The Secret to Sewing Haute Couture in 45 Minutes (shh…French Seams)!

September 10, 2020 // by doodlet// 9 Comments

Can You Sew a Skirt that Looks Haute Couture in 45 Minutes?

In 5 Easy Steps???

Yes! With these Magic Words – FRENCH SEAMS!

I am So Excited to Show You How Easy this Is. And the Results are Spectacular. Make a Creation that You’ll Be Excited to Wear!

What You Need: One Simple Skirt Pattern. 4 Fabulous Yards of Fabric. Scissors. Thread. Elastic. Sewing Machine.

Wool Tartan Fabric. Amazon LINK!

Choose a Very Simple Pattern. One Pattern Piece Cut 4 Times for the Front and Back.

Simplicity Simple Skirt Pattern. Amazon LINK!

Elastic for Waist. Amazon LINK!

Cotton Thread. Amazon LINK!

Simple to Operate Singer Sewing Machine. Amazon LINK!

Fiskar Sewing Scissors – In Orange. Amazon LINK!

In 5 Steps! Ready? Go!

Step One: With a Simple Pattern, CUT THE FABRIC (10 Minutes). Cut the Fabric with a simple pattern piece into 4 Equal Pieces. Two for the Front. Two for the Back.

Step Two: SEW THE FRENCH SEAMS (20 Minutes). Here’s the TRICK(!) With WRONG SIDES OF THE FABRIC FACING IN Sew 2 Pieces together.

With a Scissors, Trim the Raw Edge up to the Sewn Seam 1/8 inch (3mm). Get as close as you can without cutting the threads. Toss the Cut Strips.

Now Flip the Fabric with WRONG SIDES FACING OUT. Sew the Seam AGAIN – about 1/4 Inch from Fold.

You will have a Clean – no raggedy edge – Seam. Do this for all the Seams.

You Have Mastered FRENCH SEAMS!

Step Three: Sew the Side Seams to Connect Front to Back (5 Minutes). You NOW have a 4- Piece Very Full Tube. Almost Done.

Step Four: Sew the Bottom Hem (5 Minutes). Slip the Tube Over Your Head and Measure the Length. It’s Your Creation…Make it as Long or as Short as You Want. Fold Over the Raw Edge. Pin and Sew.

This is the Hem.

Step Five: Sew the Top Waist Band (5 Minutes). Fold Over the Top Edge to Create a Channel for the Elastic. Sew…But Leave a Little Opening to Insert the Elastic. Put a Safety Pin on the End of the Elastic and Feed through the Waist Tube. Sew Elastic Ends Together. Sew up the Fabric Opening. Now You Have a Waist Band on a Flowy, Full Skirt.

45 Minutes. Done!

Mon Amour!

Modeling Your Haute Couture Fashion…Optional. 🙂

Wait Until You See this Trick for Creating a Vintage Duvet Cover…Coffee Please.

The Ultimate Guide to Cleaning Your Vintage Silver – No Elbow Grease Required.

Comments

Carol Karl

September 12, 2020 at 9:49 am

Great tips and a great skirt. Thank you for sharing.

Reply
- doodlet
  
  September 14, 2020 at 1:34 am
  
  Hi Carol Karl – thanks for stopping by…this is a fun way to do…easy, fast, and great results…my kind of sewing. 🙂
  
  Reply
Jennifer

September 12, 2020 at 11:40 am

Great skirt! Love the tutorial on French seams.

Reply
- doodlet
  
  September 14, 2020 at 1:33 am
  
  Thanks Jennifer – glad you stopped by.
  
  Reply
stacy

September 13, 2020 at 8:46 pm

Great sewing tips! Thank you for sharing!

Reply
- doodlet
  
  September 14, 2020 at 1:33 am
  
  Hi Stacy – thanks for stopping by!
  
  Reply
Morgan Nelson

September 15, 2020 at 10:42 pm

Love the colors of this skirt!

Reply
- doodlet
  
  September 17, 2020 at 6:45 pm
  
  Hi Morgan – Fall is all about tartans – thanks for stopping by!
  
  Reply
Sonya

September 17, 2020 at 11:55 pm

Love that fabric and sure wish I knew how to sew

Reply

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One Week Down. Trying to Keep Spirits High. Home School and Work Flowing with Wonky, Slow Internet but We’re Making Due. Silly Meal Time gives us all a Lift. Today’s Adventure. Dining in a Scottish Cottage overlooking the Sea. How about a Cottage Pie? Well…what I think a Cottage Pie is. 🙂 Pork Mixed with …

Why are you Humans still Home? You’re cramping my Nap Time Style. Cooker Man is having Fun in the Kitchen. Trying to Make Egg Drop Soup. Wake me for Dinner. This is Cooking with What You Have. Let’s Make Soup! Frozen Vegetables? Check. Pour Chicken Broth into the Pot. Let it Get Cozy with the …

School at Home. Work at Home. All at Home. No Problem. The “Cooker Man” is on the Case. How about some Pre-Packaged/Frozen Irish Stew? OK. It’s a Go. Hmmm. This was pricey and looks mighty skimpy for a Family of 4. No worries. I’ll just Beef it Up. Maybe once it’s totally defrosted it will …

Home. At least 3 Weeks. School at Home. Work at Home. Crazy Yet? Let’s Give Dinner a Zing with some Magic. Tonight – Taco Crescents! Easy and Fast. If you don’t have all the ingredients…No Worries…Improvise! My favorite way to Cook! Let’s Go! The Star is Pillsbury Crescents. Preheat Oven to 375 F. Start to …

This is all very frightening, but I see people coming together to try to comply with all that is thrown at them. Schools. Local Businesses. Offices. Theatres. BioParks. Restaurants. All Shutting Doors. Everyone staying Home. Some Working from Home. Hopefully a Solid Plan. Cleaning and re-cleaning all hard surfaces is Number One on the Task …

We had a Bathroom Flood that didn’t stay put in the Bathroom. Oh No. Water traveled under the wood floors into an adjoining Bedroom. The Wood Floors began to Heave and Ho in Waves. Testing confirmed Black Mold. A Major Clean Up was Done. One Month to Completion. The WET Floor was Cut Out and …

Finally. After 2 Months. We Have Our House Back. The Nasty Mold is Gone. Major Tear Down Construction is Over. Everything is Clean and Sparkly. And We had a Great Opportunity to Change It Up. Just a Little. All this for a Bathroom! Crazy. After Numerous Trips to the Tile Super- Store, Floor & Decor, …

This Simple Fix to Popping Tile Needs 2 Things…Utility Knife and Grout. That’s It. But first a little History Lesson on this Crazy Land-Locked, No Window Bathroom. The Bathroom has seen 60 Years of Home Remodels. All DIYs. It’s a 1940’s house with the original Tub and Toilet. Before we took ownership, a Vanity Sink …

Phase 3 of Construction. Now To Put It All Back Together. If you need to get up to speed…Here’s Phase 1 and Phase 2. 🙂 Bathroom and Bedroom. A Month-Long Project and Counting. The Black Mold and Water Damage are Gone. New Bathroom Walls and Shower Pan Completed. The Bedroom has the Easier Fix and …

Phase 1 Mitigation Done. Black Mold Gone. We Had a Scary, Soggy Mess. If you missed it – Check Out the Phase 1 Mitigation Scariness Here. Finally – On to Phase 2 – The Construction. Completion by Valentine’s Day?? Mmm…perhaps not. But we can always hope. Here’s a Sneak Peek at What’s Going On Behind …

A New Year. A New Beginning. But the Same Old Household Tasks. What If You Could Change it Up and Get Some Jobs Done While You Did Other Things? In a law practice, this is “Double Billing”. At Home, it’s Magic! Tip 1: Laundry Done with Your Eyes Closed. Literally. I know you’ve been there…it’s …

This sad story (with a Sure-to-be Happy Ending) begins with plumbing leaks in the bathroom. A steady, drip, drip, drip of water, that over time, got under the floor and behind the wall tiles. The water then eased into the subflooring, lifting the hardwood floors into wavy lumps, and single-handedly creating the Perfect Storm for …

I had Great Results on Refinishing a Dresser, that went from THIS… To This! Ta Da! (See the Fun Process Here.) A Decent First Attempt at Furniture Refinishing. I thought I Knew All there was to Know on Painting Wood Furniture. Next Challenge. A Wood Dresser that Came with the House. Crafted of …