Last week, I was experimenting with some fabric dye and ended up with this super fun dip dyed spring skirt! To see how to dip dye a skirt, head over to I Heart Naptime today for the full scoop. If you’d like to make your own skirt, read on.
You could dip dye any sort of skirt, but this time I made a high low circle skirt out of jersey knit. I don’t have a great selection of knit fabric to purchase from locally, so I ran to Target and grabbed a twin sheet set for about $20. From the sheet set, I was able to make a skirt for myself as well as three girl’s skirts for my daughters. You will need to use a knit that is 60″ wide, and about 2 yards long, or, if you’d like to use a flat sheet, you may wish to purchase a queen size to make sure you have enough fabric to work with. I’m only 5’1″, so the twin sheet worked out to be just enough for me to get the right length.
Wash and dry your fabric to allow for shrinkage. Spread the sheet out on the floor and fold in half once along the vertical line and once along the horizontal line. You will have a quarter of a sheet with folds along two sides.
Next, you’re going to cut the circle for your waist from your folded fabric. Measure your waist and subtract 2 inches (subtract 2 inches only for knits; for woven fabric, add 2 inches). Divide this number by 6.28. This will give you the radius that you’ll need to cut, for example, 5 inches. Measure 5 inches from the center point out in all directions and mark to form a quarter circle. Cut along the marked line.
Next, we’re going to cut the rest of the skirt. For a circle skirt, you would cut an even distance in an arc all the way around the quartered circle; determine how long you want your skirt and measure this distance from the waistline (it may be easiest to add the finished length to the radius measurement and then just measure from the corner point).
For a high low skirt, open your fabric out so that it is only folded in half, not quartered. Determine the shortest length (in the front of the skirt) and the longest length (in the back of the skirt) you want. Mark the short length from the waistline on one side and the long length on the other side. Gradually expand your arc from the short length to the long length as you arc from one side to the other.
For both skirt styles, you will want to add in any necessary length for a hem (no need to hem knit) and a bit for the seam allowance at the waist (say, ½″). Once you open up your skirt fabrics, this is what they’ll look like (the black circle is the hole for your waist).
Now that your skirt is cut out, you just need to finish the waist. You can attach the skirt to an elastic waistband or form a tube of fabric and attach it making a yoga-style waistband. For the heavier high low skirt, I think an elastic waistband might be better. Cut a piece of 2″ wide elastic equal to your waist measurement. Join the two short ends together with a zigzag stitch on the sewing machine to form a circle of elastic. Mark the elastic into fourths and mark the skirt waist into fourths. Connect the skirt to the elastic by pinning each of the four markings. Using a zigzag stitch so that your waistband still stretches, sew the skirt to the elastic; gently pull the elastic taut as you sew to evenly join the skirt. You can hem the skirt if you wish; I did not.
And there you go! Be sure to check out the full instructions on dip dying your skirt! See my tutorial at I Heart Naptime!
Comments & Reviews
Helena A. says
Hi Stef!
UAU! I love, love, love your skirt! What a shade of beautiful blue!
Thank you for the tutorial! Especially because you teach us how we can make a hi-low skirt from scratch… I never new where the waist line was!
Kisses from Portugal!
Deanna {sewmccool} says
This is such a fun project for both sewing and dyeing. The idea for the high-low skirt is so on-trend, too. Pinned!
Jani Jo says
Visiting your blog via NapTimeCrafters! Great photos, tutorials, & ideas! It’s addictive! I am going to make the bunny-ear hat for my newborn to wear this weekend:)
Natasha says
Wow that is beautiful. I have never tried dying fabric but your skirt really makes me want to try.
Angelina- JoJo & Eloise says
Okay, you are SERIOUSLY not going to believe this..Okay maybe you will 😉 But I am in the process of doing a tutorial for a dip dyed skirt for my daughter with the same shade of blue.. Is that not CRAZY!! I think I will have to change up the color 😉 I LOVE LOVE LOVE how yours came out. The top photo is Adorable!!!
xo
Angelina
Angelina- JoJo & Eloise says
Okay, you are SERIOUSLY not going to believe this..Okay maybe you will 😉 But I am in the process of doing a tutorial for a dip dyed skirt for my daughter with the same shade of blue.. Is that not CRAZY!! I think I will have to change up the color 😉 I LOVE LOVE LOVE how yours came out. The top photo is Adorable!!!
xo
Angelina
Angelina- JoJo & Eloise says
Okay, you are SERIOUSLY not going to believe this..Okay maybe you will 😉 But I am in the process of doing a tutorial for a dip dyed skirt for my daughter with the same shade of blue.. Is that not CRAZY!! I think I will have to change up the color 😉 I LOVE LOVE LOVE how yours came out. The top photo is Adorable!!!
xo
Angelina