Faux Suede Skirt
Fall runways have been loaded with garments and fabrics of faux suede, and seeing as I loved the fabric even before its shine in the spotlight, I wanted to take the chance to make a suede skirt—another popular item on the runway—for the coming season.
Faux suede is a great fabric choice because of its soft texture, and the suede I used to make my skirt has a nice stretch that’s both form-fitting and comfortable to wear. I’ve always loved the visual appeal of suede, too; like velvet, it adds visual texture to an ensemble, and I love that. You can see the texture without having to feel it (though I’d be lying if I claimed I’ve never compulsively touched suede just to feel how soft it is!) Fabrics like this draw the eye, and it comes in a number of colors, too, making it a powerful fabric tool.
The skirt is decorated with a few buttons, top-stitching with orange thread, and the front is closed with a slot seam.
This skirt design is incredibly simple, just a few pieces—4 in total—and I made them from easy shapes you can draw out with a yard stick and pencil. I’ve provided an image to help you visualize what they looked like (I apologize that the shapes aren’t drawn exactly to scale, but so long as you get the idea!):
Four pieces and a yard of fabric. Easy, right? Make sure to fit the pieces in the direction shown in the picture, and you need FOUR CUTS for PIECE 2, so turn the piece 180 degrees if you need to in order to fit it in.
The skirt falls just below my waist and the measurements I provided are to fit my size (I’m a 30” waist), so adjust accordingly for your own fit!
I’m not going to go into a super in-depth tutorial for this skirt, but I hope the design won’t be too hard to figure out!
Material List
– About 1 YD Black UV Protective Stretch Ultra Suede (#311396)
– 3 QTY Copper/Orange Rhinestoned Metal Shank Back Button (#14805)
– 474 Curry 100M Gutermann Sew All Thread (#100301)
– 10 Black 100M Guterman Sew All Thread (#100246)
– 1 QTY 580 Black 9” Invisible Zipper (#INV9-850)
– Pins
– Hand-sewing Needle
– Sewing Machine
– Scissors
– Tailor’s Chalk (for marking where your buttons will go before sewing them down)
– Pencil (for Patter Drawing)
– Pattern Paper (for Patter Drawing)
This is the list of materials that I used. I used about a full yard of the faux suede fabric that I picked, but you may need more or less depending on the size you’re fitting the garment to. Judge the amount you need based off how long your skirt panels need to be (remember that there are 36 inches in one yard of fabric).
After you’ve drafted your paper pattern and have cut out your fabric pattern pieces, you should have PIECE 1 (x2), PIECE 2 (x4), PIECE 3 ,(x2) and PIECE 4 (x1). I installed my zipper on the right side at the top, so between one PIECE 2 panel and one PIECE 3 panel. Pin all of them together like this and start sewing them together!
NOTE: The two panels of PIECES 1 are sewn together using a slot seam! If you’re not sure how to install a slot seam, click here to see what it looks like!
For my skirt design, I decided to hide the second part of the slot seam on the UNDERSIDE, like in the photo below. This is purely a stylistic choice–you can top-stitch it if you’d like!
After sewing them all together, I top-stitched with the orange thread. Top-stitching is a great way to add a dash of color to a garment, and I love using it whenever I can. It looks great so long as you work carefully and remain patient. This is honestly the longest step in the process to make the skirt, but you should do it. It removes the need for a lining and helps to stabilize the seam allowances on the wrong side of the skirt.
After top-stitching, you need to do a single-fold hem along the top of the skirt. DO THIS BEFORE INSTALLING YOUR ZIPPER! You won’t want a raw edge to show at the top of your skirt, so we’re doing this to prepare to hide it! Like so:
After hemming the top, install your zipper. If you don’t know how to install a zipper, click here to read our tutorial on how! Remember to line the very top of the zipper—not the teeth, the extra flaps—up with the top of the skirt.
After installing your zipper, you can go ahead and close up the skirt, right sides together. Make sure to sew flat along the bottom of the zipper to lock it in. You can also go ahead and top-stitch down along the sides of the zipper and down the seam you just closed the skirt up with. If the top of your skirt is too wide for your waist, add a dart in the middle of the back panel.
After that, roll the top hem again and top stitch down. Do the same on the bottom of the skirt
The last step is to hand-sew the buttons onto the front. Make sure to line your buttons up nicely where you want them to lay and use a piece of tailor’s chalk to mark where you’d like them to go before you sew them down. This’ll help prevent off-center buttons!
And that’s about it! Easy!
Can you think of other garments or accessories you’d like in a suede fabric? Do you have a favorite piece in a suede? Tell us all about it!