Amour the Merrier Skirt - Part 1 - ☆ ☆ ☆

This is the "Amour the Merrier" skirt that can be purchased for $62.99 on Modcloth. Or you can make it yourself for much less! Modcloth's version is made of a thin denim. I had some purplish-grey fabric (thrifted curtains) that had a sort of denim look. It's thin but has a nice weight and isn't see-through which the Modcloth one clearly is. It's a cute skirt, but honestly not worth 60 bucks. Even in their professional photos you can tell it's a cheap skirt. Yours will look much better, trust me! Since my fabric was purplish I chose to do the buttons, bias trim and contrast stitching in yellow. Also, I was out of red thread so that made that decision pretty easy...

The Modcloth version has a faux button placket and a zipper in the back. My version has a functional button placket. Sticking to the whole no-pattern, no-zipper, no-interfacing dirndl formula.

Bias trim and contrast stitching seriously make everything cuter...

First, we plan! I want the wide waistband to be about 5 inches and the length of the skirt to be about 14.5 inches when finished. You will need to measure your natural waist and take another measurement 5 inches down from your natural waist. If you want, you can tie a piece of twine or yarn around these two areas. Use a mirror to make sure they are as straight as possible and exactly 5 inches apart.

Take your natural waist measurement + ease and divide it by 4.

So with my measurement it is: 26.5 + 0.5 = 27; and  27 / 4 = 6.75

To determine how much you need to add to the bottom of the waistband you will use your second measurement (5 inches down from your natural waist). Add ease to that measurement and divide that number by 4 as well. The difference between that number and the number you got earlier (from dividing your natural waist by 4) is what you will need to add to the bottom of the waistband. For me that difference was 6.5" which I divided (again!) by 4 which means I need to add 1 5/8" to each side.

With my measurement:

33 + 0.5 ease = 33.5

33.5 - 27 (natural waist + ease) = 6.5

6.5 / 4 = 1 5/8"

I know this can be kind of confusing. Here's a little visual aid to help:

For the skirt multiply your natural waist by 1.75. For me: 26.5 x 1.75 = 46 (round up or down to the nearest even number). Divide that number by 2 for the back skirt piece then add 1 inch for seam allowances. I want the length of the skirt to be 14.5 so I added 1.5" for the hem and 0.5 for the seam allowance at the top. So I want my back skirt piece to be 24" x 16.5"

For the the front skirt pieces divide your skirt measurement (46 for me) by 4. That number is 11.5 for me. Add 1 inch of seam allowances to each piece. My skirt front pieces will be 12.5" x 16.5"

Now you just need your placket measurement. I want mine to be 1.25" wide. 1.25 x 2 = 2.5; 2.5 + 1 s.a. = 3.5. The finished measurement of your 5 inch waist and 14.5 inch skirt will make the total length of the skirt 19.5 inches. Add to that number 1.5 for the hem and 0.5 for the top seam allowance. My placket piece will be 3.5" x 21.5"

Ok, hopefully that wasn't too confusing! Now that you've done all the math it's time to cut out your pieces!