Reversible Paneled Skirt Tutorial

What’s better than 1 new skirt?  2 new skirts, of course!  And if that can be 2 new skirts in 1…bonus!  Today we have share how to make a reversible paneled skirt tutorial with you.

We started with the Jalie 2681 paneled skirt pattern and some denim-look knit fabric from CaliFabrics.  (Please head over to the Cali Fabrics blog to read all about why this fabric worked perfectly for this project, and also the shirts we sewed to go with the reversible paneled skirt.)

Aria couldn’t decide which side of this denim knit fabric she liked better, and asked if there was a way to make the skirt reversible.  After some thought, I came up with a way to make it reversible with just a few modifications to the pattern.

1st of all, serge each seam to put the panels together.  If you don’t have a serger, you can sew the seams with a regular sewing machine and a stretch stitch.  And then zigzag the edges of the seam allowances together.  

The next step is to press and then topstitch the finished seam allowance down to the skirt.  Be sure to press each seam allowance the same way.  Doing these two steps makes it look like all the seams are coverstitched without having a coverstitch machine.

To finish the hem, first serge (or zigzag) the bottom raw edge of the skirt.  Then turn the finished seam up, making sure to turn it to the side where the exposed seams are.

The waistband can be done a couple of different ways, so we’ll just share how we did this one.  Finish the top of the skirt with a serger or zigzag stitch.  Turn that serging to inside by 2.25” or 1.25” depending if you’re going to insert 1” or 2” elastic.  Topstitch down the serged edge, leaving an opening to insert the elastic.  Insert the elastic, and then close the opening.  

That’s it!  And the skirt is totally reversible.  Aria is in love with this 2-in-1 reversible paneled skirt.  She also made herself 2 tops to go with this skirt, one for each side! The olive dolman sleeve knit top is the Seafarer from Sew Much Ado. The light blue is a Lane Raglan from Hey June Patterns. Now she’s challenged me to figure out how to add pockets…any suggestions?

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