The Playground Skirt {Tutorial}

 The Playground Skirt

I have a little girl who loves dresses.  In fact that's almost all I can get her to wear.  

I love that she is such a girlie girl!

The only problem with it is she doesn't quite sit lady like yet in her dresses.  It's a work in progress!

So anytime we go to the park it's a struggle to get my dress lovin' little girl into shorts. Everyone knows that dresses and playgrounds just don't mix. 

I finally have a solution we both are happy with.!  YAY!  I grabbed a pair of her shorts that she never wears and  turned them into super cute skorts

We took this pretty little skirt for a test run at the park.  It was wonderful.  She could run, climb, swing, play hopscotch without me once telling her I could see her panties.There will be many more of these in her closet very soon :o)

Wanna make one for your dress lovin' girl?

Let's get started!

Raid the closet for a pair of shorts.  I used a pair of jersey shorts. 

You will also need some fabric.  The amount will depend on the length you want it to be.  I made this shirt a little shorter than I normally would.  I don't wants her to get caught up in it while she playing.

You will need to cut 2 rectangles. One for the front and one for the back.

First thing you are going to do is lay the shorts flat and measure across the front. Take that number and double it.  That is the width you need to cut your fabric.

the sorts I used were 12" wide. So I need to cut the fabric 24" wide.  

For the length measure from the waist to the length you want.  Add 1.5" to that number.  (This allows for the hem and seam.)

For this skirt I wanted it to be 9.5" long when finished so I cut mine 11" long

Put right sides together and stitch each short side.

Next fold up one long edge 1/2" and then another 1/2".  Press. Stitch.

Now we need to stitch the gathering stitches.

Set you sewing machine to the longest stitch length possible.  Sew one line 1/4" from the raw edge.  Sew a second line 1/2' from the line you just stitched.

Pin the skirt to the shorts. Right sides together. First pin the side seams the gather the skirt to fit the shorts and pin below the waistband of the shorts.

Stitch in between the two basting stitches. After you have stitched the skirt to the shorts pull out the gathering stitches.

Flip skirt down and press.  Top stitch. this will enclose the raw edge under the top of the skirt.

That's it! 

Now you all can enjoy your time at the playground.