Sewing your own skirt isn’t hard when you have the right Pencil Skirt Pattern. Really, it’s easy to sew your own clothes when you have the right patterns. What do I mean by “the right patterns?”
I mean, using sewing patterns that are easy to understand, have amazing instructions (that are great for beginners), and even come with a video sewing tutorial so that if you ever get stuck, the video shows you exactly how to get unstuck!
If you haven’t guessed, I’m talking about PDF Sewing Patterns. You can learn more about them in my previous posts:
This post contains affiliate links because I love these patterns and want to share them with you! It doesn’t change the price for you, but gives me a few cents to help pay for fabric and the blog.
DIY Pencil Skirt with PDF Patterns
Here’s an outfit I sewed recently:
For this outfit I used the Ellie and Mac Premier Pencil Skirt Pattern which is designed for stretch knit fabrics with at least 20% stretch. I love this pattern because it has no zippers or buttons which makes it great for the confident beginner and up.
I used a ponte fabric which is a double knit fabric that’s a bit thicker and works well for pencil skirts. The skirt is darted (has darts), but the instructions were great and I didn’t have any issues while sewing them. I added elastic into the waistband to help keep it tight to my body (the instructions give you the option to add it or not).
The top is was made using the Ellie and Mac Slow Sunday Top & Dress but modified to have no sleeves. The pattern does have a racerback style (you can click on the title above to see that), but I wanted it to have a regular tank top style for the back bodice. Modifying it wasn’t too difficult just because I have done it before.
If you are looking for a tank top pattern that is ready to go, Ellie and Mac just released their Tiffany Tranquil Tank Top pattern which includes a fitted version (it’s very fitted) and a relaxed version.
All these patterns come with a video sewing tutorial, so it’s totally worth buying the patterns just for that part. I can’t tell you how many times as a beginner that I got stuck on a pattern that had no video and either had to go around asking questions or some of the projects just didn’t get done because I couldn’t figure it out. Or, because sewing the item lost it’s joy after being so difficult!
I also tried pairing the skirt with few other DIY tops I made.
This is the Ellie and Mac Forever Flounce Top made in a waffle knit fabric. I love how the flounces look with the slim skirt on the bottom.
Serged Rolled Hem
You can learn how do a serged rolled hem on both the flounces of my top in this video on I made:
Here’s another look I made with this skirt using the Ellie and Mac Day to Night Top Pattern with a scoop neck and short sleeves:
This one looks a bit more modest, but still casual with the short sleeved knit t-shirt.
As you can see, this pencil skirt pattern is very versatile and would look great paired with an oversized blouse for work as well.
Do you have a favorite combo amongst the outfits above? Let me know in the comments!
The PDF Sewing Patterns I Made
Here’s all the links to the patterns I used above in case you’d like to check them out:
- Ellie and Mac Premier Pencil Skirt Pattern
- Ellie and Mac Slow Sunday Top & Dress
- Ellie and Mac Forever Flounce Top
- Ellie and Mac Day to Night Top Pattern
Until next time, happy sewing!
