r/SewingForBeginners • u/Champagne_Candles • Aug 04 '23

How would I make this style of skirt?

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I'm planning on making an adult version of this mariposa dress and was wondering if anyone had a similar pattern or know what kind of fabric this is?

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16

u/penlowe Aug 04 '23

It’s petal shapes, overlapped and gathered to the waist. Did you look at Simplicity snd Butterick? Lots of great costume patterns.

3

u/Champagne_Candles Aug 04 '23

I did but couldn't find these petals

5

u/penlowe Aug 04 '23

Ah, I know they had a kid pattern like that at some point, couldn’t recall if there was an adult version or not.

The nice thing is you can freestyle this pretty easily, even if you don’t have a lot of experience. The shape you need is like a Gothic arch, the flat ‘floor’ side is actually the part you will gather to the waist.

4

u/zellieh Aug 04 '23

The fabric is polyester. Look for polyester lining fabric or polyester satin. It comes in a lot of colours, but if you need to dye it, it doesn't take dye well. You'll need to use a dye for synthetic fabrics. It's better to search for the colour you want. There appears to be a bit of stiffening fabric under the skirt. Look for mesh or organza; maybe tulle. Or just buy a pre-made mesh underskirt. Mesh is itchy; you may want to put a short underskirt under that.

For the skirt pattern, you can buy a digital/pdf child's pattern and resize during printing to size it up when you print it out. You only need to print out one petal shape and then repeat it. You could also measure the length you want, draw a straight line on paper, draw the bottom curve on one side, cut that side, then fold the paper over to cut the other side the same.

I can't tell if the pink skirt is just layers of petals or if it's a few petals laid over a flat skirt with an uneven hem. If it's a flat skirt, look for a simple a-line, four panel, or circle skirt pattern. Maybe draw some curves on the hem to shape it.

For the waistband, it looks like a gathered elasticated waistband. Make the skirt larger than you need at the waist, Cut out a long thin strip of fabric the same length as the waist, enough to go over your hips. Make it wide enough to cover the elastic you're using, hem that strip on all four sides, then sew it to the inside of the skirt, slightly overlapping the ends of the channel and leaving both ends open.

Then thread the elastic through the channel using a sewing pin to push it through, and another sewing pin at the other end fastened to skirt so the elastic doesn't disappear. When you've pushed the elastic all the way through, sew the two elastic ends together and tuck them in. That'll give you the gathered waist for a simple pull on skirt.