Give a Gift
Create a stand-out mini skirt that perfectly transitions from late summer to fall with this design from Sophie Tarrant. Made in a gorgeous sorbet shade, this mini skirt pattern showcases pretty, tiled fabric and uses beginner quilting techniques. Add neatly stitched darts to your skirt for a streamlined fit, finish with a simple back-zip fastening, and style with your favorite pair boots for a chic, attention-grabbing look.
Skill Level: Beginner
Designer Notes:
- When quilting the Outer fabric, slow down to keep your stitches consistent and pivot neatly at the corners of the motif. This will help your fabric look neat and prevents puckering.
- Always press your darts and seams as you go. Press the darts toward the sides of the skirt and open up the allowances for the side seams – this helps the skirt sit smoothly once it’s finished.
Editor Note: This pattern is available in A0 (copy shop) format and A4 (letter/home printer) format.
Materials:
- Fabric: (Note: Our sample uses Art Gallery Fabrics in Seaside Tiles (Outer Fabric) and Art Gallery Fabrics in Decadence (Lining Fabric).)
- Cotton poplin: One yard of Outer fabric and one yard of Lining fabric
- Quilt batting: One yard (36” x 45”)
- Temporary fabric spray adhesive
- Zipper: Light pink, 7″
- Thread: White
- PDF Pattern – This is located at the bottom of this page. Please see printing instructions below. See Editor Note above for file format.
Tools:
- Water-erasable fabric pen
- Scissors
- Sewing clips or pins
- Sewing machine
PRINTING INSTRUCTIONS:
Note: To download the pattern, click on the pattern download button at the bottom of the page. We recommend opening your pattern download using Adobe Acrobat.
Piecing Instructions:
- Download and print the mini skirt template, then cut out the pattern pieces in your chosen size. Lay your Outer fabric right side up and trace the Outer Front and both Outer Back pieces onto it, but don’t cut them out yet – you’ll do that in a later step. Next, place the Lining fabric right side up, trace the Front and both Back Lining pieces onto it, then cut them out. Set the Lining pieces aside for now.
- Lay out the quilt batting and spray it lightly with temporary fabric adhesive. Place the Outer fabric on top, right side up, and smooth out any wrinkles. Thread your sewing machine with white thread and set it to a 3mm straight stitch. Quilt the layers together by topstitching in a design of your choosing, spacing lines at least every 4”. In the sample, the quilting uses a slightly wavy stitch around each tile motif, working two lines around each tile – one around the outer edge, and a second around the blue floral motif inside each square – until all tiles across all three pattern pieces are quilted.
- Cut out the Outer Front and Outer Back pieces. Each Outer Back piece has a dart along the top edge – mark these onto the fabric using the template, then carefully stitch them into place. Press the darts outward toward the side seams.
- Lay the Outer Front piece right side up. Place the Outer Back pieces on top with the right side down, aligning the side seams. Clip or pin along each side edge, then sew the seams with a 3/8” seam allowance. Press the seams open.
- Add the zipper. Each Outer Back piece has a zipper flap at the top of the center back seam. Transfer the zipper guideline from the template onto each piece: along the flap, the line should be 3/4” from the edge, and below the flap, 3/8” from the edge. Open the zipper and position one side of the zipper tape right side down along the flap, aligning the teeth with the guideline. Pin in place and sew along the teeth using a zipper foot. Repeat for the second side of the zipper tape, ensuring the edges line up neatly.
- Use the templates to cut the Waistband pieces from your lining fabric, then back each piece with quilt batting. A light spritz of temporary adhesive can help hold the batting in place. Sew the waistband pieces together at the side seams with a 3/8” seam allowance to create one long strip. Press the seam allowances open.
- Just like the Outer Back pieces, the Lining Back pieces have darts along the top edge. Stitch the darts into place, then press them outward toward the side seams.
- Measure and mark the center of both the Waistband and the Lining. Align the top edges with right sides together and the side seams matching. Clip or pin in place, then machine stitch along this edge using a 3/8” seam allowance.
- Join the Outer and Lining skirts. Slide the Lining skirt over the Outer skirt with the right sides together, aligning top edges, side seams, and back seams. Clip or pin to hold in place. Open the zipper and stitch along one side of the tape with a 3/8” seam allowance, stopping just before the bottom and backstitching to secure. Repeat on the opposite side. Next, stitch around the top edge of the skirt, again with a 3/8” seam allowance. Clip the two Outer Back pieces together with right sides together along the remaining center back seam, ensuring the bottom of the zipper sits neatly inside, then machine sew. Repeat to join the two halves of the Lining Back. Turn the skirt right side out, gently poking out the corners at the top of the zipper. Press, then topstitch around the top edge of the waist with a 1/8” allowance.
- Finally, it’s time to finish off your hemline. With the skirt pressed, turn it inside out. The bottom of the Outer skirt will extend slightly beyond the lining. Fold a 3/8” double hem along the bottom edge to enclose the raw edges of both layers, hiding the lining inside the fold. Press, then hand-stitch to secure and finish.
