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Jul 23, 2012

How to Make a Chevron Maxi Skirt

So I had been wanting to make myself a maxi skirt forever. I bought the fabric last November, cut out my skirt pieces and then got put on bed rest. Boo! There’s nothing worse than being so excited for a project and not being able to finish it. I finally finished it in March and pretty much wore it every day until I delivered. It is the comfiest skirt ever. I took pictures when I cut out my pieces and of course they are lost now. So I am going to try and show you the best I can! Just ask me questions if you have any mmmkay?? Here it goes:
chevron skirt
Start off with your striped fabric. I chose wide stripes because I knew matching them up to make a chevron would not be fun with small stripes. But to each his own :) I had 3 yards of fabric which was waaay too much. But I am also a shrimp so I’m not sure exactly how much you need. Just make sure it’s plenty long enough for you. Fold your fabric in half (hot dog style) and then in half again (hamburger style) Did that bring you back to your elementary days?? hahchevron skirt
Now you are going to make a pattern for your skirt. Measure your waist or where you want the top of your skirt to hit. Then measure how long you want it to be. (I always make my patterns on tissue paper because it’s easy to pin on fabric and you can see through it to see what you’re doing) Draw a line using your waist measurement and then using a ruler draw a line down for how long you want it to be (adding an inch for seam allowance). I also made mine a tiny bit A-lined. Now fold your pattern in half. We will only be using half of your pattern. Lay it on top of your folded striped fabric at a 45 degree angle. Before you cut make sure your lines are angled enough to make a good chevron! *Mine was a little more than the picture shows but hopefully you get the idea.. **Also cut a little bigger than your pattern to make sure you have plenty of fabric to work with while cutting and sewing.
chevron skirt step 2
You should now have a 4 pieces that look like this (2 pieces should have the stripes one way and 2 will be going the other way):
skirt45
Take two of your pieces that are opposite and sew them right sides together (do the same to the other two pieces) Be very careful to match up the stripes. You want them to look seamless so the chevron is accurate. I pinned like crazy and sewed really slow.:
chevskirt3
Now you have two skirt pieces that look like this. And the chevron is born! Lay your pattern (unfolded) down and you can trim your skirt around it. Now sew the two chevrons together (being very careful again to line up your chevrons on the sides) right sides together:
chev skirt4
You now have your skirt body ready! Make a waistband from your fabric. I cut 2 rectangles that were: my waist measurement x 6 inches. Fold each rectangle down making it 3 inches with a folded top. Sew your waistband rectangles together, making a tube. Now, sew your waistband to your skirt body right sides together, just like we did in the pencil skirt here.
ANNND you are finished! As I said here I didn’t add elastic because I was pregnant and wanted it to be very comfortable. However I am going to add elastic now to make sure it stays up :) Depending on how stretchy your fabric is, you may or may not need to add elastic in the waistband. You will want to make it smaller than your actual waist measurement though.
I would LOVE to see if you attempt a chevron skirt of your own! Email me and I’d love to see!!
chevron
PS Haleigh Rohner photography took my maternity pics and she is fantastic!

18 comments:

  1. awesome! I definitely want to try to make one. My sewing machine hasn't been used in forever. I love maxi skirts, I could wear one every day.

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  2. Very cute idea! Thanks for the post

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  3. I have been wanting to make a chevron maxi but I cannot for the life of me find any wide-striped knit fabric that I like! Do you happen to remember where you got that fabric?

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  4. Ok...this is soooo cute!! How did you even think of this!?? This is such a good idea! I love it and it makes for a great skirt for your maternity pics!! I might have to try this!

    I am def. pinning this and I would love for you to stop by and link this up to our party! It closes tonight though!

    http://natural-nester.blogspot.com/2012/07/naturally-nifty-party-24.html

    BTW I'm your newest follower!

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  5. Camille! Are you kidding me!?!? You are the most stunning prego girl ever! I need to make this for myself!!!! I love it!!! PS we're featuring you today!

    xoxo, Mallory

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  6. Love the skirt! I have checked every store within 25 miles of me and cannot find any striped, jersey cotton fabric. I'm getting so frustrated. Where did you get yours?! I'm lovin the colors.

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  7. Thanks for explaining it so clearly. I tried to make the chevron pattern with stripes this morning and could not wrap my head around it. NOW I get it!! Thanks!

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  8. Just made one of these for Easter. Thanks for the tutorial!

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  9. I made one! Ill have to post it to my blog and report back :)

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  10. http://b-handmade.blogspot.com/2013/03/chevron-maxi.html?m=1

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  11. what kind of fabric did you use? and where did you get it? -Thanks!

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  12. i love this! thanks for the tutorial! i made 2 yesterday for my {little} girls, and they turned out adorable!! i am wanting to make one for me now...bit i was wondering how much of an A-line you had...what is the measurement along the bottom of the skirt? thanks!

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  13. Do you have to hem the bottom?

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  14. would Jersey Knit be a good fabric for this skirt?

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  15. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  16. I think I need to sew one of these for me ASAP. Do you think I could sew the entire thing with my serger?

    Zia
    Heard about Asbestos Lawyers Pasadena

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