I have a new cute skirt for you today! I love skirts and this one is one I have been wanting to make for a while. I’m going to show you How To Make A Panel Skirt With Free Pattern! Twirl all year long in this fancy panel skirt. If you love to showcase fabrics, this is the skirt for you. It’s perfect for all occasions! It is easy to dress up with a nice top as I did below or keep it casual. When my sewing friend Debbie showed me this pattern, I knew I would be making several of these. I picked out some cute and fun fabrics and I think this skirt turned out great! I love making skirts. Even when the weather cools, I love wearing this skirt with leggings and a cardigan. This is a great sewing project for anyone wanting to get started making their own clothes. This project is made with simple straight stitches so anyone who is comfortable sewing straight lines will be able to complete this project.
You only need a few supplies for this simple skirt. For my skirt, I picked out some cotton blends and my skirt is super comfortable. You’ll need some matching thread, some fabric scissors, and some elastic. I recommend getting a rotary cutter, mat, and ruler as it makes cutting your pattern and fabric a breeze. Let’s get started!
What You’ll Need:
- 2 Yards of 60″ Wide Fabric – For woven choose – cotton, cotton blends, linen, rayon . For knit you can use cotton lycra, ponte, scuba , jersey fabrics, double brushed poly.
- Free Panel Skirt Pattern
- Matching Thread
- 1 yard 1.5” wide elastic
- Pins
- Scissors
- Measuring tape
- Optional Rotary Cutter & Mat
- Sewing machine
Size Chart:
| Imperial (inches) | Small | Medium | Large |
| Chest | 34 | 36 | 38 |
| Waist | 28 | 30 | 32 |
| Hip | 38 | 40 | 42 |
This pattern is drafted for a height of 5’ 4”- 5” 5”. Looking for a bigger or smaller size of this pattern? Then check out our tutorial on How to Scale a pattern up and down.
Printing Instructions
This panel skirt pattern has layers so that you can choose to print only the size you need. To achieve this Adobe Reader must be installed on your machine or device. Adobe Reader allows you to click on the layers icon which will show you each size with an eyeball beside it. Click on the eyeball beside the size you do not want to print.
Before printing check that your printer is set to No scaling or Actual size. Set the Page orientation to Auto or Portrait. And then print page 1. Measure the 2” test square to see if it measures exactly 2”. If it does, print the remaining pages.
Trimming Pages
Cut off the right and top margins of each printed page before assembling the pattern. You can use tape or school glue to adhere your paper pattern together.
Pattern Assembly
After the pages have been printed and trimmed as instructed above, use the quarter circles located at the corner of each page for perfect alignment. When done your pattern should look like this:
Pattern Pieces Checklist
Once you have printed and assembled your pattern you will cut:
- Main Skirt Cut 8 – 10 pieces ( you can cut up to 10 pieces , however the minimum recommended panels is 8)
Seam Allowance
Use a 3/8” seam allowance unless otherwise instructed.
How To Make A Panel Skirt With Free Pattern
The first step on this how to make a panel skirt with free pattern is to use our free pattern to cut out our fabric. You can prep your fabric by washing, drying, and pressing it if you like. I always do this for all my diy clothing projects since I know I am going to wash them. Prewashing helps act as a preshrink so my stitches don’t get messed up later. I cut out 8 panels in different color fabrics.
Next, pin two panels to each other along the long edge with right sides together. Sew it together on that long side with a 3/8” seam allowance. Finish the seam with a zigzag stitch or serger.
Continue pinning the panels to each other as you have done before and sew them together.
When all the panels have been attached, pin the first and the last panels to each other and sew them together. Finish the seam with a zigzag stitch or serger. You should now have a large circle.
Now on this how to make a panel skirt with free pattern, we will work on the waistband. To make the elastic waistband, cut the elastic to your waist measurement minus 1”. Fold your elastic in half matching the short ends and sew. Open the seam allowance and sew around the seam allowance, forming a box. This will keep the elastic in place.
To get prep our waistband, we need to mark it into quarters. Repeat this same process for the skirt waist. This will make it easy to sew and pin them together.
Next on this panel skirt pattern tutorial, we will work on putting our waistband on the skirt. Place the elastic and the skirt so that they are on the wrong sides together. Pin the elastic to the waist of the skirt, matching the quarter marks so that the elastic extends ¼” above the skirt waist.
Set your sewing machine to a zigzag stitch and as you stretch the elastic to match the length of the skirt, sew the elastic and the skirt together.
With your skirt right sides out, flip your elastic so that it is on the right side of the skirt and covers the waist seam. Using a zigzag stitch, sew along the edge of the elastic.
On the hem of the skirt sew a basting stitch all the way around the hem using a ½” seam allowance.
Fold the hem of the skirt ½” along the seam allowance, then fold it another ½”. Pin and sew around the entire hem.
And that’s it! Now you know how to make a panel skirt with free pattern! This simple skirt is easy to sew and can be made in about an hour. If you have been wanting to make your own clothing, this is a great project to get started on.
If you liked learning how to make a panel skirt with free pattern, make sure to pin it to your favorite Pinterest board or share it with friends on social media. If you decide to make this simple project on your own, make certain that you take a picture afterward and tag us on social media as we love seeing the fabrics and color choices that people use!
How To Make A Panel Skirt With Free Pattern
I love this cute skirt! I love this panel design and the free pattern makes this super easy to sew!
Materials
Instructions
- Use the included free pattern to cut out the fabric.
- With right sides together, two panels to each other along the long edge. Sew. Finish the seam with a zigzag stitch or serger.
- Continue pinning the panels to each other as you have done before and sew them together.
- When all the panels have been attached, pin the first and the last panels to each other and sew. Finish the seam with a zigzag stitch or serger. You should now have a large circle.
- To make the elastic waistband, cut the elastic to your waist measurement minus 1”. Fold your elastic in half matching the short ends and sew. Open the seam allowance and sew around the seam allowance, forming a box. This will keep the elastic in place.
- Mark the elastic into quarters.
- Repeat for the skirt waist.
- Place the elastic and the skirt so that they are on the wrong sides together. Pin the elastic to the waist of the skirt, matching the quarter marks and so that the elastic extends ¼” above the skirt waist."
- Set your sewing machine to a zigzag stitch and as you stretch the elastic to match the length of the skirt, sew the elastic and the skirt together.
- With your skirt right sides out, flip your elastic so that it is on the right side of the skirt and covers the waist seam. Using a zigzag stitch, sew along the edge of the elastic.
- On the hem of the skirt sew a basting stitch all the way around the hem using a ½” seam allowance.
- Fold the hem of the skirt ½” along the seam allowance, then fold it another ½”. Pin and sew around the entire hem.
- Enjoy!
