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Making your own flamenco skirt is tempting, but it's not that easy. The multiple panels and long hem mean you'll be sewing for hours! For practice and student recitals, a skirt like the Bal Togs flamenco skirt is perfect and only costs around $40 (see picture on right), so it's hard to see why you would give yourself so much grief!
Even if you're up for all that work, it's almost impossible to find a ready-made pattern. Go to your local fabric store and you may find some labelled 'flamenco skirt' - but chances are they're for fancy dress, and won't have nearly enough material for dancing, unless you don't mind showing your knickers!
If you really want to make your own, buy an ordinary 6- or 8-panelled skirt pattern. If you can find one with godets (triangles of material around the hem to make it flounce), even better. Godets in streetwear are normally quite small, so you'll probably need to make them much longer for a flamenco skirt.
If you have an ordinary panelled skirt pattern, there are a few ways to modify it:
- Make the pattern exactly "as is" to just below the knee, then add one or two ruffles to the hem. This style will be similar to a sevillanas style skirt - just be careful it's not too tight around the thighs to dance in. If the original pattern was A-line rather than dead straight, it should be fine.
- Cut the pattern exactly "as is", to ankle length - but don't sew it together. Then cut long, narrow, triangular pieces of material (godets) to insert between each panel. Be warned - when you add godets to a skirt that's not designed for them, getting a straight hem can be a headache!
- You can modify each panel by flaring it out at the bottom before cutting.
I've been lucky to have access to a specialist flamenco dressmaker for most of my flamenco outfits - but once or twice, I've had to resort to an ordinary dressmaker, with mixed results. 
Don't get me wrong, a good bridal dressmaker will know exactly how to go about making you a beautiful flamenco dress, given a few photos and the right material - but there's one place where she's almost guaranteed to get it wrong.
The sleeves.
When you're dancing, you have to move your arms through a far wider range than you do in everyday life. Both times I've had dresses made by non-specialists, I've been unable to get my arms above my head!
The secret is simple, and I'm very grateful to Anjela for this link, which explains the simple modification you need to make your sleeves work:
Flamenco skirts and dresses require a lot of material - allow 2 metres (2.5 yards) for a simple skirt and 3 or 4 metres for a dress. That much fabric is heavy! Bear that in mind when buying fabric to make a flamenco dress, and look for materials that are on the lighter side.
Don't go too far, though - very light material won't move well (or will fly up too easily!), unless you add a lot of ruffles to add weight at the hem. It may also be see-through - and voila, you have to add a lining, which adds to the weight, so you're back where you started.
Many professionally-made dresses have a cotton lining, for strength and sweat absorption - but make your own decision as to whether you need one. Modern polyester fabrics hold their shape much better and don't really need a lining to support them, especially if you reinforce your seams.
As for sweat absorption - if you wear a separate cotton-lycra cami under your dress, it will absorb sweat just as well, and is easier to wash - and you don't have to worry about it shrinking out of synch with the dress. If the dress has sleeves, you can also sew sweat guards under the arms.
