How to DIY a Flared Skirt for Either ADult or Child

How to DIY a Flared Skirt for Either Adult or Child

7/29/2026

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I love a simple skirt in the summer that you can throw on with a tee and some sandals and feel cooler, dressier than jeans, but still causal and put together! This little cotton skirt fits the bill and can be whipped up in about an hour. It is the perfect pattern-free skirt to sew for a beginner. Two of my granddaughters pictured above sewed skirts for themselves with just a little help from me! It took us about an hour and a half from start to finish. I am proud of them both. They each have their own machines and are learning so much about sewing. They both wore these little skirts to church on Sunday and looked adorable. Click Read More and I'll fill you in on how to whip up a few skirts for yourself and your daughter, (or granddaughter)!

Supplies you will need:

Sewing machine
measuring tape
thread to match your fabric
Cotton fabric, I have yard lengths, but you most likely will not use the entire yard.
pins or clips to hold things together as you begin to sew
3/4 or up to 1" wide elastic
Sharp Scissors
Iron and Ironing board

* When choosing your fabric, be careful of choosing something that will look good if you cut the it sideways or up and down in order to save fabric and to have it look right when finished.

The way to make this skirt for either child or adult is the same except for the way you need to measure the fabric. Also, you may make this skirt with 2 pieces of fabric with 2 side seams, or you can use the fold of the fabric as the front, and only sew a seam up the back of the skirt. I will explain both ways.

Measuring for an Adult:

My granddaughter is a teenager, but I used the adult way of measuring for her skirt. You will need a tape measure and scissors for this part. You will need two measurements.

Measure around the widest part of the hips, and then add 11 inches to make the width of the fabric to fit around the body.
Measure from the waist to the place on the leg that you want the skirt to hit when finished. Then, add 3.5 inches.

Transfer those measurements to the fabric and cut out a large rectangle of fabric that is the same as your measurements. Remember that your fabric is probably doubled. Open it up to cut the proper waist circumference. Once your rectangle is cut out, it is ready to be sewn with one back seam. If you want side seams, fold the fabric in half and cut it to make a front and a back panel.

Measuring for a Child:

For children's skirts the measuring is different because their waists aren't much bigger than their hips. So in this case:

Measure the waist of the child and double it.
Measure the the length the skirt will be from waist to where it will hit on the leg. Add 3.5 inches for the hem and waist casing.

Now, as you would do for the adult skirt, transfer your measurements to the fabric and cut it out. One reason that this skirt came out with a front and back piece naturally is because the waist measurement doubled was small enough that it allowed me to cut out the two separate pieces at once.

Sewing the Skirt:

From now on, the instructions for the adult skirt and the child's skirt will be the same.

With right sides together, use pins or clips to hold the sides or back together so that they won't slip. Then, sew either the one back seam, or the two side seams with a 5/8" seam allowance. Use an iron and iron open your seams.

This is from a different project, but it shows what sewing a 5/8" seam looks like.

At this point, you have a tube or fabric. Decide which open end will be the top of your skirt and which will be the bottom.
Take your skirt tube and press 1/4 inch of the fabric towards the inside of the skirt all of the way around the tope of the skirt.
Next, fold the fabric over again. That top 1/4 inch will give you a nice clean edge for your casing and keep your fabric from fraying. When you fold it over again, this time you will fold it an inch over, or up to an inch and a quarter if you have 1 inch wide elastic.
Take your skirt to you sewing machine and stitch close to the fold of the turned under 1/4 inch part of the casing. Leave an opening at one of the seams that will accommodate putting through the elastic.

The Elastic:

Measure the elastic around the waist of the person who will be wearing it. (Obviously)
Subtract 2 inches from that measurement.
Using a safety pin as shown above, thread the elastic through the casing of the skirt, gathering as you go. Don't let the end slip in, pin or clip it in place! When your safety pin comes out the other end of the opening, pull the 2 ends together, being careful not to twist the elastic and sew them together. Then, arrange the gathers around the skirt evenly and pull the elastic inside the casing to lay flat. Stitch the opening closed.
Now, all that is left is the hem! Just as you did for the casing, first press with the iron a 1/4 inch hem to the inside of the skirt all of the way around. At this point, you may want to try the skirt on and double check how long or short you want to hem your skirt. One of my granddaughters wanted it to the knee and the other wanted it 2 inches above the knee. So measure those adjustments accordingly, then press the fabric up to the inside of the skirt and pin or clip into place.
My sewing machine has a hemming stitch on it that we used to hem these skirts. But, you may also stitch your hem in by hand, blind stitching it. Whatever works for you.
When you are finished stitching, just press the skirt, especially where it is hemmed and make it look crisp and fresh and you are all ready to wear it and look cute, fresh and put together! Show off those tanned legs and summer sandals with your cute manicured toes!

Products I use when sewing: