Tea Towel Skirt

I don't know if I'm the only mom out there that feels like this, but buying clothes for girls after they're out of the

"T-stages" {2T, 3T, 4T, 5T} is really tough.

It's like once girls are six and above, they have to wear teeny bopper clothes.

My daughter is seven.

A cute little innocent seven year old.

Not a teeny bopper.

I've learned where I can buy clothes for her that look more classic and girly for her age, but sometimes the search is still tough.

Especially if I don't want to spend an arm and a leg.

So I decided to spruce up my sewing skills... which up until now have only been to sew pillows or curtains

...basic stuff.

My daughter has been needing something more in her wardrobe for summer so I thought I'd start improving those skills of mine by making a skirt.

I started with two tea towels.

{Other supplies include: matching thread, 1 yard of 3/4" elastic, and 2 yards of ribbon.}

I placed the tea towels together with the wrong sides out and sewed the short sides together at both ends.

{Here it is with both ends sewn together.}

{Here I am reading up on how to finish sewing this basic skirt.  My husband took this picture as proof!!! LOL!}

The next step was to hem the top and put the elastic in.  I folded the top down 1/2" and then again 1" {big enough to slide some 3/4 " elastic through}.

I pinned the folds and then sewed towards the bottom of the fold.

I left about a 2 1/2" space un-sewn so I could slide my elastic through.

{Pin a safety pin on the end of the elastic to easily slide it through.}

After I slid the elastic all the way through, I tried the skirt on my daughter to measure how long the elastic needed to be to fit snug around her waist. 

I cut off the extra elastic, overlapped the two ends just a bit, sewed them together inside the opening making kind of a rectangle around the overlap of the elastic, and then closed the opening and sewed it up.

After this step is done, flip the skirt right side out and it's done!

The bottom of the skirt is already hemmed because it's a tea towel, not just plain fabric.

I had bought two yards of ribbon to use as an embellishment for the bottom of the skirt.

Using my machine I sewed the top and bottom of the ribbon to the bottom of the skirt.

Here's the finished project!

She loves to twirl in it and it's perfect for hot summers or for going to church on Sundays!

...and now I can add "little girl skirt" to my sewing resume!!!

{***Total cost of skirt:  $7.50}

Linked to:

Someday Crafts

Trendy Treehouse

The Thirfty Home

Lucky Star Lane

Fireflies and Jellybeans

Blue Cricket Design

Beyond the Picket Fence

Life As Lori

The Shabby Nest

Tatertots and Jello