Full elastic skirts are a great beginners sewing project, but for this project, I wanted to only have elastic in the back. The flat front skirt creates a more structured look, which I love. I also like how my shirts look when I tuck or half tuck them into the flat front high-waist skirt.

This pattern is a great project for new sewers as you do not need to use buttons or zippers and there are very few pattern pieces to cut out. And since there are very few pieces of fabric and steps, this project can be completed in an evening.

Materials:

• 1.5 yards of Fabric (I modified a dress I picked up at GoodWill!)
• 1.5 yards of Lining
• Elastic
• Fusible Interfacing

High-Waisted Skirt Pattern

Directions for Making a Flat Front, Elastic Back Waistband Skirt

Cut out your pattern pieces from your pattern paper.

Next, cut out your fabric, lining, and interfacing.

Instructions for your Elastic Waistband

Instructions for the Flat Front Waistband

Place your fusible interfacing on the wrong side of your WAISTBAND LINING and fuse together with an iron according to the manufacturer instructions.

Next, place and pin your FRONT WAISTBAND fabric to the lining and sew a ¼ inch baste stitch around the waistband.

Fold in half and iron.

Instructions for the Back Elastic Waistband

Pin the BACK WAISTBAND FABRIC and LINING together. Next, add a ¼ inch baste stitch around the parameter of the waistband.

Next, fold the fabric in half, right side out, and pin your elastic to both ends of the waistband elastic.

Sew together the elastic and the WAISTBAND BACK by sewing a stretch zigzag stitch. The elastic should be shorter than then WAISTBAND BACK, so you will need to stretch the elastic as you sew your waistline.

How to Attach Your FRONT and BACK WAISTBAND

With right sides together, fold the WAISTBAND FRONT to the WAISTBAND BACK. Sew a ⅝ inch seam to attach the waistband and trim the excess fabric. Repeat this step for both sides.

Steps to Sew the Skirt

Next, we will be getting the SKIRT pieces ready to add to the WAISTBAND.

Before you attach to the WAISTBAND, add 2-3 baste stitches to the top of the BACK and FRONT SKIRT and LINGING pieces. Grab hold of the ends of 3 of the baste stitches and pull, to start gathering the fabric. Gather the fabric until each piece is the same length as the bottom of your sewn WAISTBAND.

How to Add Pockets to Your Skirt (Optional)

Pin the right sides your pockets to the front of your SKIRT together and sew a 3/8″ stitch.

Next, fold and press the pockets and seam allowance open. Sew a 1/4th stitch away from the seam. Complete this for all four pocket pattern pieces.

Pin the SKIRT FRONT and SKIRT BACK together and sew a ⅝” seam along the edges of the skirt and pocket. Finish the seam edge.

Continue to gather the SKIRT and LINING to match the waistband length.

Pin the gathered end of the SKIRT plus LINING to the WAISTBAND and sew the two pieces together. Finish the seam edge.

The last step is to hem the bottom of your SKIRT and LINING to your desired length. Yay – you’re now done!

I love how my skirt turned out … although, I had to modify the steps above slightly since I did not have enough fabric to gather the skirt since I used a dress from GoodWill. 🙂 Have you repurposed fabric or old clothing? Let me know in the comments below!