Rainbow Patchwork Skirt Tutorial

Make Your Own Rainbow Patchwork Skirt - Sewing Tutorial. 

I've never made one before and couldn't find a pattern I liked so I figured it out on my own.  Since I don't sew much, I don't have many fabric scraps. I purchased all of the fabric for this project. I decided to do six layers (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple) with two bold fabrics per layer. Since I liked all of the fabrics I selected, I made sure I got a little bit extra to do some scrap projects with the remainder.  I've already made some rainbow pet food bowl 'mug' rugs with my scraps.  

Here's the yardage I purchased:
Reds: 1/2 yard each
Oranges: 1/2 yard each
Yellows: 1/2 yard each
Greens: 2/3 yard each
Blues: 3/4 yard each
Purples: 1 yard each 

Here's the pattern I worked out. The top layer is a bit longer to accommodate the waistband. It's also tapered to keep the waistband from being too bunchy.  I cut an additional 2 inch wide strip of one of the reds for the drawstring casing, too.  The bottom layer is the longest.  This extra is to allow for the hem.  

Here's how many of each I cut:
Reds: 5 each of the top layer pattern
Oranges: 7 each of the 'all other layers' pattern
Yellows: 9 each of the 'all other layers' pattern
Greens: 11 each of the 'all other layers' pattern
Blues: 13 each of the 'all other layers' pattern
Purples: 15 each of the bottom layer pattern

The first thing I did was sew all of the like colors together in rows, alternating the squares.  This gave me the tiers of the skirt.  With the additional 2 inch strip I cut of one of the reds, I sewed in the drawstring casing to the very top of the skirt.  This photo shows how I've folded and pinned it to prepare it for sewing to make the casing.

I pinned the second layer to the first, right sides to right sides and sewed them together, taking just 1-2 small tucks per square for the gathering.  All of my seams for this project were 1/2 inch. 

I used the same process to sew the next layer and so on.

Here's a close up of a few squares to show how minimal the gathering really is.

To finish it off, I hemmed it and added a drawstring embellished with a few colorful beads.  

I'm guessing it would fit between a size 10-16 because of the adjustibility of the drawstring waist, and is hemmed for someone 5'6" tall.  If you want to replicate this for your own measurements, just adjust the math on the pattern.  You'll want the finished waist to be at least 5 inches wider than your waist measurement for the drawstring.  Don't forget to include 1/2 inch seam allowances on your squares. Have fun!