Do it Yourself Lace Skirts

Take your measurements. Measure your waist where you would like the skirt to begin and the length from this waistline to the part of your leg where you want the skirt to end. Take length measurement from the front, back, and both sides. Write down all five measurements.

Decide how full you want your skirt to be. Wrap the satin around you, holding it up so that the bottom is about three inches below where you want the skirt to end on your legs in the back. Adjust the fullness by adding more fabric from the bolt until the desired fullness around your legs is reached. The part around your waist will most likely be too loose. This will be fixed later. Add two inches to the desired fullness and cut this length of fabric. Make sure to cut it straight.

Decide how long you want your skirt to be. Hold the cut length of fabric around you as before, with the open edge at your side and the bottom edge is about three inches below where you want the skirt to end on your legs in the back. It may be too long in front, but this will be fixed later. Decide where you would like the waistline of your skirt to sit and mark it with a pin. Remove the fabric from around you and lay it out flat. Cut the fabric in a straight line an inch above where you placed the pin. This allows for seams and hemming. You now have the cutout for your satin underskirt.

Cut the lace fabric to the same length of the satin fabric, using the satin fabric as a guide and pattern. Cut all your fabric now. If you will be doing multiple layers of lace, cut them all out at this time. It is not necessary to cut the lace to the correct width yet, but you may do this at this time if you desire.

Fold the satin fabric in half, so that it maintains its width but is half as long. The part that will be the hem should be closest to you and the part that will be the waistline should be farthest away from you. Pin the edges together so that you have a large circle. Leave the hemline and waistline open and unpinned.

Cut along the folded seam so that you now have two identical lengths of fabric. One is the front and the other is the back. Decide which will be the front and which will be the back and distinguish them from one another, perhaps with a colored pin.

Pin the seams with right-sides together and sew the front and back panels together along the side seams using the thread that matches the satin. Make a 5/8-inch seam. You should now have a circle of satin of the desired fullness but slightly more length than you desire. Pin the seams open along the entire length of each side of each seam to avoid sewing the seams to the wrong side of the fabric by mistake.

Keeping the skirt inside out, locate your front, back, and side measurements from earlier. Add two and 3/4 inches to each measurement. Measure from the waistline of the skirt to this point at the front, back and sides and mark with a sideways pin. Once all four of these pins are in place, fill in the empty space between pins with other sideways pins so that you have a diameter of pins along the bottom of the skirt. The back measurement will most likely end at the bottom of the fabric, but there may be some excess fabric in the front. Once the pin diameter is in place, very carefully cut off all the excess material below the pin diameter, then remove the pins. Now your skirt has a definite front and back.

Fold up the bottom edge of the skirt 1/4-inch, pin, and sew around the perimeter. Fold up another inch and sew a 5/8-inch seam. The bottom of your satin liner is now complete.

With the skirt still inside out, fold the top (waist) edge down 1/4-inch. Make sure the seams remain open. Pin for security, sew around perimeter, and remove pins. Fold down one and 1/4 inches, pin, and sew a one-inch seam, leaving two inches open (not sewn) by one of the seams. Unpin. Your elastic needs to fit into this space, so make sure this seam is at one inch or slightly larger, not smaller.

Locate your waist measurement from earlier. Cut a length of elastic one inch longer than this measurement.

Locate the two-inch space you left in the waistline. Using a safety pin, secure one end of your elastic band to the satin by the opening. Put the second safety pin through the other end of the elastic, then feed all the way through the waistband, exiting at the other side of the two-inch gap. Pin both ends of the elastic together, then sew together. Put on your skirt and adjust the tightness of the waistband. Sew the elastic together at the point where the tightness is the most comfortable. You have completed your satin skirt liner.

Make a lace overskirt using the thread that matches the lace. Make two side seams as before and use the front and back measurements as before to complete the sides and bottom of the lace overskirt. To secure to the satin underskirt, put the lace circle skirt around the satin underskirt, then pin at the bottom so that the lace hangs over the edge of the satin hem by only about 1/4-inch. Fold excess top fabric over the waistband, then gather and pin on the outside, just under the waistband at both side seams and at least two places on the front and back of the skirt. Evenly distribute the extra fabric around the skirt, then fold over equal amounts (with the fold going towards the back) at each gather point. Once all excess fabric is taken up and pinned, fold skirt inside out and secure extra fabric at the waistline to the same line at which you gathered on the outside of the skirt (just below waistline). Sew the lace to the satin at this point. This will secure the folded gathers at the front and make the lace a part of the skirt.

If more than one layer of lace is desired, you can either sew all layers of lace together before attaching to the satin, or you can attach them to the skirt one at a time. You can make some layers longer or shorter, depending on your desired design.