Introduction

What is a pettiskirt anyway? A pettiskirt is a modern version of a petticoat. It is a gorgeous nylon chiffon creation guaranteed to create a frenzy among moms, daughters, and grandmothers everywhere. So much fluffy, billowing, ruffly fun! When sewing a pettiskirt, the basic concept is to create a skirt with three tiers. The bottom tier is really wide. Then, each tier above that gets a little smaller. We will be making our bottom tier 15 yards wide*. The middle tier will be a little narrower, 5 yards wide*. Then we have our waistband which is even smaller. I should also note that pettiskirts are two layers thick. This means, you will be making two bottom tiers and two middle tiers to form an under-layer and an outer-layer. At a later stage, we will attach the under-layer to the inside of the waistband and the outer-layer to the outside of the waistband.
* Newborn and 6-12m sizes will be smaller. See cutting instructions for details.

Waistband Middle Tier Lower Tier Ruffles

Step 1 - Gather Supplies and Cut Fabric

1A. The following materials are needed to create a pettiskirt using this pattern: Satin Yard Nylon Chiffon Rolls (available from dreamspunshop.com) o One 5 inch wide 60 yard long roll (if you cant find nylon chiffon rolls, you can use regular fabric. Just cut the fabric into strips and join the strips together into a really long piece) o One 2 inch wide 90 yard long roll Coordinating Thread Elastic 1 yard of inch non-roll elastic Satin Ribbon (Optional) 1 yard of 1.5 inch wide ribbon Finished Pettiskirt Sizing
Skirt Size newborn 6-12m 12-2t 3-5t 6-8y 9-12y Skirt Length 6" 8.5" 12" 13" 14" 16" Skirt Waist 15-16" 18-19" 20-21" 22-24" 25-28" 28-30"

1B. Waistband Cut two waistband pieces according to the size chart below. One piece will be the waistband front. The other piece will be the waistband back. 1C. Bottom Tier Cut four pieces according to the size chart below. The first two pieces will be the front and back of the outer-layer. The other two pieces will be the front and back of the under-layer. 1D. Middle Tier Cut four pieces according to the size chart below. The first two pieces will be the front and back of the outer-layer. The other two pieces will be the front and back of the under-layer. 1E. Elastic Cut 1 piece elastic. The elastic length should match the childs waist size.
Size Newborn 6-12m 12-2t 3-5t 6-8y 9-12y Waistband - Cut 2 4x16" 8x19" 5x21" 7x24" 9x28" 13x30" Bottom Tier - Cut 4 5 yards 5 yards 7.5 yards 7.5 yards 7.5 yards 7.5 yards Middle Tier - Cut 4 n/a n/a 2.5 yards 2.5 yards 2.5 yards 2.5 yards Elastic 14" 18" 20" 22" 25" 28"

Step 2 - Assemble Waistband

2a. With right sides together, use a straight stitch to join the waist front to the waist back at side seams. This will form a circle. The circle should be roughly double the size of the waist of the person who will be wearing the skirt.

2b. Casings are fabric tunnels which elastic or drawstrings can be drawn through to form a waistband. To start your casing, fold your waistband in half lengthwise (like you are folding the cuff of a sock) so that the wrong sides are together. Press. Folded Edge

2c. To finish your casing, place one line of stitching about a inch from the folded edge of the waistband and a second line of stitching one inch below the first line of stitching. Leave a 1-2 inch opening in your second line of stitching. At a later stage we will insert our elastic into this opening.

Opening for elastic

Step 3 - Create Middle Tier & Lower Tier

3a. Middle Tier*. Like you did in step 2a, use a straight stitch to join the outer layer front to the outer layer back. This will form a big circle. Repeat this process for the inner layer. When you are done, you will have two circles that are each about 5 yards around. *Newborn and 6-12m size skirts do not have a middle tier. Skip to the next step if you are making these sizes.

3b. Lower Tier. Repeat Step 3a, this time using your lower tier pieces. When you are done, you will have two circles that are each about 15 yards around.

Step 4 - Create Ruffles

You will need to create 15 yards of ruffles for each layer (30 yards total). Below are several techniques that can be used to complete this task. Method 1 Ruffler Foot A ruffle foot is a special presser foot that you can buy for your sewing machine. It will ruffle the fabric as you sew it, keeping the ruffle perfectly even. This type of foot is available at your sewing machine dealer. The dealer will need the make and model of your sewing machine to provide you with the correct ruffler foot. For this pattern, you will feed your 2 inch roll of chiffon into the ruffler foot and sew down the center of the chiffon strip using a straight stitch. You want to use a 3:1 ruffling ratio when you are sewing. For example, if you test your ruffler foot on a scrap of chiffon that starts out as a 12 inch long strip, it should be 4 inches long after you have ruffled it. TIP: You can download a free tutorial on how to use a ruffler foot from You Can Make This at: http://www.youcanmakethis.com/info/free/Free-The-Ruffler-Unruffled.htm Method 2 Magic Ruffling (may not work on all sewing machines) Magic ruffling is probably the easiest ruffling technique. Unfortunately, this technique has several drawbacks. First, it does not work on all sewing machines. Second, it tends to make the ruffles overly tight. Because of this, when you are done you will need to do some loosening or you will not have enough ruffles to go all the way around your skirt. To get started, set your sewing machines tension to the tightest setting. Next set the stitch length to the longest setting. Using a straight stitch, sew down the center of your 2 inch chiffon roll. The fabric will magically come out ruffled as you sew. Because the ruffles will be very tight, I recommend ruffling a 3 yard strip of fabric and then leaving a very long thread tail. When you are done sewing the strip, loosen the ruffles so that your strip of ruffles is one yard long. Repeat this process until you have used your entire 2 roll of chiffon. Method 3 Traditional Gathering Traditionally, sewers use a basting stitch to achieve smooth even ruffles. To do this, increase your stitch length to the longest stitch length. Make a straight stitch down the center of your ruffle fabric. Be sure to leave a thread tail at the start and finish of your stitching. When done, choose the upper thread or the bobbin thread and gently tug the tail to gather the fabric. TIP: If you find it overwhelming to gather a really long ruffle strip, you can gather shorter strips (such as 3 yards) and join them after they are ruffled. You will find that the peaks and valleys of the ruffles hide seams very well.

Step 5. Attach Ruffles

Ruffles need to be attached all the way around the inner and outer layers of the bottom tier. Starting with your outer layer, line the ruffles up with the bottom edge of the skirt. Using a straight stitch, sew down the center of the ruffles to attach them to the skirt. Repeat this process for the inner layer.

Step 6. Gather Lower Tier

6A. Gather the top edge of the lower tier outer layer. When you are done gathering, your circle should be five yards around. Repeat this process for the inner layer. Now you have two circles that are gathered to be around 5 yards. Gathering Tips: There are several different ways to gather. Method 1 Serger Method. If you have a serger, run a 4 thread overlock stitch all the way around the top edge of the lower tier. When done, gently pull one of your top threads. This will form gathers.

Method 2 Traditional Method. See step 4 on page 6 for a detailed description of the traditional method.

TIPS: Many people ask if they can use a ruffler for gathering the upper edges of the tiers. This is not recommended because there is no way to set a ruffler to an exact distance. If you still want to use a ruffle, try ruffling the top edge to *almost* the right size and then finish the rest of the gathering with the traditional gathering method shown in step 4 on page 6.

Step 7. Assemble Tiers

7a. It is time to attach your lower tiers to the middle tier. Starting with the outer layer, pin the lower tier to the middle tier. Make sure the side seams are matching and right sides are together. Stitch with a straight stitch. Repeat this process with your inner layer pieces. 7b . Gather the top edge of the middle tier so that it is the same width as your waistband. Join the middle tiers to the waistband the same way you joined the lower tier to the middle tier in steps 6 and 7a.

WAISTBAND MIDDLE TIER

LOWER TIER

FRONT

BACK

Step 8. Finishing Touches

8A. Now it is time to insert the elastic into the casing. To make this job easier, attach a safety pin to the end of your piece of elastic. Use the closed safety pin to thread the piece of elastic through the opening you created in step 2C. 8B. Close your casing by straight stitching across the opening where you inserted the elastic. 8C. Using a piece of satin ribbon, create a bow and hand stitch it to the wasitband (Optional). QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS: You can reach me at: info @dreamspunshop.com

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