A few years back I bought a cotton knit skirt from Old Navy called a “yoga skirt”. I believe it’s called a yoga skirt because (in my mind) the fabric is made from the same fabric you’d typically find yoga pants made of. For the past few years I have worn my black yoga skirt time-and-time again. Probably at least once a week, and a year or two ago I realized that the fold from the skirt could be pulled up and I could wear it as a strapless dress. With that being said I knew I could make one, and wanted a new dress/skirt in my wardrobe. I studied my Old Navy yoga skirt and how it was constructed and then found a tutorial by Sew Mama Sew to give me a better idea of what I was doing! I had over 2 yards of a purple knit fabric, and decided to use that instead of spending more money on fabric.
On a flat surface, I laid out the knit fabric in half, so that when I’d trace the dress I would have two pieces already cut out in the exact same shape. I laid my existing yoga skirt onto the knit fabric. *If you don’t have a yoga skirt to trace measure from your hip to the length of where you would like the skirt to fall. Then to measure the band/top portion measure roughly 6inches.
I then took my chalk pen and traced around the edge of the skirt.
Before I cut the fabric I pinned around the chalk line ensuring that the two pieces would match perfectly. *Remember, you will need two double sided pieces for the band (top portion). After cutting the first band I then traced around that band onto another portion of the fabric, pinned, and cut it out.
Using a zig zag stich I sewed the the sides of the yoga skirts together (giving about ½ inch seam allowance).
This is what the skirt will look like once it’s sewn on each side.
Once the sides are sewn together, lay the skirt flat and cut a straight line along the bottom of the skirt prior to sewing the seam.
Pin a ¼ inch to ½ inch of fabric to create your seam allowance and sew your hem. I used the zig zag stitch which gave the bottom a little flair at the ends. I will tell you that in no stretch of my imagination was this hem straight–it was all over the place. Sewing on knit fabric is not fun! Because it’s a hem and it’s knee length very few people are going to stair at your non-straight line. Don’t be afraid if you don’t get the stitch straight. I remind myself often that’s how we learn from mistakes. No one is perfect!
For the band/top portion I placed the two folded over strips of fabric together and sewed each side. You will want to have the top portion folded (you’ll have no seam on the top just on the sides and the bottom portion will be open. Essentially you’ll have three openings. The center opening is where your body will go. The other two openings will be sewn to the skirt portion. *If you are confused with my directions look at Sew Mama Sew’s sketch to get a better idea of what I’m talking about.
Next you will want to attach the band to the skirt (inside out) and sew the band around the skirt.
Here is what the skirt looks like inside out. *this is where I failed… In my mind I thought it would like identical to my Old Navy skirt. I don’t have a professional machine nor am I a professional, so I’m not sure I expected it to look like a manufactured version. Essentially I would have had an exposed seam showing for the top band. The goal was to have the exposed seam for when I folded over the band as a skirt (since no one would see the seam as long as I had a t-shirt covering it. Instead I had the finished seam exposed when I folded the band over for the skirt which means I am unable to wear this as a dress. I can only where it as a skirt. Oh well. I like it as a skirt, and I learned a lot and can’t wait to make a dress version with my leftover fabric!
Because I used a zig-zag stitch the bottom of the skirt has some body to it.
I love this look and am so glad I accidentally used this stitch! I wouldn’t want it any other way!
Here is a full view of the skirt.
Here is what the band looks like.
How do you like my new skirt?
