How to Make a Chiffon Swing Skirt
A swing skirt is designed with enough fullness so that it swings as you walk, and swirls out in a circle if you twirl. Swing skirts come in different styles and patterns, but the easiest pattern is a simple circle with three gored triangles to add extra fabric and swing.
Things You'll Need
- Chiffon fabric
- Tape measure
- Tailor’s chalk
- Scissors
- Elastic
- Pins
- Sewing machine
- Safety pin
Instructions
-
-
1
Decide how long you want the skirt to be from waist to hem. Add 1 inch for seams. Measure your waist.
-
2
Lay your chiffon fabric flat, and use tailor’s chalk to draw a circle that equals the circumference of your waist measurement -- in the center of the fabric. Measure your chosen skirt length outward from the waist circle in all directions, and draw another circle so that the markings look like a big doughnut. The inner circle is the waistline and the outer circle is the skirt's hem. Cut along your markings.
-
-
3
Lay the circle out flat and make three cuts from the hem to the waist, cutting the circle into equal thirds.
-
4
Fold the remaining fabric into a stack of three layers. With the tailor’s chalk and a straightedge, mark out a triangle the length of the skirt from waist to hem. The wider the base of the triangle, the more fabric and swing the skirt will have. Cut out the triangle, and separate the layers into three triangles.
-
5
Pin the triangles between the cuts in the circle, with the small points at the waist and the triangle base at the hem. Sew in the pinned seams.
-
6
Fold over the top edge of the circle, and sew all the way around to make a channel for the elastic. Cut a small slit in the channel to thread the elastic through. Cut a piece of elastic slightly shorter than your waist measurement, attach a safety pin to the end and use the pin to thread the elastic through the channel.
-
7
Hem the skirt.
-
1
