First off I have to say big-huge thanks to Trena of The Slapdash Sewist for schoolin' me with this knowledge on Saturday night. I was up in DC for a great gathering of crafty internet friends, and we hung out at Trena's house one night and she showed us how to make a skirt. This is so easy and I think it would be a very satisfying first sewing project for anyone. You even end up with clothes. Let's do it.

Step 1: Measure yourself. You need two measurements to get going here. First, the widest part of you below the waist. For most people this is their lower hips, for some, the thighs, whatever. Write that measurement down. The second measurement is the distance from your waist (where the skirt's waistband will sit) to wherever you want the hem to fall. This will be a straight skirt, the same width all the way down.

Step 2: Calculate the fabric. For the width, you want the first measurement you took, plus ease. Ease is however much extra fabric you want that will allow you to actually move in the skirt. It's totally a personal preference, but I think 3-5 inches is good for this project. You also need to add seam allowances. You can sew whatever width seams you want, but we're doing 1/2 inch seams for this project because the math is easy. So here's how you calculate.

Width equation: Hip measurement + ease + 1/2" seam allowance times 2. (There is only one side seam, there will be 1/2" of fabric on each side of it, so that's why the times 2.) Let's say your hip measurement was 45 inches and you wanted 3 inches of ease. You would get:

45 + 3 + 1/2 + 1/2 = 49 inches. Your piece of fabric needs to be 49 inches wide.

Length equation: Length measurement + seam allowances for waist and hem (1 inch each). Let's say your waist to hem measurement was 22 inches. You would get:

22 inches + 1 inch + 1 inch = 24 inches. Your piece of fabric needs to be 24 inches long.

Step 3: Cut! Measure your fabric and cut out your piece.

Step 4: Side seam. (If you have a serger, you can go ahead and finish the raw edges before you get started. If not, ignore that last sentence.) Fold the fabric in half widthwise, with right sides together. Pin if you want, or not, whatever works best for you. Sew a 1/2 inch seam with a straight stitch along where the edges meet. Make sure you backtack on both ends of the seam, your machine will have a button or lever for this. This is the same as tying a knot. Some tips for sewing a straight line: watch the lines on the needle plate, not the moving needle. Keep the fabric aligned with the line.

Step 5: Finish your edges. If you're working with a knit, don't worry about it, but if your fabric unravels, you want to finish your edges of the seam. Change your machine to a zig zag stitch, and stitch as close as possible to each raw edge of the open seam. Eventually you'll want to be able to get that zig zag stitch right on the edge so it actually holds the edge of the fabric, but at first, just do it as close as you can, it'll keep it from unraveling. Depending on how you cut your fabric you may need to finish the top edge or bottom edge of the skirt too.

Step 6: Press! As Burda says, well-pressed is half-sewn. Pressing is crucial in any sewing project. This will make the difference from people asking, "Did you make that yourself?" to people asking, "Where did you get that awesome skirt?"

Press your seam flat, then open the seam and press it open so it lays flat against the fabric.

Step 7: Elastic waist time! Grab a length of 3/8" (or similar size) elastic. Pull it around your bare waist until it's pretty snug with a little overlap, then cut it to that length. Sew the elastic into a tube (just sew the two ends together).

To attach the elastic to the skirt (obviously the elastic tube is quite a bit smaller than the skirt tube you just made), you want to mark both tubes with 4 pins each, at equal distances around. This will make attaching them to each other easier. This is a bit tricky to explain so let me show you with a crude drawing. An easy way to measure this is to lay the tube flat, put a pin at either side, then fold it flat the other way (your two existing pins will now meet in the middle) and put a pin at each side.

Once you have marked with pins, match up the pins and pin the elastic to the wrong side of the fabric. You'll be removing a pin each time you line the marking pins up, and attaching the elastic to the fabric. Don't put the seam of the elastic on the side seam of the skirt, it makes for bulkiness.

Now you will pull the elastic taut and use a zig zag stitch to attach it to the skirt. If you use a straight stitch, it's not going to work, because a straight stitch can't stretch. Keep the elastic pulled tight so the skirt fabric lays flat as you sew. This is a little tricky but you can do it.

Step 8: Finish waist. Your elastic should be on the inside of the skirt now. Stop what you're doing and try it on! Hey look it's becoming clothes! Now turn the top edge under to cover the elastic. Pin it to hold it down and sew with a zig zag stitch down the middle of where the elastic is. You're gonna have to pull tight again so the skirt fabric lays flat.

Step 9: Hem it! Iron down your hem edge to the inside of the skirt about an inch all around (iron the crease so the wrong sides of the fabric are together). Double fold the edge and pin to hold it down. Double fold just means you fold the raw edge to the crease you just made, then fold it over again. Sew your hem with a straight stitch with the left edge of the needle foot against the folded edge of the seam (or approximately 1/2 inch). Press your hem, and give the whole skirt a once over with the iron if you want.

Step 10: Wear it! Whipped this one up last night in mere minutes from an old sheet. I'm gonna be making a lot of these! Perfect for summer.

I hope this tutorial is helpful. See, you can make clothes! If you have any questions or if I got something wrong, which is quite possible, please leave a comment!

Hi Crafty People! Just a few announcements!

• We have decided not to renew our license of the “Craft Mafia” name for this year. We pay $200 in dues per year to the Austin Craft Mafia in order to use the name “craft mafia”. We discussed it at the meeting last night and the general consensus was to keep the $200 and invest it into our group – whether for advertising for Handmade Parade this fall, or into a really cool workshop with expensive supplies, or into a field trip to a craft show, something like that. We will still collect $20 dues per member per year, to cover the cost of the website, workshop supplies, etc. We will keep doing our thing; we just won’t be called the Norfolk Craft Mafia anymore. One great thing about this is we can pick a new name that’s more inclusive to all our members. We were forced to pick a city to represent our whole area, even though we have artists from many cities including Hampton, Virginia Beach, Suffolk and more.
• On that note! We have a Renaming & Handmade Parade Planning Meeting coming up soon! We will be meeting on Sunday, July 27th at 6pm at the offices of Grow Interactive (where we usually have our monthly roundups). We would love for EVERY craft mafia member to be there. We need to talk about planning for the second year of Handmade Parade, our big craft show & sale which is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, December 6. It takes a lot of effort to put on a big show like this and we’d love input and help from all our members. We also need to get the new name nailed down ASAP because the new website will need to be relaunched before we start taking applications for Handmade Parade vendors.
• Yearly dues are coming due for many members. I’ll be sending out Paypal invoices or emails to those whose dues are due! I encourage you to attend the planning meeting and all our crafters roundups and workshops to get your $20 worth and make sure your voice is heard!
• Sunday, August 3rd will be our usual Monthly Crafter’s Roundup at Grow.
• September 7th Amanda is hosting a special Terrarium Workshop. This will be instead of our monthly roundup for September. It’s open to members only, and space is extremely limited! All supplies will be provided. Please reply to this entry to RSVP for the workshop! First-come, first-served!
• All these events will be held at the Grow offices - 350 W. 22nd Street Suite 106 Norfolk, Virginia 23517 - in the new Palace Station shopping center. Grow is toward the back left corner, across from NYFO.

Thanks and see you at the next event!

Thanks to everyone who came to the renaming/Handmade Parade planning meeting last night. For those of you who missed the meeting, we just have a few announcements:

1. From here on out, we will be known as the 7 Cities Crafters. Simple, to the point, and more inclusive of the whole area. This website will remain operational while we figure out some logistics about moving things around, but watch for a new site soon, including a group blog where anyone can post!
2. Amanda is moving! We are really happy for her since she'll be getting a new start in Asheville, NC, but we will miss her so! She has done tons for this group and we appreciate her so much!
3. Planning for Handmade Parade is about to get into full swing. A planning committee is being formed right now. Get on over to this thread on the forum to find out more, and please get in touch with Ashley if you are willing to contribute! This Sunday, August 3 is our monthly crafter's roundup, so make sure you come out to hang with other crafty folks and also get a heads up on Handmade Parade planning. There is so much to do, we could really use your help!
4. Since Amanda's moving, the Terrarium Workshop is cancelled. We're sorry! We will still have a meeting that day, but we're not sure if it will be another workshop or a regular crafter's roundup. Stay tuned!
5. The Suffolk Museum is partnering with the 7 Cities Crafters to throw a one-day show & sale on Saturday, January 10th. The tables are a very reasonable price and I think this is a great opportunity for us! To find out more, check out this thread on the forum and please leave a reply if you're interested in more information!

Thanks again to everyone who's helping out as this group goes through some changes. We really do appreciate it!

Since our Terrarium workshop was canceled for September 7th, we have a brand new workshop for you guys!

Sunday, September 7
6pm

Studio Rat's Clay Class!

Completely free ceramics workshop with Ashley Pickin. All supplies provided! We will be making and firing tiles at the ODU Ceramic Studio! Please wear older clothes you don't mind messing up, and bring lotion for your hands.

The studio is at the corner of West 47th St. and Monarch in Norfolk, Va., across from the Stables Theater. It's a white concrete building with a parking lot in front.

Hope to see you there!