DIY Hand Pleated Skirt
Hi! Happy Saturday! Today I’m talking all about my new yellow skirt that I made with fabric that was Gifted to me by Melanated Fabrics Co! I used their Mustard Buffalo Check Bamboo knit to create this super cute skirt!
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I was LOOSELY inspired by the original yoke pleated plaid skirt that Cher Horowitz from Clueless is wearing. That iconic outfit has been recreated countless time but as an avid wearer of yellow, it was time to put my spin on it!
I’m a yellow skirt wearer so I am not opposed to owning more and what better time than summer to wear them?!
Yesterday’s IG post kind of implied that I don’t wear crop tops but I actually live in them during the summer months😫😂 ANY SHIRT I BUY FROM A STORE IS ALWAYS THIS SHORT ON ME lol Tall Person Problemz but jokes aside, this top is also going on 10 years in my wardrobe! It was intended to hit the belly button 🔎 it never has but it’s still cute. What a blessing it is to make clothing that fits the way you want!
For this skirt I knew that my pleats would be easy for me to make because each Buffalo Check square was roughly an inch wide. This technique allowed me to not only, fold the pleats without having to measure 🙀 or press anything, but I was also able to over lock the edges to secure the pleats with a stretchy stitch I won’t have to worry about removing later. I don’t love to press bamboo fabric because it can go shiny very easily with too much heat! This method allowed to be make as much of this pleated fabric as I wanted to with the added benefit of ease! I used roughly a full wof to make my skirt but you may need to adjust depending on your body measurements. I sewed the single piece of fabric together to make the skirt. You can of course make a front and back, but I chose for my skirt to have one side seam instead of two!
My waistband was cut out on the cross grain to get a diagonal style to the print and it looks awesome! My waistband is 3” wide that I folded in half and added elastic to give the skirt support to hold up that weight! Worked like a dream!
Overall, I love when I can make projects like these that are more or less, just me having a bit of fun with my current sewing skill set! It’s so much fun to have this skirt to swish around in. I love sewing patterns but some ideas are best made the improv way!
To see how I made the pleats, please check out my Instagram and see the Reel that I’ve made! The process is pretty intuitive once you get the hang of it and I really recommend some angled tweezers to make the process even faster!
Is this a technique that you could see yourself using to make a skirt or maybe even a peplum as well?
[…] an extension of my hand when I’m sewing. There is no shock that I mentioned them here. My DIY Pleated Skirt Post really shows how I use them. I’m holding the elastic in place with some pins but you can also just […]