DIY Mini Skirt Overskirt

A little while ago, I shared a blog post about troupe costuming ideas, which has become one of my favourite posts!

And someone asked how to make the overskirts that this group is wearing over their skirts.

These ladies are from Inspire Bellydance troupe in Sydney, Australia, and the photo was shared by Rachel Bond!

I love their costumes, and the overskirts add sparkles! So in this tutorial, I’m excited to try creating my version of the overskirt. Let’s get started 🙂

To make this overskirt,  I used:

50cm (20in) of sparkly stretch fabric – This stretch fabric I picked is 150cm (59in) in width. Make sure it’s long enough so that you can at least wrap your hips with it. I recommend one that’s thick and has nice body.

Matching color thread

(If you like) Appliques for decoration – I used these ones 🙂

DIY Mini Skirt Overskirt

First, I measured 2 things:

My belt line – this is where I want the skirt waistband to sit, and it’s well below my natural waist line. 

And my hip line – this is the largest part of your hips. 

Then I folded the fabric right sides together. Make sure the direction of stretch is perpendicular to the fold. 

Pick a point close to the top on the fold, and from the fold, I measure a quarter of my belt line measurement minus 3cm (1 1/4in) along the top edge. Mark the measurement there.

Go down 5cm (2in) and measure the same amount as the above mark. 

Next go down 7.5cm (3in) along the fold, and from there, I measure a quarter of my hipline measurement minus 3cm (1 1/4in) and marked it there.

Go down 12.5cm (5in), and again from the fold, I measure the same measurement which is a quarter of my hipline measurement minus 3cm (1 1/4in). And I mark it there.

Connect the dots like this.

Smooth out the lines here, and cut out along the lines.

Then, trace that panel and cut out another identical panel. 

Next, place the 2 panels right sides together, and do a zigzag stitch along the sides. Use a 1cm (3/4in) seam allowance. 

Then fold 2.5cm (1in) from the top edge over to the wrong side, and do a zigzag stitch right along the raw edge of the fabric. Make sure to use a zigzag stitch so the skirt remains stretchy.

Do the same for the bottom edge.

Turn it inside out, and your mini skirt overskirt is ready! You can wear it over a circle skirt to make it into a mermaid skirt…

Or you can wear it over simple pants or leggings…

….or wear it over a mermaid skirt.

Want to make a mermaid skirt? Join us and make your own in the mermaid skirt challenge!

(Thanks Denise for suggesting to include this info!)

You can decorate the overskirt too. Like I showed you last week, if you make brooches with appliques like these and put safety pins or clips on the back, you can wear them not just on this overskirt but on different costumes! It’s nice to scrunch up the overskirt with pins like this and cover it with appliques to make it stage worthy!

By the way, these appliques are the brand new colors of the popular Star Flower DIY Applique Kits in my shop! Check out the new colors here ( white / orange / purple )! Get free shipping with this coupon code AUTUMN2019. The coupon code will expire in a couple of days, so make sure to check it now! 😀

Hope you liked this mini skirt overskirt tutorial! It’s really easy to make, so it’s a great idea for your troupe members to make like Inspire Bellydance did! Special thanks to Inspire Bellydance for inspiring us!

And if you liked the overskirt, please share this tutorial with your dance sisters! 😉

And if you want to make more belly dance costuming bits, join my free email course Belly Dance Costume Making 101 by signing up below:

Click here to sign up for my FREE email course Belly Dance Costume Making 101!

Thanks for reading, and keep sparkling!

P.S. Pin this image for your next project!

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