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Many ladies are tired of going to the tailor or searching endlessly in stores for the perfect maxi skirt. To help eliminate that stress, here are 14 simple steps that you can take that will help you create the maxi skirt that you’ve been searching for.

Things You Need:

-Fabric

-Measuring tape

-Flat surface

-Sewing machine

-Elastic

-Thread

-Needle

Steps

1. Measure your waist.

2. Cut fabric twice the size of your waist. So if your waist measurement is 34 inches, cut a fabric piece that is 68 inches wide. Add an extra inch or two for seam allowance.

3. Measure your desired skirt length; the place you want the skirt to fall to on your body. E.g: ankle or floor.

4. Take your already cut fabric, measure out the skirt length including the seam allowance and cut. If your skirt length is 45 for example, you should now have a piece of fabric that is 70 by 46 inches (including 1 inch seam allowance on all sides).

5. Place fabric on a flat surface and fold right sides together. Ensure that both edges match each other. Placing fabric right sides together means that the side of fabric that lies against the skin should be facing you right now.

6. Once you have both edges matched, take your fabric to the sewing machine and sew a straight line down the edges. Leave an inch allowance on the side before you start sewing.

7. Once finished, your fabric should now look like a large tube with two open ends at the top and bottom.

8. Take the top part of your fabric and fold down half an inch. Iron the fold to keep it in place.

9. Fold down fabric another inch, and iron or secure fold with pins. Now, your first fold should be inside the second one.

10. Run a straight stitch on your folded edge to secure it permanently.

11. Once you sew close to where you started your sewing from, stop, and make a backstitch to secure the stitch.

12. Cut your elastic 2 inches shorter than your waist length. Then using a safety pin, carefully thread the elastic through the loop you just made in step 11. Once the elastic is all thread through, use a straight stitch to sew up both edges of the elastic.

13. Finally, use a straight stitch to close up the opening where you passed the elastic through. Your skirt should now be almost ready.

Remember the waist length we cut was twice the normal size, and the elastic was 2 inches shorter than the original waist measurement. Since elastic stretches, it will have gathered the excess fabric back to your original waist measurement.

14. Finally, fold the bottom of your fabric down an inch, then another inch, and secure with a straight stitch.

Give it a shot and tell us how it came out! Now your skirt is ready. It may look like a lot of steps but as soon as you get a hold on it, you will be amazed at how easily you can whip up these easy maxi skirts. About the author: Amina Salau is a writer and editor running The Illuminated Pen. You can find her online at www.theilluminatedpen.com and on Twitter (@_Aminah)