How to Make an Easy-To-Change Child's Costume Skirt

Schools showcase students' talents with music and drama productions.

Not only is pretend play fun for children, it is paramount towards their development of social and emotional skills as well as language and abstract thinking. Teachers allow students to create a classroom skit to illustrate what they have learned about a topic. Schools showcase their students' talents with music and drama productions where these talented students have duel roles as actors, singers and musicians. The affordability and versatility of this easy-to-change skirt makes costuming simple for home, classroom and school productions.

Things You'll Need

• 45-inch wide washable fabric
• 1/2-inch wide hoop boning
• White floral tape
• Sewing machine
• Sewing supplies
• Iron

Instructions

1. Measure the child from her waist to the level of the desired length for the skirt. Add 8 inches to the length. Purchase this length of fabric.

2. Launder and iron the fabric.

3. Fold fabric with selvages together. Smooth out the fabric so that the fold and selvages are parallel to each other.

4. 

   Make sure cuts are perpendicular to the fold and selvages.

   Cut one piece of fabric that measures 4 inches longer than the intended skirt length. Cut across the fabric and make sure your cuts are perpendicular to the fold and selvages.

5. Fold fabric under 1 inch along the length of each selvage. Press and stitch in place.

6. Press under 1/4 inch along the top of the skirt. Stitch. Press under 1 1/2 inches. Pin and stitch along the edge. Top-stitch 3/4 inch from the top of the skirt. This created the casing for the hoop boning.

7. Press under 1/4 inch along the bottom of the skirt and stitch. Turn the bottom edge up 2 inches and press. Pin and top-stitch.

8. Cut a length of the hoop boning that is the child's waist measurement plus 4 inches.

9. Insert the boning into the casing. Adjust the gathers so that 1 1/2 to 2 inches of the boning is exposed at each end. This will allow for the skirt to slightly overlap in the back. Wrap each end of the hoop boning with the white floral tape to create soft ends for the boning.

10. 

    Pretend play is fun and important for learning.

    Hand sew the edges of the skirt to the boning.

Tips & Warnings

• Make a narrower rectangle piece of fabric if using the width of the fabric creates too much fullness. Measure the circumference of the child's hips and add 10 inches to determine the width of your rectangular piece.

• With care, the hoop boning can be reused to make another skirt as the child grows or stars in other plays.

References

• Scholastic: The Importance of Pretend Play
• Child Drama.com: Why Teach Drama? A Defense of the Craft

Resources

• Corset Making Supplies: Hoop Boning