Not a lot to say about these skirts, except they’re swingy and colorblock-y and summery and cute!
They’re good for backyard dancing and chalkboarding alike. They’re just simple elastic-backed, flat-front skirts with a folded panel added at the bottom. Bonus – no hemming! The real reason I made these skirts though was to have a reason to see these two colors together.
Colors like mint and coral and tangerine and mustard are really having a moment right now, but my favorite thing about them is that they all coordinate really well with MY favorite color – navy. Actually, there’s not a lot that doesn’t go well with navy. Except black. And purple. Nothing goes with purple.
My parents’ dog kept photobombing, so finally we let her in. I call her my little brown sister, so I guess this is a picture of my girls with their little brown aunt?
So what’s your favorite colorblock combo? (don’t say purple)
The New Diplomat's Wife says
these are adorable! I hope you made one for yourself too ;)
Stacey says
Hmmm, that’s a hard question. I’m a big fan of turquoise and red but then again, gray and yellow are nice too. Love the skirts!
Annee says
These skirts are so adorable! Is it just Kona cotton? They seem to have a nice drape. I’m intrigued by your simple flat front/elastic waist backed design. The front still looks gathered. Any further elaboration? My sister is getting married in two weeks. She’s doing mint green with Kelly greens with gold and ivory mixed in. Suddenly I’m thinking my girls need matching color blocked skirts!!! Thanks for the inspiration!
crafterhours says
Hi Annee, I just realized you might not see my response to your questions below if I didn’t reply as a thread. So. Check below :) Also, I popped over to your blog (newest follower!) and I LOVE LOVE LOVE your racerback dresses! That fabric is amazing. Your sister’s is great too! Anyway, I hope my instructions below aren’t totally confusing, but after seeing your work, I’m confident you can figure it out with or without my help :)
Charity says
Navy is my favorite color too… but I’m not sure what my favorite color-block combination is. Possibly navy and grey. I love these skirts though!
PS: Your younger daughter’s hair is just lovely
crafterhours says
Annee,
I used voile to give these skirts a nice drape and hand. For a fancy skirt it would be fun to use a charmeuse or similarly silky fabric. If the top fabric is long enough, you can make it an opaque charmeuse and the bottom color could be a transparent georgette or something (the bottom fabric is folded, so it will be two layers, which would give it a little more opacity)
To make the flat front, I made a waist band that was equal to their waist measurements plus about 3 inches (plus seam allowances). The height of the waistband is double the desired height, plus seam allowances, or about 4 inches. I gathered the skirt (two panels that, when sewn together, are 3x the waist measurement) so that it fit the waistband width. I sewed the waistband into a tube, then folded it wrong sides together to be half it’s height. Then I sewed the two raw edges of the waistband to the gathered skirt top, leaving a couple inches open on each side seam for elastic insertion. Then I measured the elastic so that it would would stretch across the back of the skirt, bringing in the waistband by those extra 4 inches. This will be about half the waist measurement. Thread the elastic through one side and sew a vertical seam down the waistband to secure one side of the elastic at the side seam. Then pull the elastic through to the other side seam and pin. Try the skirt on the wearer to see if you need to pull the elastic even more, then sew that side of the elastic down. Finish sewing the waistband to the skirt at the side seams. Then I just cut a second color to fit the measurement of the bottom of my skirt plus seam allowances, sewed that second color into a tube, pressed it in half, wrong sides together, and sewed the two raw edges of that tube to the bottom of the skirt. Flip that down and it becomes your second color and hems the skirt too. Hope that makes sense!
midoriMentality™ says
I like the the colour combination of Purple and green (all shades), red and Black, and black and Gold.
kristin says
so, so, so cute! omigosh, your girlies together, i’m dying of cute. my favorite color combos change with the seasons, it seems. but i usually love charcoal + anything (brights, pastels, white) and i ALWAYS love blue. all sorts of blue. these are a treat for sure. :)
Annee says
Adrianna! Thank you so much for the details!!. I’m pretty sure it’s making sense. I’ll give it a go! I thought the drape seemed too fluid to be regular cotton. I’m excited. I hope mine can turn out half as great as yours. Thanks again for taking the time to answer my question.
Vanessa@Designs By Sessa says
Yours! I love these two colors together! I love Navy, too!
Corinnea says
The skirts are lovely and the girls are gorgeous!
Abby says
Very cute!
I gotta say though, I love purple with anything. Particularly charcoal, turquoise or fuschia.
Liz says
Thank you for the instructions in the comments! I followed them and made my own skirt. The instructions were perfect!
Bernadette says
Totally love these skirts! I am also a huge fan of navy, and right now I love it paired with grass green. I am just beginning sewing, but would love to make these skirts for my girls.