Mini Boden Spotty Chambray Skirt Knock It Off–Tutorial

Monday, May 13, 2013

Elegance & Elephants

If you’ve been following my blog for a while you know I love a good knock off. I was so excited to be included in Heidi’s Knock It Off series. The hardest thing about it was narrowing down what to sew. I finally decided on the Spotty Chambray Skirt because I knew I could share a little tutorial with you as well. Here is theirs vs. mine.


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The extra stitching and cute pocket design make this skirt unique. I chose to use Michael Miller’s Petit Point in denim, but I certainly wouldn’t limit this design to just dots.


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This tutorial is for a size 5 skirt. The finished length is 14”. You will need 1 yard of fabric. All seam allowances are 1/2” unless noted otherwise.
Materials:

  • 3/4” elastic – 9.5”
  • 7 – 5/8” buttons
  • front waistband interfacing – 3” x 12.5”
  • front waistband fabric – 3” x 12.5”
  • back waistband fabric – 3” x 16.5”
  • button placket fabric – 1 7/8” x 16”
  • front skirt panel fabric – 15” x 24”
  • back skirt panel fabric – 15” x 16.5”
  • Pocket fabric – See photo below. You will need two rectangles 4.5” x 7”. You will also need two pocket pieces with a trapezoidal shape at the bottom. The pocket piece widens to 5.5” at the base.

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1. Apply interfacing to the front waist band on the wrong side.


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2. Stitch the short ends of the waist band right sides together at each end to form a tube. Press the waistband in 1/2 long way wrong sides together. Edge stitch along the folded edge of the band.


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3. On the backside of the waist band, stitch a casing 3/4” from the edgestitch (about 7/8” from the fold). Stitch from side seam to side seam along the back only.


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4. Insert the elastic in the casing & secure at both ends at the seams. Set the waistband aside.


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5. I like to press my hems before I sew the pieces together. Press the hem under 1/4” then 1” to the wrong side on both skirt panel pieces. Crease the front panel in half to mark the middle for placing the button placket later.


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6. Unfold the hem and sew the front and back panels together along the short sides. Finish the seams and press the seam allowance to the back side.


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7. Sew gathering stitches at the bottom center of the tapazoidal pocket piece. Gather the bottom to match the rectangular pocket piece. Draw a rounded corner at each of the four corners of the pocket piece. (Tip: I did not do this, but if there is a next time I would probably add interfacing to the top portion of the pocket piece that gets folded over.)


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8. Sew the trapezoidal pocket piece to the rectangular pocket piece right sides together with a 1/4” seam allowance leaving a 2” opening on one side to turn. Trim the corners to 1/8” seam allowance and turn right sides out. Tuck the seam allowances in at the opening and press the pocket well.


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9. Press the top of the pocket piece own 1.5” along the top and mark at each edge. Top stitch between the marks around the top of the pocket.


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10. Mark the front of the skirt for the pocket corner location 3.5” from the center crease each way and 3.5” from the top of the panel. Align the folded top corner of pocket at the mark.


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11. Unfold the pocket. Stitch the pocket to the front of the skirt ONLY, make sure the back is pulled out of the way. Stitch from the previous topstitching around the bottom of the pocket to the other side of topstitching.


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12. Repeat for the other pocket.


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13. Sew two rows of gathering stitches at the top front panel from side seam to side seam. Gather the front panel to match the waistband front, but leave the center 1” ungathered.


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14. Sew the skirt panel to the waist band aligning the fronts, backs and side seams. Finish the seam and press it toward the waistband. Set aside.


15. Press the long edges of the button placket under 1/4”. Also, press one short end under 1/4”


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16. Pin the placket centered over the crease in the front skirt panel starting at the bottom of the skirt. Align the raw edge at the bottom. At the top fold the pressed end over the waistband tucking under the raw edge.


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17. Edge stitch along both long sides of the placket. Stitch another line 1/4” from both edges for a total of 4 rows of stitching.


18. Top stitch the front waistband along the bottom edge catching the seam allowance underneath.


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19. Repress the hem folds as needed and stitch the hem.


20. Sew buttons on the placket and pocket fronts.


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21. Done!

If you want to check out a few more knock offs you can find shorts here, a suspender skirt here, and a typewriter tee here.

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