No-pattern gathered jersey skirt

Way back in May, continuing with my theme of sewing for summer while living in a city that never sees summer, I got an idea in my head for a floaty, softly gathered knit skirt.  I didn't have a pattern for the skirt envisioned, but this was quite easy to make without any pattern at all!

I had the perfect knit in my stash - this gorgeous green rayon/lycra jersey that I've been hoarding a couple years (and which I also used for my Simplicity 1358 maxi dress).

Here's how I made this no-pattern skirt:

I cut a 24" long panel the width of the fabric (about 58"), and serged it, making the seam the center back of the skirt. I cut the waistband 6.5" wide to finish at 3", and I fit it to my upper hip. Then I gathered the skirt at the top with two lines of gathering stitches and sewed it to the the waistband.  This method worked well.  In the past I have often tried to gather knits by stretching a waistband to fit, but it never looks good. I've also never had good luck with the clear elastic method.

I had intended this to be a yoga waistband without elastic, but the fabric didn't have enough recovery to hold up the skirt, so I ended up inserting 2" elastic fit to my upper hips.  Since the waistband was 3" wide, I sewed a zigzag down the middle of the elastic to hold in place at the top of the waistband.  The bottom of the waistband has no elastic in it.  In the photos above, you can see that I can wear the waistband folded over (on the left) or up (on the right).

I hemmed the skirt at 2" with my coverstitch machine (affiliate link).  The deep hem and the drape of the rayon really makes it hang nicely.  It also folds up very small, which has been great for packing on this trip home.  All in all, a successful make.  

If you decide to make your own no-pattern skirt, leave a comment and let me know!  As for me, we're flying back to Colombia today after a great summer in the States. I'm hoping to spend some of my flight time on fall wardrobe planning in order to psyche myself up for deplaning in cooler temperatures.  Wish me luck! As always, thanks for reading, and see you next time!