How to Make a Bubble Skirt

This seasons fashion must have is a floral skirt. I love the look of a bubble skirt and when I found a vintage floral sheet at a thrift store I knew it's destiny. I watched and read every bubble skirt tutorial I could find. After several trial and errors (2 completed ugly skirts) this pattern is what I find to be the best way to go about making a bubble skirt. It is a fairly simple sewing pattern. It does require a little extra time because part of it must be sewn by hand.

Thanks for viewing!

Sewing Machine
Needle and Thread
Measuring Tape
Safety Pins (2)
Pins (to your discretion)
Scissors
Iron
Elastic (1/2 inch wide or wider)
Vintage Floral Sheet (or 1 yard of fabric. Half a yard might be enough)
Silky Fabric, 1/2 a yard should be enough

Take measurements for the skirt.
Waist
Hip
Length

Cut a rectangular piece of the vintage fabric for main fabric of skirt.
Width equals waist measurement x.5 (if your waist is 40 inches you will need to add 20 inches making it 60 inches). If you are using a lighter, silkier fabric for the main fabric you can so much as double the waist measurement for the width. Depending on how textured you want it to be. Height equals length plus 3 inches. Length measurement is from the waist down to however low you want the skirt to be.

Cut a rectangular piece of silky fabric for lining.
Width equals Hip measurement plus a half inch to an inch for seems. Height equals length minus one inch.

Cut elastic.
Elastic length equals waist measurement minus one inch.

Iron fabric if needed.

-Lay main fabric down, wrong side up. Fold over top edge to create a space big enough to sew and thread the elastic threw.
-Iron fold.
-Sew along bottom of fold.
-Attach a pin to an end of the elastic and thread it threw the opening of the fold.
-Pull elastic threw until end of elastic lines up with edge of fabric.
-Pin to hold it in place.
-Continue to thread the elastic all the way threw and pin that end to edge of fabric as well.
-Spread fabric out on elastic to make gathering on it more even.

Tip: A quicker way to get gathering even is to hold both ends of elastic, stretch it out and then release stretch.

-Fold main fabric in half widthwise, right sides facing.
-Sew along length edge. Making sure to sew elastic.
-Fold lining fabric in half widthwise, right sides facing
-Sew along length edge.
-With both fabric pieces inside-out, line the top edge of lining over top edge of main fabric. Have the top edge of lining line up with bottom edge of fold. Because lining is the hip size and not the waist size it will be a bit larger. To compensate you can stretch the elastic waist and sew in place at hip size. Pin if needed. When sewing on lining make sure your sewing in the same spot as you did for the main fabrics fold and not sewing the elastic. I decided to sew this part by hand but you can use the sewing machine if you like.
-Turn Lining right side out so that it drapes the inside of skirt.

To create the bubble effect you will need to pleat the bottom edge of main fabric to the size of the bottom edge of lining. You can do this by A) Doing the math. Width of main fabric minus width of lining. Use this number to determine size and spacing of pleats. Pining into place. Or B) Just wing it and pleat as you sew.

-Once you have decided how you are going to add the the pleats fold bottom of skirts main fabric to meet up with bottom of lining. Sew by hand the two edges together using a slip stitch.
-Turn skirt right side-out.
-Wear with pride!