This is a great project to use up some stash or get you hunting in your local remnant shop! Haberdashery stores almost always have a section for off-cuts, and as this skirt uses only 1.5m of fabric and lining, it'll be easy to find enough to make it up. You can use any medium-weight fabric for this project, even upholstery fabric, which tends to have a heavier weight and will lend the garment a luxurious look. Choose a brightly coloured lining and any trim that catches your eye.
Wraparound Skirt
Before you begin: take the following measurements and note them down.
• Front waistline (from side to side across your front)___________________
• Waistline-to-hip distance (plus 3cm seam allowance)____________________
• Hips (plus 3cm seam allowance)_______
• Desired skirt length (plus 16cm for seam allowance and arched hem)_______
Cut your waistband. Lay your main fabric out, and fold it in half widthways with right sides facing. Measure 20cm down from the top of the fabric all the way along, and mark with chalk. Join up these points to form a long strip and cut. Fold it in half lengthways (this allows it to self line), wrap it around your waist one and a half times, add an additional 3cm for seam allowance, then cut off any excess. Save the extra fabric for later use.
Create the interfacing. Using the folded waistband as a template, cut out your interfacing piece. Place the waistband on top of the interfacing, draw around it and cut out. Open out the folded waistband and place the interfacing piece inside, aligning the side and bottom edges. Iron to fuse into place.
Self-line the waistband. Pin and machine stitch a length of bias binding around three of the edges, starting at one short side, working across the long edge, and finishing at the end of the second short side. Leave the final long edge unfinished. Fold it in half again, right sides together, matching up the bias edging. With a straight machine stitch, sew the short sides closed, working through the centre of the bindings. Leave the long bottom edge open.
Finish the waistband. Trim any excess fabric from the seam allowance of the upper corners to remove bulk, and turn the work right sides out once more. Push the corners out and press. This piece is now the open-bottom waistband, which the skirt will be encased within later on in the project. Secure a small safety pin into the right hand edge of the panel, to ensure that the buttonhole is worked in the appropriate place. Set the waistband aside for later use.
Create the self-lined decorative panel. Lay out the off-cut from the creation of the waistband, and fold it in half as before with right sides facing outwards. Cover the fold of the fabric with a length of bias binding and machine stitch to secure. Making sure that the panel is positioned with the folded edge on the right-hand side, place a safety pin into the fabric to mark the right side of the panel.
Place the pieces together. Lay the waistband piece out on the floor, with the safety-pinned edge positioned to the right hand side. Place the decorative panel directly underneath it, aligning the righthand edges to creating a right angle, overlapping it by 1.5cm. Measure from the top of the waistband to the bottom of the decorative panel to check the length – but do not trim it yet.
Cut the front and back pieces. Fold t