How to make a Lolita skirt in 15 minutes for under 10$! :)

Ok, so getting into Lolita fashion can be rather expensive :)

So, this is my best - dirt cheap - quick fix, Lolita tip:

Do It Yourself Lolita skirt

made from a thrift store curtain!

<3

What you need:

1) A good-looking curtain in the right skirt-length with a curtain rod pocket.

2) Elastic waist band, the length of your waist + 2 cm.

Voluntary:

(3) You actually don't need to use a sewing machine, 

you could sew it for hand if you wish too.

But of course, having a sewing machine makes things easier.

(4) You don't need a washing machine either - 

you can wash the fabric in your sink.

Step 1

Rummage thrift stores in hope of finding a curtain that looks something like this:

It has a perfect length and an adorable ruffle at the hem!

The print is floral, which is perfect for classic or country Lolita :)

Carefully examine the fabric, make sure that there are no holes or big stains

(that you can't fix ;)

Buy it! 

This one cost me 40 SEK ~ 6.2$

Step 2

Take the fabric home and care for it :)

This is what the fabric (curtain ;) looks like when unfolded :) 

It is totally 275 cm long.

On Sew Loli Livejournal, we have had discussions about good hem circumference, ranging from 2-3 x your waist measurement to 2,5-3 x your hip measurement. For instance, a friend of mine uses standard 150 cm x 2 (since it is the standard length of a bought piece of fabric on a roll). You could always measure the hem of your favourite dress, to see what hem measurements you prefer.

But for the sake of simplicity in this tutorial, I'm going to use the whole length.

Chuck it into the washing machine :)

It is always smarter to wash the fabric BEFORE you make your creation.

Partly because it is nicer to work with a clean fabric,

but also because adding lace etc. may make

the end product more difficult to wash!

Step 3

Sew the skirt! :D

Now, get yourself a piece of elastic waistband.

My piece is 80 cm (my waist measurement is 75 cm) and it cost me 22 SEK ~3.4$

Total: 6.2 + 3.4 = 9.6$ :D

Oh... ooops, I accidentally bought wrong size waistband :#) 

BEFORE buying elastic waistband, please measure the 

pocket where the curtain rod goes ;)

So that it fits ;)

Okeeeej... So I ended up with black elastic waistband 

(Luckily, I had a right-sized spare piece in my drawer ;)

It fits!!! Yäj! :D

So, now I'm taking a sturdy and big safety pin

and safely fastening it a bit in on

the elastic waist band.

Now, I thread the pin with the band into the 

curtain rod pocket.

OK, so now you see that it is inside! :D

I keep on pushing the fabric over the pin + band.

When the band ends, I safely secure the band to the fabric with (two!) needles, 

so I can keep on pushing the longer fabric over the shorter waist band as I go.

Victory! I'm through to the other side! :D

So now I fasten the two pieces of elastic waist band together.

And with a little machine-sewing, the two bands are firmly attached!

:D

Make sure that the bands haven't twisted before you sew them together ;)

So, I'm needling the two skirt ends together!

When you turn the skirt over, 

you can start too see 

what the end product will look like :D

 

So close! :D

Now on to the sewing machine :)

Here I'm sitting with my sewing machine.

You can see the elastic band inside the pocket.

It's somewhat tricky to sew the two pockets together without

sewing in the elastic band.

Use your magic skills here ;)

Tralala... Sewing it together :)

And Voilá!

The skirt is finished :)

In less than 15 minutes under 10$!

Country Lolita coord with skirt :)

Here are two other great links for basic skirt tutorials! :D

violet le beaux
fille de porcelaine

HUGZ/ Mary