Yoga Skirt: The Non-Gathered, Flat-Front Version

How's that for a confusing title?

I did a yoga skirt tutorial last summer, found here, and made one with a full, gathered skirt. I also did not hem the bottom. I felt it turned out a little hippie-ish for my style and taste. I wanted to make a flat front version to help boost my maternity wardrobe now and also my summer wardrobe after I have the baby!

Here is what I came up with, followed by the tutorial in case you want to make your own!

A comfy, snug, yet forgiving waistband...

What I started with: a tube-knit fabric. It isn't single-knit because it doesn't roll onto itself.

I cut the skirt pieces to be about 2" wider than the fullest part of my hips. (Edit: it will seem tight through the waist/hip but if it isn't tight, it won't stay up!)

I then tapered the pieces into an A-line shape using the full width of the fabric for the bottom part of the skirt with my ruler.

At this point, I stitched the sides of the skirt together. (I used a stretch stitch for all the seams.)

Next, it was time to work on the waistband. I was only able to make mine about 14" tall. I measured my waist and subtracted 4". I then sewed it up the sides like a tube and folded it over so that the right sides were out.

Then I ran into some problems. I had a waistband that was smaller than the skirt's circumference. I didn't want to gather the skirt, but I had to make it match up without gaps in the skirt. So this is what I did:

-Mark the sides and middle of both the skirt and waistband with pins.

Lined up the pins at each quarter turn around the skirt (sides and middle of the back and front).

Then I stretched the waistband to meet up with the skirt and pinned. Then I sewed, using a stretch stitch, making sure I evenly stretched the waistband to be evenly distributed around the skirt's larger circumference.

Next came the hem. I hemmed on the outside of the skirt, carefully making sure to do 1" the entire way around.

I used a stretch stitch and gray thread. I think it turned out well!

I think the skirt is a little plain and I am planning to embellish it with something fun!

A picture of my 9-month pregnant self wearing this skirt. Edit: it will be tight through the waist/hip but if it isn't tight, it won't stay up!

Repurposed Headband with Flowers

I can never find headbands comfortable enough to wear for very long. I decided I needed something less elastic, so I used a t-shirt to make this headband.

A tutorial will be coming...sometime. Sometimes taking a nap wins out over sewing during my 'free' time.

Flickr Picture Featured!

A picture from one of my posts made it onto one of my favorite blogs, Make It and Love It! So excited about that. It's a picture of the little boy's vest I made awhile back. (Scroll down through the post to see it.)

So excited about that!

Fabric Flower Necklaces

I guess these are more like "Mixed Media" necklaces...I am already tired of my maternity wardrobe--still have three months til the baby arrives--s0 I decided to make some accessories!

I just made some multi-strand necklaces (see my instructions on crimping here) and added small fabric flowers with beads in the middle.

See this post for how to make fabric flowers. I made these pretty small and left the edges raw since I used knit fabric (scraps from t-shirts, of course!) Then I sewed the flower onto the necklace in an asymmetrical fashion...I wanted it to be off to the side, not in the middle.

Lots of Ideas for T-Shirts

Here is a post I found with a ton of ideas for upcycling t-shirts. Some of them are a little out there, but if you have an abundance of free t-shirts like I do, you probably want to use some of them for free projects!