Tutorial: Twist-and-Shout Skirt

A couple of weeks ago I saw on Pinterest this concept of a twisted panel. I wish I remember where I saw it so you could see! I liked the idea of the twist, but I didn't particularly like it as a panel. So, I thought it would make an adorable skirt! It's pretty easy even though it takes a bit more time than your average skirt. 

What you'll need for a 4T-ish sized skirt:

~ 1/4 yd of whatever fabric you'd like (I actually used fat quarters)

~ 1/4 yd of contrasting color

~ 1/2 yd for the skirt

~ elastic

First things first. 

For the skirt I cut a 22'' x 11" piece

For the twists I did 30 (of each color) pieces cut to 9" x 2"

For the skirt hem I cut a 22" x 4"

and

for the waistband I cut a 22" x 4" piece (this measurement will depend on how long you made the skirt piece!)

Here are my two contrasting pieces for the twists:

Match a colored and black piece together, right sides together, and sew down each long side. Make sure to leave the short ends open. Next I turn all 30 pair right side out, press them, and then trim the short edges.

After I've pressed the trimmed everything I sew the skirt piece together. Once that's sewn, I place the twists along the top about 2 inches down from the edge of the fabric. Once you've pinned all the twists in place sew them to the skirt piece.

After you've sewn all the twists to the top of the skirt piece, twist the bottom of the twists and pin under the neighboring twist. Does that make sense? If not, maybe the picture shows it better than I can explain.

Once all the twists are pinned sew them down.

Next comes the hem for the bottom of the skirt and the waistband. What you'll do is fold each piece in half and press. Then fold under the edges and press again. Pin the hem and waistband to the skirt making sure to encase the ends of the twists. Once everything is pinned, sew the hem and waistband on. For the waistband, make sure you leave a big enough opening to thread the elastic through.

When you're done, it should look something like this!

As for a final product photo, I don't have one! I made the elastic too small and can't get the skirt past A-girl's tush. Serves me right for guessing instead of measuring! I'll have to fix that though. Have fun and send me pictures!

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