I’m so happy to be in Montana where little sheep are running free and being chased by wolves.  No, really! Except instead of wolves it is more like coyotes or mountain lions. The yarn I’ve used for this skirt is certified ‘predator friendly’ meaning that the farm is run with respect for all living things, not just the cute ones. You can read more about it at www.lambandwool.com. It’s certified organic too! I hope you’ll try ordering from them or poke around for a local homespun in your neck of the woods.

I’ve had a bit of culture (and temperature) shock since leaving Japan and I was bemoaning the nippy winds that prevent me from wearing my summer skirt collection during winter.  Cozy yarn to the rescue!  This overskirt is like putting on a sweater, just lower down.  Of a rather chunky weight, it is quick to work up on big hooks and just a little bit delicate with a Kid Silk Haze trim and a nice bell shape.  You can wear it over skirts or pants, depending on how weird you want to look.  Either way, you’ll be warm.  Plus the rhythm of crochet might help you realize where you are and that it is okay (at least it does for me).

• Thirteen Mile Yarn (A) 2 skeins at ~110yds/skein. The color is a natural chocolate brown that comes straight off the sheep. This is a ‘chunky’ weight yarn usually used with size 11 knitting needles.
• 1 ball of Rowan’s Kid Silk Haze (B) in Villian (25g per 229yds). You could substitute another lightweight yarn easily, in either a tonal or contrast color. The gauge isn’t crucial for the trim.  
• Hook sizes F/5 (4mm), and L/11 (8mm), M (9mm), N (10mm), and P (11.5mm)
• ¾”- to 2”-wide ribbon or other belting material, long enough to go around your low waist and tie in a friendly bow. The picture shows a 3/4"-wide knit belt that is 56" long.

Pattern as written has a 36-inch dropped waist that stretches to 42 inches and can be tightened to 32 inches without looking odd.  You can add or remove a pattern repeat to change size 3 inches at a time (details included in pattern).

10 stitches = 4in, 10cm; 10 rows = 4in, 10cm in single crochet with yarn A and 8mm hook.

• The turning chain does not count as a stitch unless indicated.
• Be sure to read the pattern all the way through before beginning.

Waistband

With 8mm hook and thick yarn (A), chain 7.

Row 1: Sc in 2nd chain and in each chain across.  Ch 1and turn.

A super-easy skirt pattern (all single crochet!) with explanations to help you tailor it perfectly to your measurements.

Remember when you first started to crochet -- your grand plans for designing the wardrobe of your dreams, your visions of clothing perfectly tailored to your body, created from fibers and colors you adore... do you remember?

Maybe you tried your hand at a few patterns and wondered why your results were always box-like, formless swaths of chunky yarn that bulk at the seams and look completely homemade (in the worst connotation of that word... y'know, like Eddie Murphy's houseburgers...).

Crochet Couture techniques are going to change all of that for you. Don't be afraid -- it's easier than the highfalutin name might imply. Crochet Couture simply means using the same techniques employed in constructing sewn garments (darts, insets, gussets, etc.) for the purpose of creating crocheted clothing that curves with the body and is tailored perfectly. The best part is that these techniques are generally easier to implement in crochet than with needle and thread.

The easiest and most practical of these to learn is crocheted darts. In sewn garments, a dart is placed within a piece of fabric to help it become more 3-dimmensional (as in the bust line), or to tuck away excess fabric in place of using a seam (as in flat front pants). In crochet, it is much, much easier to achieve the same shaping merely by using internal increases and decreases. With the following pattern, you will create a skirt that fits you to a T, using all sc -- what could be cooler than that? Hmmmm?

To start, you need a measuring tape, a full-length mirror, a pen and a piece of paper. You need 3 measurements (use mirror to make certain tape placement is accurate, level and doesn't pinch or pull the skin).

Your waist -- take this measurement at your belly button. Cut 2 pieces of 1/4" elastic to this measurement. Sew each strip into a ring, making certain not to twist elastic and overlapping ends no more than 3/4".

Your hips -- this measurement is 7"-9" below your natural waist and should be taken at the fullest part of your tushie.

Length -- while facing the mirror and with your feet about 6" apart, decide how long you would like your skirt to fall and make a small mark on your leg. Hold the top of the measuring tape to your belly button and measure straight down to the level of the mark. Make certain to write down this length measurement.

Take a moment to look at how your body changes from one measurement to the next. The increase from your thighs to your hips takes place on your sides and in the back -- so that's where extra fabric needs to be included in order to fit around your curves. If you crocheted a simple tube with evenly placed increases it would pull funny around your tush, sit awkwardly on your hips and stretch in unflattering ways when you move. But if you carefully place the increases and decreases to match your shape you create a seamless, tailored skirt with a custom "bottom pocket" and a waistband that lays flat.

The techniques in this pattern can be used with other yarn weights/hook size combinations. Through experimentation, however, I've found you get the best precision for the least amount of stitches with light worsted weight yarns and a 5.00mm hook. (Following this pattern is a link to instructions for this same skirt using sport weight yarn and a 4.00mm hook. If you want to use a more bulky yarn, I'd recommend a fuzzy/furry one or else the little gaps inside the stitches might be more revealing than you anticipated.)

• A short list of recommended yarns:
  Patons - Katrina, Classic Merino Wool, Decor, Canadiana
  Lion Brand - Imagine, Cotton-Ease, Monet
  Bernat - Harmony, Denimstyle, Berella
• 1/4" elastic (approx. 2 yds)
• Sewing thread
• A needle
• 5.0mm (size H) hook

Custom

Gauge Swatch (don't skip this step!):

Using a 5.00mm hook, db-ch 12

Row 1 -- ch 1, 1 sc into each of the next 12 chain, turn.

Row 2 -- ch 1, 1 sc into each of the next 12 stitches, turn.

Rows 3 to 10 -- ch 1, 1 sc into each of the next 12 stitches, turn.

Measure in the center of the swatch. Adjust hook/tension to achieve this gauge:

10 sts = 3"

8 rows = 2"

Using this gauge and your measurements, you can determine how many stitches you need for your starting chain. Crochet has some stretch, so to create a fitted skirt that hugs your heinie without any ease (ease is the technical term for the space in between the clothing and the body), you should go about 10% smaller than the gauge.

Confused? Don't stress. Contrary to what Barbie might think, math is easy. The first part of this pattern walks you through the steps and tells you how you can adjust the numbers to fit you perfectly. Following the explanation is a pattern for this skirt in 4 general sizes (2/4, 6/8, 10/12, 14/16). To help you along, the written instructions are color-coded to the rows in the pattern that they describe. Try it the hard way first and only peek at the answer if you get stumped.

Our gauge says 10 stitches for every 3 inches. That means there are 3.33 stitches for each inch. If we shave off 10%, we get 3 stitches per inch. So, the number of stitches for the widest part of your skirt should be -- your hip measurement x 3... well, almost. It makes all the other parts of the skirt easier to work out if you use a number evenly divisible by 4. Here's an example:

Let's say your hips measure 39". That would mean you need 39 x 3, or 117 stitches. However, 117 is not evenly divisible by 4, so you should round to the nearest number that is -- and in this case that is 116 stitches. Your starting chain should be 8 stitches fewer than this number. Again, if you don't want to bother with the math, a pattern follows, but it won't fit you as perfectly if you do it that way.

See tutorials for db-ch, sc-reduce, and the bump stitch.