Twirly Skirt with Adjustable Waist (A Little Tutorial)

Please click on all photos to enlarge them.

 In my last post I mentioned adding buttonhole elastic to a skirt waistband with a flat front.  I used the Olabelhe Kirsten pattern.  (You can find it HERE.)  I found buttonhole elastic very difficult to purchase in my area so I made my own.  I used regular woven elastic but I think knit elastic would be easier to sew on for the buttonholes.  You could also make little tabs of your fabric and attach them to the ends of your elastic.  I sewed two buttonholes on each end of the back elastic.  I made them about an inch and a half apart.  This makes the skirt back adjustable to take in or let out up to three inches.

 This next photo shows the front and back waistband sewn together with the ties inserted in the seams, the facing edge finished by serging, and one of the two buttonholes marked.

 After making the buttonholes on each side of the back facing next to the seam, I folded the facing part of the waistband to the back, making sure that I left the proper seam allowance to sew the skirt to the band.  I then sewed a line of stitching under the bottom of the buttonhole for the elastic casing.

 In this next photo you will see the casing and that the skirt has been sewn to the waistband (keeping the facing free).  It is now pinned and ready to stitch down.  You can stitch in the ditch of the seam on the front so that no stitches show or you can offset your needle to topstitch and attach the facing at the same time.  (That is what I did on this skirt.)

 You can see the topstitching clearly in the next photo.

 I chose flat clear buttons to minimize irritation for the child wearing the skirt.  I also worried that the child would fiddle with the buttons and lose the elastic in the casing.  My solution:  I anchored the elastic down the center of the back casing and added ribbons with knots at the end so that it would be easy to pull the elastic out to refasten.

 I loved these fabrics and wanted to show you the hem band on the upper skirt and the ribbon covering the hem on the lower skirt.

 Ta-dah!  A pretty twirl skirt that will last a couple of years and can be passed along to others and easily adjusted to their measurements.

I didn't photograph each and every step because I was just going to use the photos to help me remember what I did to adapt this skirt.  Tutorials are usually much more detailed than this so I hope you found this little one useful!  Let me know if you try it.

Blessings for a wonderful day with lots of fun!