From BLAH to MEOW !! How to Make a Sexy High Waist Pencil Skirt Without a Pattern !

Find a great fitting vintage pencil skirt at a thrift store, but it's just BLAH ?? Use it to make a sexy and stylish, new wardrobe ! This instructable will show you how to copy your favorite pencil skirt without a paper pattern, using your already owned skirt...this instructable could really be used to copy any similar styled skirt !!   

Turn your skirt inside out.  This skirt has 4 panels (two front and two back).  

Take your fabric and fold, right sides together (you will want to cut double thickness).  For this instructable, I am using vintage wool with no stretch.  You can use cotton (if it's not too see through), a stretch twill (97% cotton / 2% lycra) or whatever fabric you like.  Be sure to wash and dry, per manufacture instructions prior to cutting...you don't want to make your skirt and go wash it, only to have it shrink !

Take your "front" of the skirt and fold in half.  Lay it down on your fabric, smooth down.  Start pinning ! Do not forget you will need to add your seam allowance.  I would suggest to use 5/8 inches.  So be sure when you lay your skirt onto the fabric, you have extra fabric hanging over on all sides (seam allowance).

Same as the front....fold the back panel in half, pin and don't forget seam allowances !

You can eyeball the waistband.  It is just a strip of fabric.  Lay your skirt down and measure the length of the waist and double that measurement ( 14 inches flat X2 = 28 inches ) and add 3 inches (31 inches).  Cut a (31) inch long strip and make it 4 inches wide.

You should now have cut the front panel, back panel and the waistband (a total of 5 pieces...remember the front and back panel are both double thickness).

Pin and sew the front panel (this will be the front center seam) using the 5/8 inch seam allowance setting on your sewing machine.  If you have pinking shears, you can pink the sewn edge, you could also overstitch the edges on your sewing machine if you have that capability.  This just keeps the inside as nice as the outside.  Fire up your iron and press your center seam open.

Sew the back panel in the same manner as the front panel and press open seams. You will be sewing the straight side, not the curved side.  **I got ahead of myself with the darts, I will go into that in the next step.

Take your skirt and lay it on top of your fabric (lined up with the correct panel).  Pin on each side of your dart at the waist and one pin where the dart ends.  Fold fabric at the seam you just sewed and pin at the same places on the opposite side.  On one side, fold fabric (right sides together) so the waist pins are together.  Sew your dart where the waist pins meet, diagonally and downwards, towards the single pin, you will basically sew off of the fabric when you reach the single pin. You will do this same thing for all of your darts on your skirt.  Press the darts from the wrong side of the fabric towards the center seams.

This skirt has a left side, lapped zipper.  Lay your front and back panels, right sides together, pin and don't forget the seam allowances. You will want to sew the right side seam up completely.  For the left side seam, you will want to sew from the hem to where you want the zipper to end ( I used a 7 inch zipper, so you would stop sewing 7 inches below the waist). Press side seams open.

Press your seam allowances ~ Larger seam allowance on the right (5/8 inch) than the left (1/2 inch ). Sew the left side of the zipper first using your sewing machines zipper foot, stitch zipper close to the zipper teeth (1/8 inch).  Close zipper and turn your skirt to the outside (right side).  Take the unsewn zipper side and lap over to the sewn zipper side (it should overlap the stitches on the sewn side, about 1/8 inch over the left side stitches).  Pin down the lap.  Feel where the zipper lays on the right side and start pinning to the left side of the zipper teeth ( I do it by feel ) and pin your sewing line (if you look at the pictures, there are two rows of pins...the larger headed sized pins are the lapped side and the small ball headed pins are your sewing line).  Sew carefully down the sewing line to the bottom of the zipper, rotate your skirt and sew across the bottom part of the zipper/lap.

Take your waistband strip and fold in half, longways (right sides together).  At one end, sew a point < ... at the other end sew just a straight line, trim seams, turn to the right side and press.  Start pinning waistband onto waist of skirt (right sides together), matching raw edges.  Sew on waistband, leaving the closest, raw edge free.  Turn the waistband up and press into the inside of the skirt.  You will also want to turn under the inside free edge (about 1/4 inch), press and hand sew the turned under edge to the inside of the waist. You can now add a button or snap to the pointy end of the waistband.

Technically, you are done !! However, being a pinup takes some extra girly-ness....So, if you want, you can make a huge bow to add to the front waist of the skirt ! 
Cut a double thickness rectangle of fabric (maybe 6 or 7 inches) and if you have it, iron on some lightweight stabilizer to the wrong sides of the fabric.  Sew around the rectangle (right sides together), but leave a 3 inch opening, unsewn.  Trim seams, turn to the right side and press.  Sew a small strip of fabric (right sides together) about 3 inches long, trim and turn to the right side.  Hand sew the larger fabric rectangle opening, then take your fabric rectangle and start folding like a fan.  Take the small strip of fabric and wrap around the middle of your fan.  Hand stitch the strips free edges, until secure, at the back of the bow. Attach the bow with a few stitches to the waist of the skirt ! ALL DONE !!! You look absolutely fantastic !

Pair with a cute top and a pair of sling back, peeptoe, kitten heels....and your ready to go ! 

Another option....you can add piping or make your own scalloped piping to add vertically to the front panel.