Batgirl! Twirler skirt!

Y'all may recall several months ago that I had a chance to do some sewing for my sweet three year old niece. This particular niece happens to be in love with all things Batman and when I saw this shirt at zulily I had to get it for her.

But it seemed so lonely. It obviously needed a Batgirl appropriate skirt.

I know, right?! I totally need one in my size. I used black poly/rayon gabardine for the skirt and a lightweight voile for the applique. I'm totally thrilled I had a perfect color match in my stash!!

The skirt itself is pretty basic. I didn't use a pattern. It's just a rectangle. I based the width on the size of the applique and gathered the waistline with elastic. I really like to add a line of stitching through the elastic in a casing. I think it has a more professional look, and it prevents the elastic from twisting as well.

The applique is just an image I traced off the internet and affixed to the skirt with Heat and Bond. I went around the edges to finish with a narrow zigzag stitch, since the voile is prone to fraying. Those corners are tricky, particularly the ears. To give it a smoother look, I narrowed the width of the zigzag as I approached the point. Someday, I'm going to get an embroidery machine, but until then, I think this works pretty well.