Sewing a Transitional Skirt

My friend Sarah sewed herself four transitional skirts recently in anticipation of giving birth within a couple of weeks (which she then did, to #6). The skirts have a hidden knit waistband, so are very accommodating to a growing tummy which can't yet fill out maternity clothing or a shrinking postpartum tummy that isn't ready for regular clothing yet. Today (at almost 12 weeks pregnant) I followed Sarah's instructions (at the bottom of this blog post), designed a custom-fit pattern, bought fabric to make two skirts, and sewed one of them (a 2.5-hour project).

Because we are in the fall now, I chose a light corduroy in tank, rust, and pink stripes, and a black-and-tan plaid pattern in light flannel shirting.

My custom-fit pattern

The final product! Sadly, these pictures (this one taken by a three-year-old) remind me why I so rarely post pictures of myself. Really, I look that frumpy, wearing such ill-fitting clothing, with homemaker hair flying all over, a lack of makeup, and shoes and socks that never match?

I like to fold over my interior seams so they are all neat and smooth.

Sarah's Transitional Skirts

Here is how I make them and they are super easy.

1. measure your hip

2. measure your waist

3. measure your desired skirt length

Take a large piece (or roll) of brown postal paper and draw a T. The top of the T will be the 1/4 the hip measurement plus 1 inch (so if your hip is 40 then you'd make it 11 inches wide). The long part of the T will be your skirt length. Add an inch or two for seam and hem, you can cut off extra later, or just hem it up.

Take a ruler or straight edge and just make a gentle A-line from the edge of the top of the T to the bottom of the skirt, so it fits on the paper. Do this on both sides.

This is your pattern piece for a 4 panel skirt. You could also divide the hip measurement by 6 or 8 for more panels. This is good if you want even more room at the bottom, but it takes a lot more fabric that way. This way will only take about 2 yards of fabric.

Sew them together right sides together using 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Next is the T-shirt or knit waistband. Take your waist measurement and subtract about 3-4 inches. Get some knit fabric (or literally an old T shirt) and cut a strip that wide (so the most stretchy way will go around your waist, not up and down) and twice as high as you want your band. I like mine about 4 inches wide so I cut my strip about 8-9 inches wide. Sew the seam together in the middle to make a tube (that will be the center back seam) and then double it over in half (still in a tube) so the seam doesn't show. (Katherine's note: You can try it on at this point to see if it's the right size for your waist and won't fall off. Keep tightening the knit until it truly fits. The knit I bought today is ridiculously stretchy and so far I have reduced it eleven inches less than my waist and it is still falling off my waist and requires correction.) Then divide it in fourths with pins, pin it to your skirt right sides together matching the four seams of the skirt, stretch the waistband to fit the skirt as you sew (being sure to catch in all three layers) and there you go. A really quick T-shirt skirt!