I wanted a breezy long skirt for summer, so I decided to make an ankle-length cotton voile 120degree circle skirt with knee-length cotton gauze lining.
Fabric
- Japanese cotton voile (lilly pilly) – 2m
- Anti-bacterial cotton double gauze, black (closer to charcoal) – 1.5m
- Exposed elastic – 76cm
Pattern
The voile and gauze fabrics are fragile when pulled with force, so no pockets on this skirt. The outer skirt was designed to be 80cm at ankle length, and the lining 56cm to be just below the knee.
The hems were going to be finished without folding it up hence these measurements. By the time the hem is finished off (-1cm), and sewn onto (-2cm) the exposed waistband (+3), the length changes would be around ±0.
The hem circumference for both the lining and outer skirt would be over 200cm to allow walking with ease.
Sewing
The two 60degree skirt panel pairs were serged together along the sides to make two skirts.
The lining was placed inside the skirt, wrong way facing each other, and serged together around the waist.
An exposed elastic waistband was sewn into a loop and sewn evenly around the waistline, wrong way facing each other. Once sewn, the elastic was folded right way out.
Top stitch was applied to the base of the elastic waistband.
After trying out the different overlock stitches my Babylock could do, I decided to hem the outer layer by 3-thread overlock narrow hem with 0.75R stitch length, and 1.3 differential feed to avoid the lettuce effect..
The lining’s hem was finished with a 4-thread overlock as the narrower overlocking made the soft double gauze feel harder.
Gallery
The skirt length is perfect for me at ankle length, and the lining stops right below the knee. The elastic I used was a pretty strong one though, so I ended up increasing the elastic length from 72 to 76cm so it sits comfortably above the hips rather than at the waist. There’s enough volume in the flared skirt even with just 120 degrees, and enough space to stride in.
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