DIY Crushed Velvet Skirt

I love the look and feel of velvet (who doesn't right?) And when I saw a picture of a simple velvet skirt I knew I needed one for this fall/winter (you know, after baby is born).

 

 

I just happened to have this velvet skirt that I picked up at the Goodwill years ago and that has sat in my fabric pile since then.

 

 

It was a long bridesmaid skirt and I can't even tell you what it was originally meant for. But this seemed too perfect to pass up.

 

I started by deciding how long I wanted the skirt (no easy feat when you're 9 months pregnant) and added a couple inches to the length for an elastic casing. I then cut the skirt where I wanted it and put the top half (which was unusable for this project) off to the side.

 

 

The skirt was a bit wrinkled from having been folded up for so long. I decided to go with that wrinkled look and crush the velvet. If you get a skirt that is a synthetic velvet this wont work very well, but a silk or rayon velvet should take this process very well. However if you don't want to do this, I really don't blame you. It took me near an hour to do this process alone.

 

 

If you don't know how to crush velvet, I recommend this video- it's a great beginner tutorial and shows you several techniques.

 

This is what the fabric looked like when I was finished.

 

 

My skirt had been handmade and whomever made it had some really wonky cuts and seams, that were left unfinished. Not really a good idea for velvet. Even if you don't have a serger, you should at least finish your seams with pinking shears to prevent fraying. Fixing the mistakes of the previous sewer took some time but once that was finished it was really easy to finish this skirt.

 

Start by making a casing for your elastic and running your elastic through the casing. This is kind of like running elastic through a denim casing so be prepared to have this take longer than it would if you were running it through a thinner material.

 

 

If you undid your hem (like I did) then re-sew the hem in through your preferred method. I just sewed mine in via machine- I wasn't in the mood for hand sewing. And just like that you're done!

 

 

I love this skirt and can't wait to wear it. Although it might not be until December when my body starts to go back down to size.