Making a Quilted Skirt, Part 2

First, some vital information: Here's part 1 of this tutorial! And here are pictures of the finished skirt.

Okay, at this point in the process you have the front skirt, with quilted lines going on the bias in one direction. I marked your original line with blue painters tape, and used a quilting guide on a walking foot to keep the rest of the lines even.

Now we need to do the criss-crossing lines. They should start at the same point in the opposite corner of the skirt, and be perfectly perpendicular to your first set of lines. You can check this with a clear ruler.

Use the blue tape to stitch your first line, and then your quilting foot guide to make the rest of the lines. You'll have a nice and neat grid.

Now to quilt the back pieces. Use the same method of marking the first lines with blue tape. Start the tape in the upper corners like you did with the skirt front, and have the lines go at a 45 degree angle. Make sure that they will meet at the same point in the center back, in a V shape.

Quilt the two back pieces in both directions. Now all three pieces are quilted!

Now it's time to sew the side seams. Place the back pieces right sides together with the front piece. Match the quilting lines as best you can by using a pin as a guide. Poke the pin through the fabric, and then adjust the two layers of fabric until the pin is going through the two lines of stitching that you are matching up.

Next, sew the center back seam, but only up to the point where the zipper will be inserted.

Press all seam allowances open.

I chose Hong Kong seams for my skirt, and used the contrast quilting fabric. Finish all seams, including the back zipper opening.

Insert a zipper at center back. I used my favorite method, the lapped zipper.

Next, I cut the waistband, leaving seam allowances and 1" for an underlap. The waistband is 1.5" wide when finished.

I used a nonwoven medium weight interfacing on my waistband. To give a slightly different look, I used 1/4" channel stitching on the waistband. This provides both stability and visual interest.

I sewed on the waistband, leaving the 1" underlap at the right back. The waistband closes with a hook and eye.

I turned up a narrow hem, and finished the raw edge. Hem lace is perfect for this purpose.

I finished the hem with a slip stitch, stitching the lace to the inside of the skirt.

And that's it! You have a cozy, perfectly '50s-style quilted skirt!

Finished Quilted Skirt

It's finally finished! I wrote "Making a Quilted Skirt, Part One" earlier this year and then life and book writing took over. I finally finished the skirt last week, so here I am modeling it. Part two of the tutorial is coming up!

The skirt is made from the rose print sateen from my spring 2015 fabric line. (This color is sold out online, but it's available in yellow and coral on poplin here.) It's sandwiched with red Kona cotton and cotton batting. The quilting gives it incredible shape and body--no petticoat needed!

The pattern I used the the Flared Skirt from my book Gertie Sews Vintage Casual. It's a half circle, though it looks much fuller with the quilting.

There's a high waistband and a back lapped zipper. The waistband is interfaced with non-woven sew-in interfacing and then has rows of channel stitching rather than quilting. I'll be writing more about this.

The quilting adds such a fun texture and overall shape. 

I wore the skirt out fabric shopping in the city yesterday and got so many compliments. Seriously, I felt like a celebrity. (I found some great fabrics for my dirndl, readers! More to come.)

Look out for part two of the tutorial next week!