Hey friends! It’s Megan with Lottie Dottie Customs!! Today I am so excited to share with you one of my favorite creations. If your child has ever asked you to be a mermaid princess or if your child just loves flowy skirts this one is for you!
Materials needed for the skirt:
I prefer chiffon, something very sparkly, or a lightweight knit. You will also need the pattern, you can find it here
The first this you want to do is cut out all pieces as normal, Ive also modified the straps I will show you how but if you prefer tie straps they work perfectly! I am doing the shorts version but you can do the capris as well.
Once you have all your pieces cut you are going to cut your skirt, to get the dimensions you will need your model’s waist and their floor to waist measurements. Once you have their waist measurement, double that. Next measure the length from the floor to their waist. If you want it to be a little bit longer you can add length, I like to add one inch for seam allowances.  Those are your measurements for your skirt. If you need to cut it into two pieces, you can. I prefer the look of three pieces when I don’t have a piece of fabric big enough. To do that cut two pieces half the width of the waist measurement and one piece the width of the waist.
If you would like to do the straps how I have done them measure your model from the front of their shoulder to the back.
Let’s get started sewing!
First, assemble your top as directed.
If you are doing the modified straps follow below if not skip ahead
Fold your straps in half and serge/sew down the raw edge. Pull your straps right side out. Measure your straps to make sure they did not get any longer when you sewed them. If they did trim them back down.
With your bodice wrong side out slip your strap inside the bodice, right sides together with the bodice, until the edges line up with the strap opening. Repeat with your second strap.
Turn your front bodice right sides out. Now lay it down right sides together with your back piece. Slide the straps up through the hole like you did the front piece.
Once you have sewn down the back straps turn your top bodice right side out. I suggest you try it on your model like this to make sure your straps are the right length before proceeding.
Continue with the instructions in the pattern. Once your bodice and waistband are sewn, follow below to add the skirt.
Mark on your top bodice with a heat friction pen, chalk, or pins where you want your skirt to be open. I like mine to line up with the inside of the straps, if you prefer this look get a ruler and measure straight down.
If you are doing more than one piece for the skirt go ahead and connect them along the long side seam. I do this with my sewing machine and not my serger and the seam doesn’t show as much this way.
 Prepare your skirt pieces by ironing your side seams down, if using chiffon or other slippery material I have found that using washable hem tape works really well.
Top stitch your side seams. once your side seams are all top stitched sew two rows of gathering stitches along the top.
 Gather your skirt to fit between the two markings we made earlier.
Now we will add our skirt to the top bodice. With your bodice right side out pin/clip your skirt around it. Once it is pinned down to the front you can do a baste stitch to help it from slipping.
Next, we are going to make our shorts/capris per the instructions.
Once you have your bottoms ready turn them inside out and slip them onto the bodice. Sandwich your skirt between the shorts and the bodice. If you find your skirt is in the way you can pull it out a leg hole to keep it from getting caught in your stitching.
Slowly serge or sew around the top making sure to get each layer in some spots there will be four layers (five if you added pockets!)
