Long, full skirts will never go out of style.  They visually whittle your waist and are incredibly feminine.  They are also comfortable because, unlike pencil skirts, the width of the hem allows you to be able to walk up stairs with ease.  I’m all about comfort and ease, so when I saw The dress below at Savers, I knew exactly what I wanted to make out of it–a gathered full skirt.  Plus, the ballerina pink color reminded me of my dancing days.

For some creative inspiration, check out these similar styles on Polyvore.  Be careful though, unlike my $3 Savers dress, some of these will cost you over $1,000!

The before picture shows the blazer that came with the dress.  I threw it aside for this project.

Gathered Skirt Tutorial

You will need:

• old a-line dress
• scissors
• sewing machine
• interfacing (optional)
• pins
• thread
• measuring tape

1. Decide the length.

Drop a measuring tape from your where you want your skirt to sit on your waist, to where you want the hem to be.  Record number.

2.  Use the measurement to cut the appropriate length from the dress.

Remember to add a little for seam allowance.

3.  Cut the strip directly above your first cut to create a waistband.

 For extra hold, I ironed interfacing onto the waistband, then folded it in half thus making it extra thick.

After the original cuts for the skirt and waistband.

4. Baste your skirt and then adjust to width to match your waistband.

 (This is done by sewing a straight line with your longest straight-stitch while the tension is at 2.  Don’t back-stitch and keep your thread loose.  After, slowly tug on the lower thread to create gathers, do this all the way around the skirt.

After the waistband has been strengthened with interfacing and the skirt has been basted and gathered.

5.  Prepare for zipper.

Remove a few inches (according to your desired zipper length) of one of the seams on the side using a seam ripper.

6.  Attach waistband to skirt.

I did this by pinning the bottom of the waistband to the top of the skirt, then sewing carefully.

7. Add zipper.

See your sewing machine manual for help.

8. Enjoy!

Skirt: Refashioned, $3

Shirt: similar, $7

Necklace: Ebay, $4.50 (that’s a steal!)

Shoes: Payless, $25