Try this easy, cheater’s method of making an underskirt. This skirt extender is an easy sewing tutorial for beginners. Sewing your own underskirt allows you to choose your own lace and make it the length you want.
Modesty can be a real hot button issue.
The phrase “modest is the hottest” was thrown around a lot when I was a young thing. It must’ve been a pretty effective phrase because I was unreasonably shocked when a guy in college snapped, “No, it’s not.”
Well, after six kids and 14 years of marriage, I’ve come to realize that “hot” is for the bedroom. I’d rather shoot for “Beautiful”, “Lovely”, “Elegant”.
Or just “Not Awkward” on most regular days.
Watch the video!
I don’t want to preach about what I think it modest. You can apply this tutorial to whatever size or length of skirt you want. I’m showing you the basics. So take it from there, girl!
Whether you don’t want people peeking at your knobbly knees or you just want some extra frill, this is the tutorial for you.
Underskirts are Like Makeup
I’m not gonna lecture about modesty but I did want to share some words of wisdom from my mom.
Once when I was an even younger thing, I was sitting on the bathroom counter, watching my mom get ready, and I asked her how she was so good at doing her makeup.
She said she looked at other people and at magazines to see how other people did theirs. And then she said this,
“You don’t want to do too much because you want people to look at you and say, ‘Oh! what a pretty girl!’ not ‘Oh! what pretty makeup!'”.
It’s fun to dress up and try different looks. Just remember that you are more than what you look like.
Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
What Do I Need to Make an Underskirt?
Two yards of 10″ lacy trim. I picked some cotton lace with flowers and eyelets. So pretty!
Thread – Here are some white and black spools of thread. I just used what was in my machine because I knew it would be covered by my dress.
Sewing Pins- I like pins with large, colorful heads
Sewing Machine – Here is an inexpensive sewing machine I found that’s similar to mine. I bought a cheap Brother sewing machine 15 years ago and it’s still going. I used to sew on a card table and it would bounce around if I went too fast 🙂
DRESSES!!! I’m a short, curvy person and it’s hard for me to find dresses that work for me. This is not sponsored, I just love how these dresses fit and they’re pretty inexpensive. Here are the links for the three dresses I’m wearing in this post: the Yellow Dress, the Red Dress, and the Black and White Dress
Underskirt Instructions
Set your sewing machine to the zigzag stitch. This will allow the fabric and elastic to stretch and contract.
Sew the elastic onto the wrong side of the lace and close to the top.
Pull the elastic as you sew. This will cause the lace to gather when you let go of the elastic. Pull the elastic with one hand and feed the fabric through the machine with the other hand. You might have to pull the fabric through if you’re really stretching the elastic.
Trim the extra fabric above the elastic.
With right sides together, sew the lace ends to make a circle.
Pin the Lace to the Slip
Now turn both the lace loop and the slip right side out. Time to find the middle points of each.
Put the slip flat on the ground. mark each side with a pin. Pick the slip up and match the pins together, then lay it flat again. You should have the pins right in the middle on top of each other. Pin each side again.
Repeat with the lace loop.
This gives you four points of reference on each piece.
Lay the slip flat and add the lace around the bottom. Slip a board, or something flat and hard, in between the slip layers. This will make pinning much easier.
Match the pinned areas together and pin them together. The lace should be bigger than the slip.
Check to see that the lace is hitting where you want it to. I knew that the slip was already about to my knees so the lace didn’t really need to be any longer. I just made sure the scallops were just below the edge of the slip all the way around.
Now place a pin in between all the pins so you end up with eight pinned points. Keep checking to see if the edge lines up as you go.
Time to Sew the Underskirt
Make sure your machine is still set to the zigzag stitch. This is the stitch you want to use anytime you’re sewing something stretchy.
Now sew the lace to the slip. As you sew, hold onto a pin. Then pull the lace and the slip and stretch them until they are the same length for that area and lay flat against each other.
Make sure you keep everything as flat as you can so you don’t accidently sew over a fold in the fabric.
Now go make an underskirt for yourself or even for a friend. What a nice present that would be!
Don’t forget to in it!
Check out some of my other posts:
DIY Easy One Hour Apron | Beginner Sewing Project
How to Make the Best Rainbow Cookies
Thanks for stopping by!
What a great and quick idea. And yes, you do have a beautiful mother, and she’s smart too….She managed to eat that whole sundae and not gain one ounce….
Thanks! I wish I had that super power but with cinnamon rolls!
🙂
🙂 to you too!