***Update: THANK YOU so very much to everyone who ordered this skirt pattern and fabric. The fabric is completely sold out, and I am hoping to have a bit more to offer next month. Thank you beyond words for your interest in my work. I am so grateful. XOXO
Oh, now I'm happy. My Scarborough Fair Skirt Pattern is now available! Please click here to go to my web site to purchase it!
You can make this skirt in any size and length you'd like. Just take your waist, hip, and skirt length measurements and plug them into the formulas I've listed in the pattern and you're good. All of the pieces are cut with a rotary cutter and ruler, so there are no patterns to print out and tape together, etc. There are step-by-step illustrated instructions for making the skirt and it is really quite easy. I really hope you are going to love this and I hope you'll send me pictures of your finished skirts in action because I want to see them! I really love the skirts that I have made — I've made five of them now and I wear them almost every single day! For better or worse!
If you have any questions about the pattern let me know. (***Update: Yes, it is pull-on and has elastic in the back only.) It's an advanced beginner pattern. You need to have a basic understanding of sewing, including how to gather, sew around curves, and sew pieces together carefully to make this skirt. It's not difficult but might be a bit challenging for an absolute beginner, as the construction and method are a little bit unusual. But overall it's pretty straightforward and simple to make.
Should you need fabric, I am offering some of my vintage '80s and '90s calico in 2-and-1/2 yard (2.25 meter) pieces. This fabric is quite precious, and it can be hard to find vintage fabric in continuous pieces that are this long. This amount will make a skirt that's up to about 30" long (the one pictured is about 25" long) so if you're not looking to make one longer you'll be good; if you'd like you're skirt shorter, you'll have some extra to make a hat or quilt patches or something else. I decided to offer this fabric in skirt-sized pieces rather than selling it by the yard, or by the half-yard, because there are a lot of different prints and I wanted to get it all cut and folded ahead of time. If you're looking for a smaller amount, you might want to pass on this; we will not cut these pieces down, and they are already packaged.
I hope you like them! Click on each photo to take you to the web page where each fabric can be purchased. There are only between two and seven pieces available in each print, so if you miss out this time, I will have a few more coming later in the summer. But in general this is a very rare stash, and one it is gone it is gone. I'm using most of it this fabric for quilt kits, but some of the bolts I recently purchased had upwards of 25 yards on them, so that was more than I needed and I wanted to make some available for skirts! All fabric is 100% cotton unless otherwise noted and 44" (112cm) wide.
Ecru with Morning Glories
Steel Blue with Garland
Gold with Grapes
Blue with Roses and Daisies
Pale Brown with Roses and Daisies
Navy with Blue, Gold, and Pink
Tiny Autumn Mix
Green Gardens
Cream with Roses
Spring Garden
Violet Riot
Tan with Garland
Mauve with Tiny Blue Flowers
Dark Green with Roses
Mauve with Blue Flowers
I just thought I'd check your shop page a bit earlier this morning and already purchased the PDF pattern :) I can't wait to get started, it looks so clearly illustrated and thoroughly explained. Thank you!
I am headed over to purchase the pattern immediately! Love seeing the vintage fabrics. I think I MUST have the ecru with morning glories whether I make it into the skirt or something else..LOVE. The cream with roses fabric, I purchased back in the day and made a curtain out of it in our first house--can you believe it? I may even still have a scrap of it floating around for nostalgias sake.☺
Cute pattern! I also want to know about your shoes...love them!
Just wondering....is this a wrap skirt? Or pull-on? Or fastened in some other way? Thanks!
This has been such a joy to see these prints on the screen. I started sewing in the 80's and recognize many and still have a few bits in my stash. I just couldn't stand it any longer and had to comment. How wonderful it is you're sending them back out into the world. I clearly remember now what I made with certain prints and who I gave them to. Dolls, baby quilts and later, dresses for my daughter. So much goodness in simple fabric and handmade.
Lauren Collen, it looks to be a pull on, and not a true wrap skirt. It has a band of elastic at the back.
Hi Lauren (and thanks Natalie! -- sorry, just got home),
Yes, this skirt is a pull-on, with elastic in the back. I've added a photo here that shows the back. Thanks! Alicia
Yes... that last picture does it. I knew you would get to it asap, but I was happy to try and clarify. I have the PDF, now, and even caved in to temptation and picked a calico. And Maria was wondering if she could get a skirt, too... I am guessing that with your system, it will be a cinch to make our two sizes. I am so eager for this to be a success. You've certainly made it look beautiful and achievable.
love the skirt! I sewed some things with that fabric, back in the nineties......junior high school and awkward dresses! alright! :) I'm sure the fabric would look waaaay better in that pretty skirt!
What a pretty skirt! It looks so comfy and versatile too - I wish I were better at sewing! All those fabrics are so gorgeous as well. xxx
Squeek! Raise your hand if you got all excited when you realized you already have some of those fabrics in your very own stash???? *raises hand*
Skirts will be made, oh yes. Thank you!
I'm thinking a very light-weight denim or chambray. Nothing is cooler in the summer than bare legs and a skirt.
Do the calculations in your pattern only work for making adult sizes, or could it be followed to make child sizes (my daughter is almost 5) too? I could see myself finally going for a matching mother-daughter outfit with this great skirt.
Thanks, Alicia, for the pattern, and for gathering and posting these beautiful fabrics! The prints are reminding me of things I sewed when I was in college in the 80's. Thanks for making me smile tonight :)
I recognize some of those fabrics from the wayback machine. I still have scraps left in my itty bitty pieces bag. :)
Oh, how funny... I actually have some of that Green Gardens fabric! I bought it in a fit of optimism before I ever knew how to sew, and I never used it!
Lovely skirt pattern, BTW 😊
O "Spring Garden"! I used you to make a blouse for my little daughter in, yes, the 80's. And then your leftovers made a teddy bear quilt. So nice to see you again!
I love the idea of making skirts. I bought the pattern and fabric and can hardly wait to start making it. Wonder which one of the calicos you used for the skirt in the photo. Very beautiful!
Darling! I love the calicoes. I have been snatching up vintage calico Gunne Sax and Gunnies dresses and skirts on ebay and etsy--and wearing them. My 13-year-old daughter alternately loves them and doesn't know quite what to think. I tell her, I wanted these when I was a kid, but they were too expensive!
What a cute skirt! I purchased it and hope to make a few for me, my sister, and my daughter (she's an adult)!
Very pretty. Nice work Alicia !
oh shoot! fabric is all sold out! such a darling skirt though! i love it so much!!
I made it! Great pattern. I made it to be worn between hip and waist. I sewed down the elastic at various points across the back waistband because I didn't like how the elastic seemed to move around a bit. I also added a belt loop at the center back for the ties. I wrap them around the back and tie at the front. I also made mine ankle length. It would be cool if there was a place where we could view photos of other Scarborough skirts being made!
Alicia, hands down for this pattern, i have got the fabric, planning to start working on it next weekend. I will be sharing it with you. Thanks again. I am going to subscribe to your blog to get more patterns like this.