How To Sew | cutting your fabric

Over the next 8 Tuesdays I'll be talking you through all you need to know to make your own skirt. From choosing the fabric to creating your own pattern and adding in a zipper. Even if you're a beginner. I'll take you from a novice to a ninja.

Week 3.
OK sewing ninjas, it's time to cut into that fabric you picked out all the way back in week one.

Full disclosure: gathered skirts are very forgiving when it comes to wonky cutting or fumbled measures. Definitely one of the best thing about this skirt (and why it makes such a great first tutorial).

So no fretting. From here on in there's just a little bit of extra adding to do, a healthy dose of chalking, and we'll be ready to cut. Simples.

And if you've been enjoying this set of posts on making your own skirt from scratch, do let me know if there's anything else you'd like to make. It'd be great to continue to be able to provide posts that are useful for people!

Cutting your fabric

You will need:

One pattern piece (instructions for how to make your very own can be found here)
3 metres of fabric
Tailor's chalk or a fabric marker
Scissors
Sewing machine
Thread

1. Start by folding your fabric in half so that both (cut) ends of fabric are touching. The selvedge (or woven ends) should run along the top and bottom.

2. Lay your pattern piece onto the fold of the fabric and in the top corner (a lazy way to save on cutting effort).

3. Our pattern piece isn't perfect. We need to add 1.5 cm to the side and 3 cm to the bottom. These are to give us a seam allowance (1.5 cm) and a good hem allowance (3 cm).

4. Readjust your pattern piece so that it sits 1.5 cm from both edges of the fabric. Patterns have a nasty habit of misbehaving, so pin that sucker in place.

5. Now extend the bottom arc (the skirt's hem) by 3 cm. Use a tape measurer and tailors chalk to mark this line on the fabric. Extend that line all the way to the edge of the fabric.

6. Trace along the top arc of the pattern (the skirt's waist) with your chalk.

7. Unpin your pattern piece and move it to the other side of your fabric (where the two cut ends are touching). Make sure the straight edge of the pattern lines up with the line of the fabric.

8. Repeat steps 4, 5 and 6 on this side.

9. You should now have two skirt outlines in chalk on your fabric. Looking good!

10. Now grab your scissors and chop away. You may want to pin the fabric in place to stop it from slipping around.

11. You should now have one fat-C shaped piece (half the skirt) and two smaller piece that look like a slice of pie with a bite taken from the middle (2 x quarter of the skirt).

12. Last little bit. Zigzag all the edges on your sewing machine to stop the fabric from fraying. And you. Are. Done.