Here's what you need:

• 1/2 yard or more jersey knit fabric (amount depends on size)
• Elastic, 11/2 inches wide (length depends on size)
• Double-sided fusible adhesive tape, 1/2 inch wide

Toolkit:

• Scissors
• Straight pins
• Flexible measuring tape
• Ruler or hem guide ruler
• Iron/Ironing Board
• Safety Pin

Measure the waist of your subject. Add 1 inch to that number for the width of your fabric piece. For the length, decide on the desired length of the skirt and then add 2 1/4 inches to that measurement. Cut two pieces of jersey knit to those specifications. For the sash, you will need two strips that are 4 inches wide. For the length measurement of each sash, multiply the waist measurement by 1 1/2. Cut two sash pieces to those specifications from the jersey knit. For example, if you are making a skirt for a girl who has a 20-inch waist and wants the skirt to be 12 inches long, you would cut out two main pieces that are 21 x 14 1/4 inches and two sash strips that are 4 x 30 inches. Cut a piece of elastic that is 1 inch longer than the waist measurement.

Place one of your sash pieces with the wrong side facing up and lay a 4-inch-long piece of fusible adhesive tape on the edge of a short end.

While keeping the fusible adhesive tape in place, fold the long sides of the sash in toward the wrong side of the fabric, until they meet in the middle.

Press with an iron to activate the adhesive according to the adhesive’s package instructions. Avoid pulling or dragging the iron across the fabric. Repeat with one end of the other sash strip and another piece of fusible adhesive tape.

Place one of your skirt pieces in front of you with the right side facing up. Then place one sash piece right side up across the top of the skirt and line the folded and fused end up with the edge of the skirt piece, 2 1/4 inches from the top. Repeat on the other side with the second sash piece.

Without disturbing the placement of the sash, fold back the fused and folded end of one of the sash pieces and place two strips of the fusible adhesive tape side by side, right next to the skirt edge and cut to the width of the sash piece. Lay the sash end back down and iron in place to activate the adhesive. Repeat with the second sash piece on the other side of the skirt piece.

Place the other skirt piece face down on top of the first piece (right sides of the fabric together) and match up all the sides. Without disturbing the placement of the main skirt pieces, fold back the side edge of the piece on top, just a few inches. Then lay a long piece of fusible adhesive tape along the very side edge of the bottom piece. Be sure that the two sash pieces are out of the way. Fold the top skirt piece back in place and line up the side edges again. Press with an iron to activate the adhesive. (Lift and press as you iron; don’t drag and pull.) Repeat along the other side edge. Take a peek at your adhered edges and be sure that the adhesive has melted and secured the fabric together properly.

Turn the skirt right side out and then press open the side seams you just created, folding the excess fabric flaps on the inside of the skirt toward the back of the skirt.

Turn the skirt inside out and then fold over the top edge of the skirt 2 1/4 inches. Pin in place.

On the back side of the skirt, remove a few pins from the center. Lift up the unpinned flap of fabric just a bit and begin placing a continuous piece of fusible adhesive tape along the wrong side of the skirt, right where the bottom edge of the folded-over portion would cover it. After folding the fabric back down, you want the fusible adhesive tape to sit on the very bottom edge of the folded-over fabric so that after it’s ironed in place, there will still be a casing wide enough for your 1 1/2-inch-wide elastic to slide through. Re-pin this section. Be sure to pin through the fusible adhesive tape to hold it in place as well.

Continue all the way around the top of the skirt, unpinning a small section at a time to lay the long piece of fusible adhesive tape down. Stop a few inches before you make it all the way around (to leave an opening to insert the elastic) and cut off the fusible adhesive tape. Iron all the way around the skirt (removing pins as you go) to activate the adhesive. Once you’re done, your casing will be in place, with a nice gap in the back.

Cut a piece of elastic that is 1 inch longer than the waist measurement and attach a safety pin to one end. Thread the elastic all the way around the inside of the casing and pull the safety pin out the other end. Make sure that you have both ends sticking out and that your elastic isn’t twisted inside the casing.

Remove the safety pin and overlap the ends of the elastic by 2 inches. Place a few strips of fusible adhesive tape side by side between the two layers where the ends overlap. Iron together to activate the adhesive.

Place a strip of fusible adhesive tape that is just long enough to fill the bottom edge of the gap in the fabric casing. Iron the opening closed to activate the adhesive. Be sure to check all of your ironed seams to see that the adhesive was heated up properly.

Adjust the elastic so that it is evenly distributed throughout the casing. Turn your skirt right side out and then tie your sash ends into a bow. Cut off any excess sash length.

Tip:

The cool thing about knit fabric is that it doesn’t fray, so you can leave the bottom edge of the skirt and the sash ends unhemmed. However, if you prefer to finish off the bottom hem of this skirt, add a little extra to your fabric length and adjust accordingly.

This tutorial is excerpted with permission from No-Sew Love: Fifty Fun Projects to Make Without a Needle and Threadby Ashley Johnston and published by Running Press.