Make a Hot Topic Skirt

If you love the clothes at Hot Topic but you don't love the prices, this article will show you how to make a skirt that looks like it belongs on the rack, but costs much less!

Steps

  1. Buy two ruffled skirts and/or petticoats. Around Halloween they have 'petticoats' at Walmart. You may think that the waist looks tiny, since they are children's costume items, but it stretches to be bigger than you'd expect. Buy a black one and another one in any other color you like.

    If you're feeling ambitious, you can make your own skirts, especially once you know How to Gather Fabric into Ruffles.
  2. Buy ribbon in the same color as your non-black petticoat. You can either buy this by the yard, as a roll of ribbon or as a set of two ready-made bows (or as many bows as you would like on your skirt).
  3. Buy a yard of chain. You won't need more than a yard, unless you plan on making more than one skirt. Make sure you choose a size of chain which will work with your skirt; if the chain is too thin it may snap, but if it's too heavy it will be difficult to attach and may make your skirt too heavy or awkward to wear.
  4. Arrange the skirts so that the colored petticoat is inside of the black one, but you can still see the color sticking out of the bottom by a couple of inches. Sew the skirts together if you wish, or you can leave them separate.
  5. Sew or glue the chain onto the skirt between the waistbands of the two skirts (this will stop the chain digging into your side). If you plan on using the skirt for other things, just pin the chain into the side of the skirt once you put it on and adjust it.
  6. Sew or glue the bows on, about an inch and a half from the top of the skirt. If you bought ribbon, tie it into bows, then sew or glue these on.

Tips

  • Pretty much any ruffled skirts will work.
  • Try some patterned tights underneath it! Nothing too much, but try black and white harlequin or checkerboard.
  • If you can, get a black skirt which is shorter than the colored skirt. This will make layering them easier.

Warnings

  • Do not wash the petticoats in the washing machine!

Things You'll Need

  • Black petticoat/skirt
  • Colored petticoat/skirt
  • Bows/ribbon
  • Chain ribbon

Sources and Citations

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