Fleece Running Skirt How-to

Running in the colder weather has two negative affects: 
1) It makes it harder to breathe with asthma,
2) It makes my bum very cold!  
The first is easy to solve since there are many products on the market to place on your face and cover your nose and mouth while breathing.  I searched and found very few solutions for my second dilemma.  There is a cute skirt site called Skhoop skirts that has Scandinavian skirts that are made to be worn in the snow and cold weather, but they run about $80-$100 each. So I decided that with a little thought and creativity, I could make a skirt that would cost much less and still keep my bum warm.  I searched for easy to sew skirt patterns online and found a ton.  While searching, I learned about something very cool, FOE or fold over elastic.  I have never sewn with this before, but it is great!  I found mine at my local Jo-Ann Fabric store.  The great thing about foe is that it simply folds over the top of your fabric and then you sew it with a zig zag stitch and the waistband is done!  I like that it doesn't add more layers to my midsection, something that I was worried about when I was trying to design the skirt.  I chose super soft fleece as my fabric and purchased a 3/4- 1 yard of three different styles.  I used a skirt I already had to create my pattern, making it an A line skirt so I could move in it.  It has been wonderful!  My bum is warm, I can move my legs without the skirt getting in the way, and it is cute to boot! Below are directions with a few photos and hopefully they will be easy to understand. 

Materials
1 yard fleece (I chose the super soft type that is somewhat fuzzy)
1 yard fold over elastic (FOE)
paper or newspaper for a pattern
measuring tape
yardstick
pins
sewing machine

Create a pattern. 
From a skirt: I used a skirt I already had, but you can make a pattern without one.  I used craft paper and folded it in half to make the pattern symmetrical.  Lay your A line skirt on the paper and trace giving extra on the sides for seams. 

Without a skirt:
I measured where I wanted my skirt to sit (below my waist) and marked this measurement for the top of the skirt.  I measure about 34-35" where I wanted the skirt to sit, so halfway across a paper on the fold is 8.5".  I also made sure that the part that would cross my hips would at least be that hip measurement.  Across the fold I measured 10" which would be almost 40" when completed (more than enough for me).  I curved the top for the waistband, so it would sit better.  Nothing fancy, just draw a curve from the outside edge to fold and cut.   I drew the sides by simply taking a yardstick and drawing straight lines that connected the 8.5 and 10" marks.  It should look similar to the capital letter A when completed (hence the name A line skirt).  I also curved the hem, but you don't have to. 

         

  

2)  Find the stretchy direction of your fleece.  Most fleece is stretchy across from selvage to selvage (the sides that usually have the manufacturer's name printed on it).  The other two sides are the ones cut in the store. Fold your material so the selvages are together.  Lay the pattern so the waist and hem are perpendicular to the selvages.  In other words, you want the stretchy direction to go across your skirt instead of up and down the skirt.  Cut out the two skirt pieces, one for front and one for the back.  On this photo, I added extra to the hem so I could do a little jagged edge to go with the animal print.  The final photo is my first skirt that I made with the pattern underneath.

             
                                                  

      

3)  Sew.  Place the fabric skirt pieces together with the RIGHT sides together.  Sew 1/4-1/2" seams on both sides backstitching at both ends to secure the seam. 

4)  Elastic.  This is a photo of FOE--the line in the middle is where you fold it over your fabric and it becomes the top edge.

Measure a piece of foe the size of your first measurement minus about 4 inches.  For me this was below my waist on my mid section--my measurement was 35-4=31".  Mark elastic in four places evenly by folding in half and placing a pin, then in half again and place pins at this section.  You should have 3 pins--the cut edges make the fourth section.  

Do the same on the skirt, the two side seams would be two pins and exactly in the middle of the front and back would be the other two pin marks.    Match the foe pin marks with the skirt pin marks.  The elastic will be smaller than the fabric, but you will stretch it when you sew.  

 Fold the elastic over and use a zig zag stitch to sew it over the waist of the skirt, stretching the elastic as you sew.

 On another skirt, I created a fleece pocket using the same material.  I simply cut a piece of fleece about 2"x4" for the top of the pocket and a piece 4"x4" for the bottom of the pocket.

Place the pieces slightly overlapping on the side seam (I put them on the right since I am right handed).  You can see the underside of the fleece is fuzzier than the outside--that is for warmth!

Pin the edges.  Sew around the pocket, making sure not to catch the top of the larger piece that is underneath.  Since the fabric is stretchy, the flap will open easily to stash your kleenexes, chapstick, or whatever.

There is no need to hem the skirt since the fleece doesn't ravel.  It will do a small amount of shedding after cutting, but once I finish sewing, then I toss it in the washer and dryer and all the shedding is done.  Your skirt is finished and ready to wear in the cold!