Belle is sure to be the belle of your ball this holiday season; such a simple, quick sew, but the impact is tremendous! Belle is available in adult and youth sizing, and will be perfect for your special events all winter long. The Belle Skirt is a classic gathered style skirt made for lightweight woven fabric. The waistband is made from soft wide elastic. Use specialty fabrics like chiffon, silk charmeuse, or mesh for a softer feel. Alternatively, use tulle with several laters for a poofy tutu look. It includes a lining layer, which can be shorter than the main skirt, or made the same length. Choose from a mini, knee, midi, or maxi. We can’t wait to see all of your fun Belle photo shoots!

Getting Started

Before you purchase your patterns, there is a ton of helpful beginner information between the M4M and P4P blogs, in case you are new to knits, or new to PDF patterns in general:

• New to PDF patterns? Check out our helpful tips here
• Not quite sure how to measure yourself accurately? Don’t worry; check out the post here!
• Having issues printing? Most issues can be resolved by using our FAQs/troubleshooting tips
• Join our Facebook group here.
• Looking for help with “tricky knits” like gorgeous sweater knits? Caitlin has tips for you here.
• For help with wovens and gathering, check out Wovens 101, Gathering 101, and Fabric Choice 101.
• We also have a new Height Adjustment 101 post for you! Check it out here.

Choosing Your Options

We have lots of tester photos in our FB group and on the site if you want to see a variety of photos of each option before you decide! Here is a quick snapshot of the different options:

Fabric + Notions

Belle is designed for lightweight wovens. If you are using a fabric that is sheer, you’ll want to choose a more opaque lining. A variety of fabrics fan be used for different looks. Soft, drapey fabrics will give a sleek look, while stiffer fabrics will offer the poofy tutu look. The amount of layers chosen will affect the look as well.

You may also need:

• 1.5″-2″ soft waistband elastic (keep in mind that the waistband is visible)

  

  

  
  

Belle Hacks

We have two elastic hacks for you – struggling with the feeling of the exposed seam, or with finding aesthetically pleasing elastic? No worries – we got you!

Enclosed Seams Hack

The Belle Skirt Pattern couldn’t be easier, and attaching the main skirt and lining to the back of the elastic waistband keeps it so that the gathers stay neat and tidy, but sometimes those exposed seam edges can be a little uncomfortable for little ones, or those who are a bit more sensitive. If that is a concern, then this enclosed seam hack is the perfect solution.

NOTE – this hack will cause the finished skirt to “poof” out a bit more, so please keep that in mind!

First, gather your skirt and lining pieces to fit the elastic waistband, as directed by the pattern tutorial.

Next, pin your main skirt piece to the elastic waistband, right sides together, matching quarter points. Baste along the edge.

 

Now you will line up the wrong side of your skirt lining with the elastic waistband with the wrong side of the elastic waistband, match at the quart points pin in place, and baste to the edge of the waistband. If done correctly, you will have the elastic waistband sandwiched between the skirt main and the skirt lining.

 

Flip your skirt right side out to double check the neatness of your gathers. If all looks good, flip the skirt so that the elastic waistband is sandwiched once more and sew in place with a zip zag stitch. Remove your basting stitches, hem as directed by the pattern tutorial, and voila! You have a festive Belle skirt with enclosed seams!

 

Covered Elastic Hack

This hack is perfect for when you just can’t find the perfect elastic for your project.

Grab your preferred fabric and your ugly utilitarian elastic and let’s make it beautiful!

Cut out the skirt pieces and elastic as per pattern.

Next we will create a casing for our elastic. Any fabric of your choosing will do, I am using the same as my main. It is a non-stretch velvet.

The width of your casing piece needs to be 2 times the width of your elastic plus 2 times the seam allowance. In my case, I am using a 1″ elastic and I’ll use a 1/2″ seam allowance.

(1″x 2) + (1/2″ x 2) = 3″  width

The length of your casing will be part preference and part necessity. You need to be able to stretch your fabric casing to get over your hips. (This may not matter, if you are using a high stretch fabric for your casing). For this skirt, I definitely need to account for wearing ease, as the velvet does not stretch.

 

 

Enjoy your new pattern, and the simple elastic hacks! We can’t wait to see what you sew up.

#bellepattern #madeformermaids