- 1). Select an easy-to-make A-line skirt pattern from style books at your local sewing center, find a pattern on the Internet or consider this favorite of world travelers: A tiered gypsy skirt with an elasticized waist that slips on and off in seconds. Consider Simplicity pattern #4331 or another tiered design.
- 2). Shop for travel fabric so you can construct a travel skirt that can be rolled, packed, worn and repacked repeatedly. Look for Coolmax®, a textile that resists wrinkles, wicks well, washes like a dream, dries fast and feels like cotton. Substitute a tropical microfiber if you can't find Coolmax, as microfibers feel silky, drape nicely and shun wrinkles. Buy nylons or naturals (silk, rayon and linen) only if you have no objection to wearing a perpetually wrinkled skirt on the road.
- 3). Turn your attention to color once you've decided on a fabric type. Investigate travel-friendly material in solid colors like grey, navy, olive, khaki and dark cream for your travel skirt. Avoid splashy or complicated patterns even if they're within this color palette, unless you intend to tote only solid-colored tops.
- 4). Prepare your fabric and pattern for construction by ironing both to get rid of wrinkles and creases. Follow pattern directions for pinning and cutting the A-line skirt or cut multiple tiers of cloth required to make the gypsy travel skirt. Use pinking shears to tackle the fabric/pattern cutaways to avoid frayed edges.
- 5). Set up your sewing machine, wind a bobbin and stitch up the side seams if you're making an A-line travel skirt. Gather individual tiers by pulling the fabric along the thread lines until each matches the circumferences stated in the gypsy skirt's pattern instructions. Sew the tiers together to complete this skirt style.
- 6). Fold over the top of either travel skirt to create a channel for a waistband. Hem the fabric, leaving an opening at the back seam. Feed a pre-measured length of elastic into one side of the seam channel and use a safety pin to pull it through. Stitch the elastic ends together to complete the waistband.
- 7). Hem your skirt by hand if you've opted for the A-line version of your travel skirt. Use a sewing machine to hem the gypsy skirt, particularly if it's long; You don't want to catch a shoe in your hem when you and your skirt climb steps at Rome's Coliseum or a couple of Greek temples on your itinerary.
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