Handmade: Reversible Pin-Tuck Skirt

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There’s an adorable girl in my neighborhood that watches Penelope and Felix each week. It’s so cute how much Felix and Penelope both light up whenever they see her. Not too long ago, she asked if I could make a skirt for her based on one she already had. I stayed pretty close to the original, but simplified the waistline with an elastic back, one side seam and a no hem.

Since the material was fairly transparent, I either needed to make a lining or she’d have to make sure to wear a slip every time she wore it. I personally hate wearing slips, so I got creative.

I figured that if I folded the fabric in half, meeting the two selvages, it was the perfect length for her. I folded the fabric and sort of made things up as I went along, measuring, pinning, pleating, ironing.

Before finishing skirt, I realized that the skirt could be worn two ways, with the pleats exposed or not. The finishing looked the same on either side.

The difference between the two sides is subtle, so it doesn’t make a huge difference that it’s reversible, but if it were me wearing this fabric, I know I would end up staining one side since I’m terrible with the color white.

Here’s a detail shot of the pleats. It’s sort of hard to see them with the print, but the print sure does hide my little mistakes.

Opting out of a side zipper, I made an elastic back so she can slip the skirt on easily. As I was thinking about it, my neighbor is only 11 and probably has a lot of growing to do. As she grows, she can cut on either side of the fold of the hem to lengthen the skirt. I thought that was pretty clever.

A tutorial is on its way, if you’re interested in making one for yourself. It takes a lot of measuring and pinning, but it’s easy. Only straight lines.

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    1. Line DUPUY says:

      I can’t wait for the tutorial! Since I make everything by hand (& I mean only with my hands, no machine at all), straight ligns are what I need.
      Thanks for sharing!

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