I had some ponte left over after cutting out a dress (as yet unassembled).  Not wanting to waste it, I juggled around options for a skirt.  Most of the ones that I investigated wouldn’t fit onto my limited amount of fabric.  Bummer.  So in the end I used New Look 6463 as a base, and added a hem ruffle.

New Look 6463 is actually designed for woven summer weight fabrics. It is an elastic waist, slightly a-line skirt with length and lower flounce variations.  I used the top parts of the pattern for view B, then cut straight across the full width of the fabric twice for the gathered ruffle.  Since I cut using a rotary cutter and ruler, I didn’t even hem the bottom of the ruffle.  Ponte is handy like that.

The waist was also very simple. I cut a length of elastic to fit my waist (minus a couple of inches), joined the ends into a circle, quarter marked it and placed it on the inside of the skirt, then overlocked the top edge of the elastic to the top edge of the skirt, stretching to fit as I went. After that I turned it to the inside, so the elastic could no longer be seen, and used a zig-zag stitch to secure it in place. It’s comfortable and avoids threading elastic through a casing. And because I never tuck anything in, it will never be seen.

At first I was a bit doubtful about this style – I felt it was a bit too youthful – but once paired with my boots and new granny square fabric top I was very happy! Details about the top to come later. And because I used an old pattern I’ve used before, and “scrap” fabric, I consider this to be essentially a free garment!