It's been a while since I wrote any kind of how-to type article anywhere on the internet, so thought I would write this one on how to make a very VERY simple skirt. It can be completed by even the newest seamstress and is a good basis to start.
Firstly, take measurements of your (or the recipient of the skirt's) waist, hips and how long the skirt needs to be. I tend to stop just below my knee for the length of the skirt measurement as then by the time that hems and seams have been sewn, it falls just above the knee.
Secondly, chose you fabric. I lean towards cottons and light, girly fabrics as they are easy to work with. You'll need roughly a meter of fabric, at a 150cm drop. This will give you enough to fix any mistakes too, or make matching accessories! Also consider any trim you'd like to include, such as lace on the bottom hem or from the waistband.
Now the construction starts. Create a waistband from a length of the fabric, about 20cm deep by your waist measurement (plus about 6cm) long. At this stage, interfacing can be applied to the wrong side of the fabric to give the waistband more strength. Fold the waistband in half right sides together, and then sew into a long tube, leaving one end open so that the waistband can be turned through itself. Once the waistband has been sewn iron it flat and place it to one side.
Cut the remaining fabric straight across, at the depth of however long you'd like the skirt to be. Using your own fair hands (and a needle and thread!) begin to stitch and gather along one of the long edges of the skirt, until it is the same length as your waistband. Leave the other long edge untouched. Once gathered, tie off the thread and lay the main skirt fabric out and place the waistband so that the bottom line of the waistband lines up just below the top line of the skirt, right sides together. Pin in place, and sew together. Once sewn, it should start to look like a skirt!
Now it's just a case of folding the skirt into a skirt shape (around itself, right side to right side) and sewing up the two ends. Leave a gap at the top to insert a zip of a complementary colour which can be picked up in most sewing shops or for mere pennies online. Once you've sewn in a zip, hem the bottom edge. Et Voile!
If you chose to use lace, include it in the hem sewing. Place it on top or underneath the skirt once the hem has been pinned into place, then pin the lace in the correct place as well. Sew in a complementary colour thread to give a professional look.
In the end, you will get something that looks quite a lot like this:
