Project Run and Play: How to Add a Peplum to a Skirt

Today we are so excited to have a superstar around blog land here sharing a tutorial with us! It's Sumo from Sumo's Sweet stuff!
Hello everyone!

I’m Sumo, or Summer if you wanna get formal.

I blog over at Sumo’s Sweet Stuff.

It’s my little place in the blogging world where you can come to find sewing and crafting inspiration. Sewing is my favorite creative outlet, but I’m not afraid to bust out the Mod Podge and paint when the mood strikes. You might also catch me professing my love of Target (or the popcorn store as we call it), talking about my relationships with Lucy (Cameo) and Veronica (sewing machine), or bragging about my three beautiful girls. I have an extreme fondness for Diet Coke, my minivan, historical fiction, and most sweets.

I was super honored to be asked to participate in this. There have been some fantastic skirts shared so far, and I expect that the goodness will just keep on coming! With a house full of girls, we know all about skirts. And this one passed the almost four year old test as was manifested by her saying, “This is beautiful! I’m so pretty!” Yeah, we’re humble around these parts.

How do you feel about a peplum skirt?

Not your typical peplum skirt – not very straight and a lot more flouncy. But that means it’s perfect for moving and growing girls!

Let’s get started!

Here’s what you need:

- fabric

- elastic

- sewing machine/accessories

You can get your measurements a couple of different ways. Obviously, the easiest way would be to just use measurements of a skirt that you already have. But it’s also not difficult to take some quick measurements to get you started. You’ll need two separate pieces for the body of the skirt – a smaller top tier and a larger bottom tier. Figure out how long you want the skirt to be. I was going for about 18ish inches long, so I made the length of my top tier 5.5 inches and the length of my bottom tier 14 inches.

For the width of both of the tiers, I measured my daughter’s waist, which was about 20 inches around. That means that around her front or back waist, she is probably around 10 inches. I wanted the skirt to be a little looser and flouncier, so I doubled the width to 20 inches.

So cutting on the fold, I cut the top tier to 5.5 inches long by 20 inches wide.

I cut the bottom tier to 14 inches long by 20 inches wide.

The measurements for the ruffle are totally up to you! I cut my ruffle to 5 inches long and double my width, so 40 inches wide. I had to cut the ruffle in two pieces of 5 inches long by 20 inches wide – on the fold.

So just to recap the measurements for a 4T skirt:

Top Tier: 5.5 inches long by 20 inches wide

Bottom Tier: 14 inches long by 20 inches wide

Ruffle: 5 inches long by 40 inches wide

All cut on the fold!

Attach your two ruffle pieces together,

and hem up the bottom edge.

Take your bottom tier piece of fabric and hem up the bottom edge.

Run a gathering stitch along the raw edge of your ruffle. Pin where you sewed your two ruffle pieces together to the middle of your bottom tier piece. Gather the side evenly towards the middle by gently pulling on the bottom thread.

Pin in place along the entire top edge.

Now take your top tier piece, and pin it along the top edge with the right side facing down.

Sew the three pieces together, using 1/4-1/2 inch seam allowance. Finish the raw edge.

Flip your top tier right side out,

and top stitch along the edge where the ruffle and the top tier meet.

Line up the long edges of your skirt, right sides together, and hem up the skirt. Finish the edges.

Finish the top edge of your skirt, iron it over 1 and 1/4 inches, and sew around the edge, leaving a 2 inch opening. I also like to sew all around the top of your fold because I think it helps hold the elastic in place better, but that is totally optional!