Evange's video: Sewing Tutorial: Knife Pleated Skirt

This outfit was inspired by Blake Lively's character Serena VanDerWoodsen on gossip girl, where she's wearing a school uniform and her tie matches her skirt matches her headband: http://www.rienamemettre.com/articles/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/sexy-school-girl.jpg My take is that of a classic pleated skirt. The fabric I used is tartan (the black watch tartan to be specific) which gives it a preppy, schoolgirlish feel, but it would work well too in a different fabric. You will need: -fabric, aprox 2 meters -matching thread -interfacing -a zipper -a sewing machine -an iron -pins Start my cutting out several strips of fabric. Always cut your fabric horizontally, or across the grain of the fabric, cutting lengthwise is not recommended as it doesn't drape as nice. To find the length to cut the strips, first determine how long you want the finished skirt to be. Add a seam allowance at the top (about 1/2 an inch), and a hem allowance at the bottom (about 4 inches). Remember: you can always make something shorter, but it's a lot harder to make something longer. And the skirt will flare out a tiny bit, which will make it appear shorter than it is. Once you have cut out enough strips, sew all the pieces together along the sides to form a big loop. Then hem. While hemming is usually the last step when sewing a garment, it'll impossible to hem this after pleats have been pressed in. Once the garment is hemmed then you can make pleats. I used a piece of paper that was 4" by 3" as my guide. I alternated between folding and pressing 4" up, 3" down. And I pressed and pinned after every single pleat. Once the pleats are pressed, you just need to sew the skirt part it to your waistband. You can do whatever type of waistband you like, but I chose a wide, curved waistband because I find that is best for things that are intended to sit just above hip level. Then just sew in a zipper and you're done. BTW, this skirt would look great accessorized with one of the "zipper flowers" I made in another tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WMz7j5eH8Q sewing sew tutorial diy thread fabric fashion style trend gossip girl schoolgirl blake lively serena van der woodsen trend threadbanger pleat pleated kilt highland scottish tartan plaid bust waist hips skirt kawaii tie tailor tailoring pretty cute pirates with lasers evange