Making a skirt

I've been thinking about this, and how to answer.  What I did was figure out what skills would be required in the making, and what the teaching objectives would have been at each level.  I'm pretty sure the apron was first, but it's much more complicated than the gathered skirt.  I wonder if we did them both in the same year.  But the last thing we did was a wool pencil skirt, so they must have been two separate projects.  Am I over-thinking this? 

The gathered skirt would have required more than one yard of fabric.  Cotton was only 36 wide at the time, and there was no  way that this sort of skirt could be made with just one yard, especially as skirts were so much longer then.  There would probably have been one waist band, that buttoned ( had to learn to make button holes).  I don't remember elastic, but it would sure be easier that way.  There would be no zipper, as that was one of the big tasks in the woolen skirt.

So, everything will depend on your hip measurement.  Start with two yards of fabric.  Be sure it's washed first.  Press in half and work from the fold, cutting a long strip across the width of the fabric, and cut this 3 1/2" wide.  You want this to be  your hip measurement plus 3 inches.  Some people might have to piece it to get the length.  Join the short ends with a 1 cm- to 1/2" seam.  Press it in half along the whole length, and press one long edge folded to the wrong side by the same measurement.  

Sew the shorter ends of the long piece that's left, with the same seam allowance.  This will be the body of the skirt.  Now, divide one raw edge into 4 sections and mark (pins?) Working on the right side of the fabric, run gathering stitches, within your seam allowance, along this edge, breaking thread and leaving long thread tails at each marking pin.  That is: two parallel rows of machine stitching with a very long stitch length (4 or 5 on most machines).   

Divide the raw edge of the waistband also into four sections.  With the right side of the waistband and the wrong side of the skirt, pin this edge of the waistband to the raw edge of the skirt, that has the machine stitching, matching the sections indicated by the pins--right sides together.  Slowly gather the skirt to fit by securing the thread tails around a pin and then pulling gently from the other end to make gathers.  Gather both machine sewn threads at the same time. You may want to add a second pin to wrap the thread tails around at each end.  Work slowly and carefully.  Don't rush this. 

Pin this at close intervals, carefully spreading out the gathers so that they are equal all around the skirt.  When you're happy with it stitch this seam.

Now, working on the right side of the skirt, carefully align the long folded edge of the waistband to the right side of the skirt, just overlapping the seam line previously sewn.  Leave an opening--best at the spot where the skirt section was originally sewn together, to insert elastic.

For the elastic, use your waist measurement plus 2 inches.  Insert the elastic, and overlap the ends by 1", and machine sew very well.  Then close the opening by machine.

Doing a little better today, but still not a "happy camper".  See the doctor on Monday.