gypsy skirts

[jackrocks]

Im working on my first "gypsy" style skirt, and by that (bc I don't know any proper name for it) I mean, the several tiered style that swirl out when you twirl or can be tucked up into a belt on the side and have enough material to waterfall over and make lovely ruffles.
My question is, when you tuck it up into the side - at least those that I have seen in person - it looks like the "underside" that shows is the right side of the fabric. Are these typically done in a reversible style, or is that a second skirt underneath, worn inside out?

[Anna Iram]

Don't hold me to this as I don't own one, but I think that type of skirt is usually unlined. They are sometimes called 10 yard skirts.

[DonaCatalina]

Capt Marga would be our resident expert on Gypsies. You might try PMing her.

[jackrocks]

thanks. I googled "10 yard skirts" and got a bunch of sites for "25 yard skirts"! 25 yards! wow. Although....my third tier ended up being a lot. I didn't measure it, I don't even know how much I started out with, really, just eyeballed it:) but there was a lot of it. And its getting heavy! But it does seem swooshy, and that's what I wanted.

there are surprisingly few online tutorials for this type of skirt. I dont know why, but I thought there would be a bunch of them.

[Dinobabe]

I have yet to find or make a skirt that actually reaches the 25 yard length!  My "25" yard skirt is about 11 around the bottom tier.  That's pretty typical or otherwise it's just too much fabric.  Making one is super simple.  Here are the instructions. 
http://www.izzydancer.com/My_Homepage_Files/Page5.html

[jackrocks]

Well, Im almost finished with my last tier, and it is coming along nicely. But....I didnt anticipate this to end up so, so heavy, so Im going to have to go back to the top and undo the elastic waist I put in and make this a drawstring:)
But, I love the wayt he colors are coming out, and the way it looks when I tuck the sides up.

[Dinobabe]

What kind of fabric are you using and what is your bottom tier length?  Cotton gauze is kinda the standard for fabric otherwise it gets very heavy!  That is also why the bottom tier isn't actually 25 yards. 

[isabelladangelo]

Broomstick skirts (the proper name    Gypsies in period did not wear them; they are a later neo-tribal invention) can be very easy to make.  You might want to start smaller than 25 yards for the bottom tier.  I just made a similar styled skirt for work out of 2 1/2 yards of fabric with the bottom (4th) tier being around 5 yards around.   It's not super wide but it's perfect for something swichy yet work appropriate.  All I did is cut the 2 1/2 yards into strips of about 9" wide.  The first tier is one strip, or 45" wide.  The second tier is 2 strips and so on and so forth.   I gathered the bottom tier of four strips to match the width of the third tier of 3 strips and sewed them together.   I then gathered the 3rd tier and matched it to the width of the 2nd tier (so on and so forth).   Once all the tiers were sewn together, I sewed up the long seam creating a very gathered tube.  I then folded the first tier over to create a casing for the elastic and strung elastic through said casing.   Then, I hemmed up the bottom. 

It probably sounds more complicated than it really is.  It just takes patience.  Make each tier as wide as you like except the first one.  It shouldn't be too much wider than your hips only because you don't want that bulk at your waist. 

[Lady Kathleen of Olmsted]

I came acrossed this Gypsy pattern from SIMPLICITY...http://www.simplicity.com/p-5400-misses-costumes.aspx