The DayDream Dress Sewalong: Skirt Hack

I hope you’re enjoying the Daydream Dress Sew along over at the Fab Clique Fabric Shoppe! If you haven’t picked up your pattern yet, you can do so here– there’s still plenty of time to join in and be eligible to win our prizes!

Today, I’m sharing a tutorial for how to turn the DayDream dress pattern into a gathered maxi skirt- and its super simple and quick (those are the best pattern hacks, in my opinion!). I’ll admit, this hack was a bit of an afterthought, but now that I’ve sewn one up, I’m dying to fill my closet with them!

To start you’ll need your fabric, in an amount according to the size chart for the skirt (I love how they break it down for you, to make it easier to estimate how much you’ll need for just the skirt portion!).

I chose this sparkly rayon spandex double knit I’ve had in my stash forever- its flowy but slightly heavier than standard rayon spandex, due to the double knit. You will also need some elastic for the waistband- I’m using 1.5″ decorative elastic from my stash. If you’d prefer to have an enclosed elastic waistband or don’t have any decorative elastic on hand, you will need to cut a waistband piece. I would recommend a height of 3″ (if using 1 or 1.25″ elastic inside), and a length that’s 75-85% of the circumference of your waist (or wherever you want the skirt to sit). You could also do a yoga waistband instead, by doubling or tripling the height of your fabric piece. The decorative elastic just makes it super easy and fast!

Got your fabric and supplies ready?

Measure your elastic by holding it up to your waist, or wherever you want the skirt to sit, making sure you hold it snug enough that the skirt won’t fall off (especially if you live in a house with small people, who like to tug on your clothes to get your attention!). You could also just use another well fitting elastic waist garment for reference.

Cut the elastic 1″ longer than this measurement, so you have enough room to over lap the ends. I put my elastic right sides together, and then zigzagged down with a 1/2″ seam allowance. I double secured it by zig-zagging the seam allowances down on each side- this also reduces bulk. If you’re using a fabric piece and enclosed elastic, you can simply serge the short end closed to form a loop, and fold it in half.

Once you have your elastic waistband sewn, you can sew your skirt pieces together at the side seams, and gather the top to the width of the elastic/waistband piece.

Find the center front, center back and side seams of your skirt and mark them with a pin. Do the same for your elastic (or waistband piece), marking it into fourths. Match the points on the elastic with the points you marked on the skirt, and zig zag or serge the skirt to the elastic, right sides together.

If you’re using a fabric waistband instead of an exposed elastic, you’ll want to leave an opening to insert your elastic here. When you’re done, flip up the elastic and hem the skirt.

Tah-dah! A gorgeous maxi skirt you can wear all summer (and winter!) long!

Have you seen the other hacks we’ve covered? Check out the swim top and nursing hack!

I’ll also have a short pocket hack for you soon too!