1/4 inches to the length – 1 1/4″ for the casing and 1 inch for the hem.
Make a buttonhole for the drawstring to pull through later. This should be on the center front of the skirt. See this post for help with buttonholes.  Make sure to cut the buttonhole center.
Sew down and finish the side seams. See this post for finishing techniques.Â
Fold and press to form the casing, which will cover the buttonhole you made earlier.
Make the drawstring – this is actually two tubes sewn to the 1/2″ elastic.
Make the pockets. If you cut two of the pocket pieces out of a different fabric, and sew one of each fabric together, you’ll have a cute contrasting pocket flap.
If you want to cheat, you don’t have to make the buttonholes here. You could just sew the buttons through the pocket and flap to keep the flap down.
Sew your pockets onto your skirt front.
Form the hem.
Insert your drawstring through the buttonhole. The elastic will be inside the casing, and the fabric part will be outside to tie. NOTE: Child safety standards in the U.S. state that “no drawstrings at the waist can exceed 75mm when garment is expanded to full width.” 75 mm is just under 3 inches. So if your drawstrings hang out longer when the skirt is fully expanded, you’re going to want to cut them down. You can knot the ends so that they won’t fray.
And you’re done!
We finished each skirt by adding a “Handmade with Love” label to it that had the skirt size, tying them on with twill tape and a safety pin. I got the labels from this free printable and just printed them on cardstock.
P.S. – if you want to make a skirt for yourself with this pattern, they can be cute on women too.
Veronica
I love this and can’t wait to make a few! Thx!
Kristie
So cute! I love the fabric you choose. That is one lucky girl!
Sharlyn
My 9 YO would love this!
Kim@EverythingEtsy
Oh. My. Gosh! I love it! I wish I had girls to sew skirts for…just boys around here!
Thanks for sharing my tags. You did an amazing job using them!
~Kim
Kim Dimond
I have made 2 of these already. Great pattern!
Autumn
Love it! PERFECT color and fabric choices for the style – I want one for me!
Sarah Helene
WOW, busy sewers indeed! I counted 30 skirts in the photo, all sewn in 1 day for the “Skirting the Issue” donation to foster girls. LOVE the turquoise color of the skirt in your ‘Drawstring Skirt’ tutorial. Easy to follow directions with accompanying drawings. Pockets are essential to young girls — to hold their found treasures or whatever! I see you sewed 4 pocket skirts from same pattern: 2 grey & 2 turquoise. Thanks for sharing. Sarah in Minneapolis
Brandy
Hi Melly! Thanks so much for the fun tutorial. What a fun and easy project. I made one of your skirts for my daughter to wear for the first day of first grade! That deserved a special homemade project 🙂
http://gluesticksblog.com/2014/08/easy-drawstring-skirt-with-contrasting-pockets.html
Have a lovely day!
Brandy
Gluesticks
Laura Adams
This is so cute! I made one out of black baby-wale corduroy for my granddaughter to wear to kindergarten. It was so quick to put together, I will definitely be making more (perhaps for my daughter’s, too). I think next time, I will sew the pockets on before I join the front to the back… seems like it would be even easier that way. Great instructions – I especially loved the neat trick of sewing elastic in the middle of the drawstring. What a great idea. Thanks so much!
Kim W.
Thanks for a fun, easy pattern. I’m planning to make these for Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes
Irene
Great tutorial. Just made it for my little girl and for my friend. Looks comfy… So i’m going to make another one for myself!
Sara
Thanks for this great tutorial! The pattern is super cute and easy to make. I sewed it up for my niece (http://harmonythroughimperfection.blogspot.fr/2015/07/where-i-surrender-to-cuteness.html) and she loved it!
Ciao
Roxana
I am new to sewing but this looks doable! What kind of fabric did you use on this skirt? I think I’ll make one for myself 🙂
Melissa Mora
This is linen.
pat sendelbach
Can’t wait to make some for my granddaughters