How difficult to make a skirt? Does this work as Halloween costume?

[Spookyplans]

I can't find anything that works and was wondering if I could make a gathered skirt with elastic waist as have seen lots of cool fabric. Then just do black top and lots of eye liner etc. These dresses look good but I don't think they would fit me.
I don't have a sewing machine (or any skills!!) so would be hand sewn.

Gathering is quite a skill for someone who doesn't sew, and for sewing by hand. I have made an elasticated waist skirt by hand previously so it is doable but it does take a lot of time, and mine was only a short skirt. If you're not used to hand sewing you'll find you get hand fatigue and will have to stop frequently.

You could definitely make that. You need a semi circle of fabric to make it the right shape. Hand sewing will take a while but it will work

Hand sewing wouldn't be easy tbh. It would take forever and the seams wouldn't be smooth. It would look a bit shit. And that's from someone who is quite good at this sort of thing so if you are self confessed not great, it would unlikely be something you would wear

You would probably also need some kind of net underskirt to get that effect

You would deffo need a net underskirt. Could you buy a black one then stitch panels of Halloween fabric to the waistband? That would take minimal stitching.

Thanks for feedback. I might keep looking. All the bought custumes look like uncomfortable nylon and I don't want to spend a fortune. Maybe a black dress and witches cloak would be easier!

The easiest thing to do is visit a charity shop and buy something and repurpose it. I have a machine and can sew by hand so I could make that skirt and have made a full circle skirt a long time ago but it would take quite a while to sew by hand.

A really easy costume is buy secondhand stuff and rip it and splatter it in red acrylic paint, make it look dirty and go as a zombie. If you buy a secondhand wedding dress a zombie bride costume would look good. Or just buy Dracula teeth and go as a bride of Dracula. I love making costumes and have been involved with making costumes and props for many years. You would just need to buy a small amount of make up possibly.

My last costume was a replica of Katana in Suicide Squad for a cosplay gaming meet up.

Buy something that isn't a costume and adapt it. So much easier than creating from scratch and much better quality . Charity shops are your friend

A full circle skirt uses an unbelievable amount of fabric, and metres and metres of sewing. It's not a cheap or a quick option!

Black skirt and top, stick silver foil stars and crescents all over, can probably buy a witch's hat at supermarket.

Buy a black skirt from a charity shop and some of the cool fabric. Cut motifs out from the fabric and hand sew around the hem of the skirt. Quicker and easier. Looking at the pattern of the skirt fabric in your picture you'd probably only need a yard or so of the fabric to get enough motifs to sew around the hem.

With a sewing machine, that skirt would be very quick. But as others have said you'd need a lot of fabric and a net underskirt to get that effect.
By hand it would take hours.

Is this for you or for a kid and what is the occasion, I mean I know it is Halloween, but are you going trick and treating, down the pub, or to a posh Halloween party?

Really easy and quick with a sewing machine, ask around to see if someone has one you could borrow (lots of people bought them in lockdown then hid them in a cupboard) or look to see if there's a sewing cafe near you. There's one in my city and in a town nearby where you can use their machines , like an Internet cafe.

Have never heard of this, what a fab idea

I bought this one from Amazon a few years ago and it is lovely cotton-like fabric with a little stiffness to the skirt so you don't even need a net if you don't want. Sorry my link went in the wrong place and now I can't change it, here it is- This

@steppemum it is a really nice way to spend some time, get to do some sewing, chat to other people who enjoy it and there's always someone about who can help if you get stuck or need some inspiration.

Just did a bit of a google experiment and 'sew by the hour' is a good search term to find places.

Hinckley Leicestershire - www.thesewingcafe.co.uk/sew-by-the-hour/

York - www.sewcialising.com/

Sussex - madeandmaking.co.uk/events/sew-friendly-weekly-sessions

East London - thenewcrafthouse.com/collections/workshops

Chesterfield - www.straightcurves.co.uk/

If you are worried about the pleats / gathering then you could buy the tape for pencil pleat curtains, sew this on to your fabric and then pull your waist in using that.
I know it's a bit of a weird suggestion but i repurposed old curtain lining last year in to a Victorian style maid outfit for my daughter and it looked super. I have a machine so I used that to stitch the hem.
You could use wundaweb to hold the seam in combination with hand stitching.

For this skirt, I wouldn't gather at all at the sewing stage. I would make a casing for the elastic and then thread elastic through and it will gather itself.