Okay, so, I’ve been wanting to make this silver tennis skirt for a while now. I saw a picture of something similar online and thought, “I can totally do that!” I mean, how hard could it be, right? It’s just a skirt.
First, I went to the fabric store. Man, that place is overwhelming! So many choices, so many colors. I finally found this shiny, silver, stretchy fabric that I thought would be perfect. It was kinda expensive, but hey, gotta treat yourself sometimes. I also grabbed some elastic for the waistband and some thread that I hoped was the right color.
Then, I got home and spread everything out on my dining room table. I dusted off my old sewing machine, which I haven’t used in ages, and prayed it still worked. I didn’t have a pattern, so I basically just eyeballed it. I measured myself around the waist and hips and just kinda…winged it. I cut the fabric into two big rectangles. Seemed about right.
Next, I started sewing. Let me tell you, sewing stretchy fabric is no joke! It kept bunching up and moving around. I probably ripped out the seams like five times before I got something that looked halfway decent. My sewing machine was definitely not happy with me. It made a lot of noises, but in the end it didn’t fail me.
After I sewed the two rectangles together to form a tube, I worked on the waistband. I folded over the top edge of the fabric and sewed a little tunnel for the elastic. Then, I used a safety pin to thread the elastic through. This part was actually kinda fun. Once the elastic was in, I sewed the ends together and closed up the waistband. And now I had a proper tube.
The pleats!
Then came the hard part: the pleats. I had no idea how to do pleats. I watched a couple of videos online, but they all seemed so complicated. So, I just started folding and pinning. I folded the fabric over and over again, trying to make it look even. I pinned it all down and then ironed the heck out of it. Then I sewed along the top edge of each pleat to hold it in place. This part took FOREVER.
Finally, after hours of work, I was done! It wasn’t perfect, but I was pretty proud of myself. I tried it on, and it actually fit! It was a little wonky in places, and the pleats weren’t exactly uniform, but it was a silver tennis skirt, and I made it myself!
- Step 1: Buy fabric, elastic, and thread.
- Step 2: Cut fabric into two rectangles.
- Step 3: Sew rectangles together to make a tube.
- Step 4: Create a waistband with elastic.
- Step 5: Fold, pin, iron, and sew pleats.
- Step 6: Wear your new skirt!
Honestly, it was way more work than I expected, but it was a fun little project. Maybe next time I’ll actually buy a pattern, though.