Hi everyone! Holly here! Has anyone else been noticing all the fun athletic skirts and dresses in stores lately? I have to admit, I’ve definitely fallen for sporty fashion this season. So I realized I could easily make my own athletic tennis “sporty skort” myself using the Virginia leggings shorts view, and I’m going to show you how I did it!
There are so many different skirt looks you can create, but I went with an easy flared skirt. Which, if you remember the skirted Cottesloe hack, this is the same exact concept! So if you need a little extra help creating your skirt, you can always reference the skirted Cottelsoe post.
But anyway, let’s create a sporty skort!
For this hack, we are going to use the Shorts View D with the wide waistband.
We will need to make a pattern piece for the skirt. First measure along the top edge of the shorts. We’ll call this measurement ‘X’. Multiply X by 2 and then subtract 1/2″.
So ‘X’ x 2 – 1/2″ = Skirt Width.
Next, you need to determine the length of your skirt. This is up to you. You can make the skirt longer than the shorts so the shorts are completely covered or hidden. Or you can make the skirt shorter so the shorts peek out.
I decided to start longer, at the full length of the shorts, and then trim it back a little more once it’s done.
If you want the skirt longer than the shorts, make sure to measure at the tallest point of the shorts pattern, at the centre back. (Don’t forget hem allowance if you plan on hemming the skirt!) This is your Skirt Length.
So grab some paper and now make a rectangle that is your Skirt Width by your Skirt Length.
Divide your rectangle into about 10 equal sections.
Cut along each line, from bottom to top. Cut right up to, but not through, the top of each line. So it will still be connected and have “hinges”.
Spread each section apart equally.
How much you spread is up to you, and will determine how full your skirt is. The more you spread, the fuller it will be. Creating a full circle will create the fullest, most flared skirt. At a minimum, you should do a half circle, which would produce a more A-line, slightly flared look.
Place paper underneath, tape each section down, and cut out your new skirt pattern piece.
You will need to cut one skirt piece from your fabric.
So here we are ready to assemble our skort. We have one skirt piece, two shorts pieces, and four waistband pieces.
Assemble your shorts seams according to the Virginia instructions. You can also hem your shorts at this point as well.
No fold your skirt in half and sew along the raw straight edge 1/4″ from the raw edge. You may finish the raw edge with your preferred method if you would like.
Now with the right side of the fabric of both pieces facing out, slide the skirt over the top of the shorts…
Line up the raw edge of the waistline, and match up the skirt seam with the centre back seam.
Pin in place. You may also choose to baste together, or you can just leave it pinned. Either way, you can now treat this as one piece.
Assemble your wide waistband according to the Virginia instructions.
And then attach the waistband to your skort according to the Virginia instructions as well!
At this point, I tried on my assembled skort and determined the length I actually wanted it to be. I then trimmed off a bit from the bottom edge and chose not the hem it. But if you would like to hem yours, you can do it now to finish up your skort!
And it’s done!
We would love you to see your interpretation of a Virginia skort! Wanna try a flared skirt like this? Or how about an A-line shape? Or a faux-wrap style skirt? There are so many possibilities!
LOOKING FOR MORE VIRGINIA POSTS?
Here’s the full list of Virginia tutorials :
- Sewalong: Seams
- Sewalong: Narrow Waistband
- Sewalong: Wide Waistband
- Sewalong: Cuffs
- Sewalong: Hem
- Bonus Virginia Hack: Sporty Skort (this post!)
Don’t forget to tag your creations with #MNvirginia and @megannielsenpatterns when sharing on social media, and check out what everyone else is up to!
Don’t have the pattern yet?!
