A Handmade Athletic Skort

Subtitle: A Very Unhelpful Guide to Making

Because I let a lot of time lapse TWICE in the making of this project, and my memory is not that good!

I started sewing this project last summer but my timing was terrible. Summer was coming to an end and I had very little interest in making something that wouldn’t get worn right away. So I set it aside and didn’t come back to finish it until this May. Then I gave myself another little break before now writing about the project-it’s August- so a full year since starting!

When I pulled the project back out (boredom was the catalyst here, not interest), I was surprised at how little I had left to do. The waistband was fully constructed, as was the skirt. They essentially just needed to be piled on top of each other, sandwiching the ‘ort’ part of the skort, of course, and then get sewn together and hemmed. In the words of my college algebra professor, “See? Not too bad.”

But I’m getting ahead of myself. And this is where I really deliver on the “Unhelpful” part of my subtitle because my construction details are very vague. BUT! Here’s what I do remember:

I tried a couple athletic skirts on before deciding to just make my own and there were a few features that I wanted to copy. The most notable one, in my opinion was the waistband. I wanted a flat front waistband, with elastic around the sides and back, including a functional drawstring. Because of that, and the fact that I would eventually have to attach three layers (shorts, skirt, waistband), I decided to do something I never do which is construct my entire waistband-elastic and all-before attaching it to my skirt.

So I worked a bit in an odd order. First I made my skirt which was loosely based on the Hudson pants-turned skirt pattern I made when I was pregnant (there’s also a great tutorial here). The fabric I used is an athletic woven with very little stretch (10% if I’m remembering right). I made things with a bit more room since the Hudson pattern is intended for knits, but I also wasn’t too worried since the skirt version of the pattern I made was from when I was pregnant and needed more room anyway. I don’t have sizes or measurements, sorry!

But the skirt was made as you’d likely expect. I made pockets first then sewed the front to the back.

The waistband was made by me just kind of winging it. Again, I wanted a flat front with elastic on the sides/back. I interfaced my front panel and created buttonholes for the tie. Then I attached my back piece, sewing my elastic into place at the same time. Then I created two rows of topstitching to form my channel but only on the back, elasticated part of my waistband. I had to stretch everything as I sewed and I had to be careful that the elastic was securely inside the casing. Finally I made my waist tie and fed it through the channel to finish the waistband.

And that’s where I left things for awhile. When I came back to the project, the first thing I needed to do was get the shorts part of the pattern ready. In an effort to save time and money, rather than make my own shorts, I used a pair of old maternity biker shorts by chopping the belly part of the leggings off. Unfortunately, I should have measured the rise a little more accurately because the rise of the shorts really dictates the rise of the skirt and in this case I made the rise too low. I’m living with it, though, and it’s not anything that’ll make me toss them in the trash. However, having said that, I do NOT regret my choice to recycle something I no longer needed. It used up something in a helpful way and made this project SO much easier.

I almost forgot to take a picture of the shorts part of the skort! When everything was attached and hemmed, I did end up having to hem the leggings beyond their RTW hem. The shorts were just barely peeking out at the bottom of the skirt so I cut off about an inch and folded them another inch which brought them up high enough to not show for most movements.

I briefly mentioned the fabric but here’s a little more information. It is a stretch woven in “charcoal” from The Fabric Fairy. It is the same fabric I used for my athletic Hudson pants (which get worn all the time). It’s a great fabric and has been incredibly durable. I’d recommend buying some but I just checked and didn’t see any on their website (I mean, I did buy this over two years ago so that’s on me, not them). But I will be keeping an eye out for a restock because it’s proven to be a very valuable fabric for my lifestyle, apparently.

At first, I felt a little disappointed. I didn’t like how the skirt kind of bubbled out where it’s attached to the waistband. But then I wore it for a day and ended up really liking it! I’ve worn the skort lots of times now and I really like how they turned out. There are two things I don’t love-one is the rise. Because of the shorts, it isn’t really possible for me to pull these up any higher, but I’m well aware that they sit at an unflattering part of my body. It’s not my favorite but I’m sure I’ve worn things that flatter even less. The other thing isn’t really bad, it’s just a small annoyance: because of the lack of stretch in the fabric, it’s mildly difficult getting into a car. It just doesn’t quite make the stretch comfortably so I have to do a kind of tight-legged, pencil skirt-ish slide. It works just fine.

Even though I’m labeling them “athletic” I haven’t done anything super athletic in them-nothing with bigger movements than walking and hiking, so I don’t know how they’d pan out for something like running or yoga. But in any case, I’m pretty happy with them! They’ve been a great addition to my warm-weather bottoms which is sorely needed.

Pattern: The Hudson pants from True Bias…but with a couple generations of hacks!
Size: Can’t remember
Alterations: Lots and lots! First altering to a skirt, then adjusting fit-especially for a woven fabric-then changing waistband and finally adding shorts!
Fabric: Stretch woven in charcoal from The Fabric Fairy (no longer in stock as far as I can tell) and shorts from an old pair of maternity biker shorts/leggings
Cost: fabric $20; everything else from stash
Would I make this pattern again?: Haha I think I would!