Bespoke Skirt made by Serger with Annie Smith!

The Bespoke Patchwork Skirt is made using precut squares (charm packs) which are made from a fabric collection so you know that all the fabrics will match and go together beautifully. I’ll show you the trick of how to blend the fabrics, softly gather the skirt into an A-line, and hem options including make a statement with your skirt by adding a hem that can be chainstitched later. I’ll also share some different ways you can embellish your skirt to make it uniquely your own.
You can use a sewing machine or construct your skirt on a serger so all of the seams are neatly finished and won’t fray, the waistband will fit you perfectly, always be comfortable, and your skirt will be finished by the end of class.
The skirt will be machine washable and dryable.

Basic notions needed:
Ball-head pins
Blue painter’s tape or Post-it notes
Seam ripper
Snips or scissors
Cloth tape measure
1 1⁄2 yards of 1 1/2” non-roll waistband elastic
4 cones of Neutral Serger thread for piecing or one large spool of 50 wt thread
One 2” safety pin
one 20” x 30” Foam Core board (available all Dollar Stores) This will be used for designing your skirt rows.
Your sewing machine or serger, power cord, foot pedal, accessory box and manual.

A NOTE ABOUT CHARM PACKS:
You want to choose a charm pack/Layer Cake (which is four charm packs in size - which you’ll need to cut into even quarters).
Some sets of charm packs are better than others for this skirt. It seems like the funkier the fabric is, the better skirt it makes. For instance, I prefer Zen Chic, Kate Spain, Janet Clare, Rifle Paper, One Canoe Two, French General, and Basic Grey collections than more whimsical or novelty collections. You want to choose a pack that you can see on the edge of it, that there is light, medium and dark values, no matter what the colors are in the collection. The Value (light, medium and dark) is what will help you to layout a beautifully crafted skirt. If you need help with this concept, please email me at the address below. I will send you photos. Please see my sample skirt at the store.

Do Not prewash your precuts!! They will turn into a real mess, and you want to use fresh, new fabric. Don’t worry – your skirt won’t
shrink when you wash it the first time.

Charm Packs or Layer Cake precuts needed for your skirt: (precuts should have 42 cuts of fabric in the pack)

S - 6-10 3 charm packs or 1 Layer Cake
M - 12-16 4 charm packs or 1 Layer Cake
L - 18-22 4 charm packs or 1 Layer Cake
XL - Plus Sizes 5 charm packs or 1 Layer Cake plus 1 charm pack

If you will make your own Charm Packs from your fabric stash, you’ll need the following Number of 5” squares:

Short Skirt
Small – 90
Medium – 102
Large – 114
XL – 126

Long Skirt
Small – 112
Medium – 126
Large – 140
XL – 154

For optional statement hem:
1⁄2 yard of Shape Flex SF-101 (fusible woven stabilizer) – do not substitute anything else for this product
The hem will be the darkest part of your skirt. Choose the dominant color in the print of your chosen charms - for instance, my sample skirt is taupe, gray and black. So I chose black as my dominant color – and selected a black Grunge for the fabric. It reads solid, but Grunge has a sponge or distressed look to it, which provides a more interesting look.

Additional yardage for bespoke hem:
Small & Medium – 2⁄3 yard of fabric
Large & XL – 1 yard of fabric

annie@anniesmith.net.