How to Sew a Knit Pencil Skirt

Pencil skirts are a great addition to any wardrobe, and ones stitched from knit fabric are perfect for summer! Follow along as Aurora Sisneros shows you how to create your own from start to finish. Begin by taking the necessary measurements, learning how to incorporate room for both seam allowances and negative ease. Draft a pattern, and learn why sometimes you can draw directly on your fabric and other times an actual pattern piece is necessary.

Learn to use both a serger and a conventional machine to stitch a side seam, add an elastic waistband and hem the skirt. If you don’t have a serger or just feel more comfortable using a conventional machine, Aurora teaches you what stitches to use on your machine when sewing with knit fabric and why. Aurora even gives a little finishing tip on how to make your knit pencil skirt look even more polished and professional!

As mentioned in the video, knit fabric can tend to roll up on itself after it has been cut. While this can be difficult to deal with when stitching, it can actually be helpful if you are using a solid color knit fabric. Print fabrics make it easy to tell the right from the wrong side, but it can be tough with a solid. To find the right side of a knit fabric, simply stretch the fabric on the cross-wise grain and the fabric will naturally roll towards the right side. This handy tip can be used to find the right side of your fabric either before or after pattern pieces have been cut out.

To make your project easiest, find the right side of your fabric first, and then place a pin in your fabric to mark the right side. If you are cutting out several different pattern pieces, make sure there is a pin marking the right side somewhere on each pattern piece!