A skirt in under an hour

No pattern required.

While my big roll of shirring elastic was lying around my sewing room catching my eye I got the idea to make a gathered skirt.

I grabbed this cute check fabric and cut the desired length, plus about 7 inches.  Then with right sides together I joined the two selvedge edges.  No need to overlock any raw seams which is always a good thing. Press the seam open.

For the waist I pressed a seam of a quarter inch, then I turned the fabric over again by about 2.5 inches. Press again.

I loaded shirring elastic into my machine's bobbin and started sewing from the top.  The first round was about a quarter inch from the top.  When I had completed a round I just lifted my machine foot and moved down the waistband by a quarter inch.  

The lovely thing about shirring elastic is the more you use, the more it gathers.  After the first round or two you start to wonder if it will gather enough.  A few more rounds and you start to get there.  I ended up sneaking in a few more rounds in between my initial ones so the stitching is all a bit awry.

I added some patch pockets and hemmed the skirt with a generous turn-up.  Then I googled how to make a tassel.  Here's a cute set of instructions.  I put a knot in the tassel tie, close to the top of the tassel.  Then I tucked  the tassel tie into the binding and stitched it closed at the end.  The knot will ensure it stays in place.

This fabric has quite a bit of body to it.  A softer, lighter fabric would require less shirring.  A Liberty one might be next.