Free Patterns Sew-along Sewing Tutorials

Free pattern and tutorial – Skirt with piped pockets.

April 30, 2013


This months free tutorial is partly inspired by the Skirts special in Cucito Spring 2013, my kids, and the Great British Sewing Bee! Yup! you heard me right. I heard so much about it but had given up hope of watching it since it is not showing on TV here. But luck would have it, someone posted a link to it on youtube and I watched it and got hooked! Many people compare it to Project Runway, but in my opinion Project Runway is more about the contestants than the craft itself. The Great British Sewing Bee is really more about sewing. It’s educational, informative, and you can actually see them sewing. My only gripe is that they keep referring to us as sewers. Aren’t sewers for sewage??? Anyway, the actual challenge that got me thinking was the pocket challenge in Episode 2, where they had to make pockets for a ready-made skirt in 60 minutes. I must say I was not impressed by any of their pockets. Maybe except for Lauren’s.

In the Cucito Spring, there were lots of skirts. Frilly skirts, gathered skirt, tiered skirts, but none with pockets. And kids need pockets. Kids love pockets. The last two dresses I made for them both had side pockets and the first thing they do when they discover a pocket is to find something to put in it. I’ve always wondered how to make this particular type of pockets, and I didn’t know what they were called so I couldn’t find a pattern. They are not quite side pockets nor patch pockets, so I decided to make up the pattern myself. I’m not even sure if this is the right way to construct them but it works!

So here you are, a new skirt pattern with pockets 🙂


Fabric used : A walk in the woods  by Aneela Hoey for moda fabrics.
Says Made in Japan on selvedge. Bought at clearance price of SG$9/yard!

I only had time to make one size this time, and the measurements for a 116cm size are based on a waist measurement of  58cm, but  as it’s a elastic band skirt so it is quite adaptable for sizes between 110-130. Model in picture above is 128cm tall but with a tiny waist.  Just adjust the length of the skirt and elastic band accordingly. You can also adapt this process to an adult size skirt.

Here’s what you will need for a 116cm size skirt.

Materials (based on 116cm size)

  1. Skirt Fabric –  1m (112cm wide)
  2. Elastic Band – 60cm (2.54cm or 1″ wide)
  3. Satin Bias Tape Piping – 25cm (approx 1cm or 3/8″ wide)

You will also need a zipper foot (see step by step photos if you are not sure which one it is) for attaching the piping.

Cutting Diagram (based on 116cm size)

Cut the following pieces from skirt fabric

  1. Skirt Front and Skirt Back pieces – 98cm (W) x 35cm (H)
  2. Waistband piece – 75cm (W) x 9cm (H)
  3. Pocket front pieces – 2 pieces that are mirrored images of each other, using pattern below.
  4. Pocket back pieces – 2 pieces using pattern below.

Please fill in the form below. The download link will be sent to your email.

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How to Make
Step by step photographs

Sad to say, there is no video this time round. I did take some videos of the sewing process but due to time constraints, did not have time to finish filming all the sections. When I make skirt number 2 I will fill up the gaps so hopefully the youtube video will materialize later on!

 

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24 Comments

  • Reply Ana Sofia April 30, 2013 at 9:33 pm

    So cute (love the fabric choice)!
    Brilliant idea – it’s so obvious that every little girl needs lots of pockets 🙂

  • Reply Jaya April 30, 2013 at 11:02 pm

    thank you so much for the pattern! very cute idea! (and i love the fabric you used. so whimsical.)

  • Reply Sarah May 1, 2013 at 5:23 pm

    My daughter will love this skirt. We are in desperate need of pockets. Did you make the cute peasant top as well? Do you have a pattern for it?

  • Reply Kristy May 1, 2013 at 6:00 pm

    lovely skirt! I don’t like the term sewer either, I prefer sewist or dressmaker – what do you like to be called?

  • Reply Rebecca May 2, 2013 at 10:42 am

    Gorgeous! I love your fabric choice! Thanks for sharing.

  • Reply Jacqui May 2, 2013 at 5:42 pm

    Thanks for the great tutorial and I love the fabric you chose and the red top with it. I think this style of pocket is referred to as a “front-hip pocket”, but they’re quite rare in kid’s patterns for some reason because yeah, kids need pockets! I went looking through my stash because my printer is out of ink and I can’t use your template, but I managed to find one Ottobre pattern with some so I’ll use their pattern and your tutorial!

  • Reply Stacy Sews - Diary of a Fabric Junkie » Blog Archive » Linky Thursday May 2, 2013 at 8:44 pm

    […] best thing about this skirt isn’t just the fabric, it’s the fact that it has pockets […]

  • Reply EmSewCrazy May 3, 2013 at 5:56 am

    Cute skirt! Love the print! The piping really adds to the design and helps you find the pocket!

  • Reply Ai May 5, 2013 at 8:00 pm

    After reading this post, I wanted to try this pattern right away for I badly in need of a spring skirt. Thank’s for this tutorial.

    Regards from Poland!

  • Reply Amy May 23, 2013 at 3:13 am

    Oh, I love the piped pockets! I don’t know how to sew or use patterns, but your tutorial looks great and makes me really want to learn!

  • Reply Bella May 30, 2013 at 6:15 pm

    Love your pockets, they make such a simple skirt really stylish. I recently found this blog and have began adding them to lots of things for my kids. Hope you don’t mind me sharing my find. http://www.ikatbag.com/2010/12/pocketful-of-sky-summary-and-giveaway.html

  • Reply Sarah July 20, 2013 at 9:57 am

    Great skirt!
    What material is the fabric you used?
    Please let me know 🙂

    • Reply Japanese Sewing Books July 22, 2013 at 8:21 am

      Hi Sarah, the fabric is “a walk in the woods” by Aneela Hoey for moda fabrics

  • Reply Preethi February 19, 2014 at 7:21 am

    Hi Yifarn, lovely fabric. I think I’ve a similar tutorial on my blog and for free too. Small differences mainly on the waistband front I guess.

  • Reply Christine Danneels October 17, 2014 at 5:53 pm

    A big thank you for all those beautiful photos and all the work you did for us. It helps me a lot because I am a beginner sewer. Your videos are also clear and comprehensible. I made the hoodie and it turn out well, thanks to you !

  • Reply robin November 22, 2014 at 2:53 am

    What shoes would go with the outfit?

  • Reply aliyah June 22, 2015 at 11:04 pm

    Hello~ Will this work for a long skirt too?

  • Reply sarah June 23, 2015 at 10:11 pm

    I love this skirt! How would you adapt the pattern for an older girl (teenager), with a waist size of 68 cm and height of 164 cm?

    • Reply Japanese Sewing Books July 20, 2015 at 9:21 am

      Hi Sarah,
      The pattern is really just a simple elastic waistband skirt. If you have an existing pattern you can use, you may only need to enlarge the pocket size to make it look more proportionate.
      If you don’t have a pattern to follow, here’s how I whip up a quick skirt.
      1. Elastic band (to be inserted into the casing) size should be the size of the waist. Add 1 inch on both ends for overlapping (to sew in place)
      2. The casing for the waistband should be around 1.3 times the size of the waist, make sure that with this measurement it can fit over the hips as you need to stretch it over the hips to put it on.
      3. The width of the skirt itself should be 1.5-2 times the size of waist – this is so that you can create the gathers. A factor of 2 makes a very full skirt but the gathers may bunch considerably if your fabric is thick. So it depends on the type of fabric you are using as well.

      Just some rough estimation for creating your own skirt pattern. It’s always a little tricky to upsize for teenagers/ young ladies as they may be developing curves so do check that the waistband can be pulled up over the hips before you cut anything! 🙂

  • Reply A skirt for my horse-lover | There's no place like homemade September 28, 2015 at 7:19 pm

    […] it, I wasn’t sure what to do next. After some searching, I found this tutorial online for a piped-pocket skirt. Again, it’s a good tween pattern. It is twirly and fun, but it has sophisticated little […]

  • Reply Sarah June 4, 2016 at 11:35 pm

    Oh lovely! My girls are skirt/dress mad and I’ve been using a tutorial on that ikat blog further up to add pockets to existing ones. But was given some lovely fabric for them and meant to blend a nice simple skirt pattern with those pockets then WHAM – there this was on my Pinterest. Thankyou!
    As for calling people who sew “sewers”; it is spelt the same as sewers for sewage but totally different pronunciation so not found it offensive 🙂
    We are so-wers (or sewists?). The yucky pipes are soo-ers – rhymes with zoo.
    Thanks again.

  • Reply Nicole July 28, 2016 at 12:45 pm

    What a fun skirt. 🙂 My soon-to-be first grader likes pockets and skirts and dresses. I made her a Star Wars skirt today and can’t wait for her to wear it. (Followed down the road by her little sisters.)

    Thanks so much!

  • Reply Catherine August 28, 2017 at 11:17 pm

    Thanks so much for your pattern.

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