elastic waist skirt

I did it! I sewed my first wearable item, only 9.5 months after getting a sewing machine (well, I did make this bow t-shirt, but that was really just an embellishment). I've had an a-line skirt in the works for a while, but I'm kind of terrified of the zipper, so I decided to try an elastic waist one.

There are lots of tutorials out there, way better than this beginner could put together, so I won't attempt a full one. I followed this one from Freshly Picked, through the hem sewing step. I didn't want the elastic to show on my skirt though, and I thought a paperbag waist would be fancy - so I read a few more tutorials for ideas and after sewing the hem I switched to the waist/elastic steps from this tutorial at Adventures in Dressmaking. 

 in process

 the result

 

The results aren't exactly perfect, but it's one step on the way of learning to make myself a skirt... If you're a super beginner like me, a few tips from my experience:

• Remember that this is practice: Use inexpensive fabric for your first project (Joann's and Hobby Lobby have big sales and coupons; I got mine at Fabric.com for about $5 a yard and free shipping) to take the pressure off of making this perfect. It's okay if it doesn't turn out! You're practicing (I told this to myself a lot).
• Research: Read lots of tutorials - even if you're planning to follow a specific one, looking at a bunch will help clarify steps you might be unfamiliar with. I used the two above, plus this one from What Would a Nerd Wear and this one from Heart of Light.
• Don't get ahead of yourself: Keep the tutorial handy so you do the right steps in the right order. Even with the iPad handy for viewing the tutorials, I still sewed one side too early and had to improvise. Whoops.
• Be flexible: While wearable, the skirt was way too square to be flattering on me at all, so I used it as an opportunity to practice alterations... I've seen people take in too-big skirts and shirts by just sewing a new seam - so I folded it inside-out and pinned a line down from the waistband about an inch in. It meant I had to lose the pickets, but it's just practice, right? Then I cut off the extra material, and now I have a straighter and (at least slightly) more flattering skirt.