Art Gallery Fabrics - The Creative Blog

Hello! I hope everyone has had an amazing week and start to the month. Autumn also officially started about one week ago, but we can still feel traces of the very hot summer that 2013 brought us (especially here in Miami). To welcome my favourite season but give a farewell good-bye to Summer* I created (with the help of Kelly) a transitional skirt tutorial: The Mystic Maxi Skirt.

*For our friends in the Southern hemisphere this can work from cold to hot as well :)

What I love about the transition of these seasons is that it is still warm but you can feel the breeze, and it becomes the perfect weather to layer with soft and light fabrics. Our voile fabrics are perfect for this, the hand is so soft and the drape is so beautiful that I had to use one of them for this tutorial, especially since we incorporated pleats to add character and a touch of uniqueness.

This skirt is a transitional piece because depending on the styling it can work perfectly for both Summer and Autumn. During the hotter time, wear it with a cami and sandals. As the temperature drops, add a jacket, a scarf and booties, and warm everyone around you with this happy floral.

Here is what you will need:

• 2 yards of our Mystic Blanc Voile
• ½” wide Elastic

The measurements we're using are equivalent to a small size, which is Lorena's (our model) size. To get started, let’s cut a rectangle. To get the width, measure around the hip and add 3½” (we are using a 45” measurement for this skirt). For the length, measure from the waist to your desired length and add 4” (ours is 55”). Now measure your hip again and cut a strip of elastic that can stretch to that measurement plus a little bit more for extra comfort (we used a 25" strip).

To start we are going to close the skirt by sewing along the long edges together.

Now, fold the top of the fabric ½” in and iron it. Fold it again ½” press and sew all the way around to create a waistband (don’t forget to leave an opening to insert your elastic). With a safety pin, thread the elastic in through the opening and sew both ends of the elastic together to finish the waist. Remember to stitch the opening of the waist band after you are done with the elastic. Do a top stitch on top of the elastic through the fabric so that it stays put and does not twist as you move. Hem the bottom of the skirt.

Now we will start to create the pleats in the front of the skirt (make them as even as you can). These pleats are going to be 6” wide horizontal pleats. Starting from the top, measure 11” down and make a mark using an air erasable marker, then measure from that mark 6” down and matching those two marks you will make your first pleat, pin it.

Then measure and mark 3” down and below that mark measure and mark 6” down to
create the second pleat. Continue measuring 3” and 6” down to create the other pleats. You can make as many as you want. We ended up with four pleats. Pin and press each pleat in place. Sew the pleats horizontally 6” and you are done.

Now wear this stylish skirt and celebrate all seasons!

Rock 'n Sew,

Lauv