Hey there! How was your weekend? I survived my second triathlon, and think I’m hooked. It is so much fun to switch up the events! Just as I’m about to drown, I hit the shore and can’t wait to get on the bike. Then, around the time my sit-bones go completely numb, it’s time to stumble off of the bike and pound the pavement running. I gave it my all, and thoroughly enjoyed stuffing my face with bananas, pizza, brownies and powerade post-finish. I’m sure I overcompensated on calories, but it was gooo-od.
Yesterday (which is actually still today for me, since it’s the wee hours of the morning and I’m not in bed, yet.) was a really long day for us. Eliot barely napped and just wanted to be held most of the day. I think he’s getting some more teeth. It was too hot to play outside, and Milo and I were both stir crazy. We did manage to make it to Costco for a pizza lunch (I’m seeing a pattern here…) and then spent the rest of the day with our good neighbors, trying to keep all of the kids happy and playing. It was one of those days where I remember how much my kids need me to just be there for them. Just me, mom. Not seamstress mom, or party-planning mom, or creative chef mom…sometimes they just need regular old mom to sit and built towers of matchbox cars for them to knock down. And I need that, too.
On that note, let’s dive right into a 24 step tutorial for a perfect pleated skirt! Haha, put’s things in perspective, right? Above all, I love being a wife and a mom. And I also like this crafty stuff too. So, seriously now, let’s get on with it.
I adore pleats. I think they are just so classic and flattering. I’ve used them often when sewing for myself (like on this maternity skirt, this Easter dress, and this awning stripe dress) and have come up with a simple way to keep my pleats even. Last week as I was preparing to sew up this pleated skirt in a summery chevron print for my friend, I thought I’d take advantage of the chance to take some photos and share the way I make a perfect box-pleated skirt. There are a lot of steps, and I’d say this project is for people who are pretty comfortable sewing, though if you’re a real beginner, there’s no better way to learn than by taking on a big project! Okay, are you ready? Let’s do it.
Before you begin you’ll need about 1-1.5 yards of fabric, a 9-12″ invisible zipper, contrasting fabric for pockets, and all your sewing stuff…
(yellow chevron print here, if you’re interested!)
1. Measure your natural waist. Add 1.5″ to that measurement (for ease and seam allowance) then divide by 2, because we’re making a front and a back. Add 12″ for pleats to that number and cut two rectangles of your skirt fabric to that width, and the height of your natural waist-knee measurement+2″ for hem.
2. fold each panel in half width-wise
3. measure two inches from the fold and mark with disappearing ink or chalk the whole length of the fold
4. Pin so the fold doesn’t slip
5. stitch down your lines with a very wide basting stitch (you’ll unpick this later, so keep it wide!)
6. open up the folded seam and lay it flat. Press with an iron
7. if you flip your fabric over, you should have a straight seam down the center
8. Measuring from the seam (not the folded edge of the pleat) mark at 4″ and draw a line the whole length of the fabric using a clear ruler
9. Measuring from that line (a), make another mark at 2″ (b) and one at 4″ (c) (this first 4″ will be the face of the pleat, and the second will be the inside of the second pleat)
10. Fold the fabric with RST so lines (a) and (c) meet and line (b) runs the length of the fabric on the fold, pin and stitch a basting line along line (a)
11. Repeat steps 8-10 on the other side of the center seam
12. When you flip your fabric, you should have three seams (or two nice box pleats:) Repeat steps 3-12 on the second piece of fabric. Now the pleats are perfectly straight, and run the length of the skirt. We’ll continue finishing up the construction before unpicking to make sure the pleats stay nice and perfect!
13. Pockets are totally optional, but I’m addicted. If you want to add some, fold your contrast fabric in half and cut around your hand with about 1-2″ of room. Use that as a pattern to cut another 2 pieces
14. lay the pockets RST onto the skirt panels, one on each side, about 3″ from the top of the skirt
15. Stitch along the edge to secure the pockets. You should be able to flip them right-side-out (they’ll look like wings:)
16. Lay both skirt pieces RST and stitch from top to bottom, around the pockets
17. Cut two waist band pieces to the length of your natural waist+1″/2 and about 4.5″ wide
18. Stitch them RST end to end to make one long piece. Fold in half lengthwise and press with an iron
19. Match up the seam on the waist band to one of the side seams on the skirt, and pin ONE of the edges down (leave the opposite edge free to use as a facing inside the skirt)
20. To put the zipper in the side seam, with the pocket in place, you’ll cut down the side of the skirt, about 3/4″ from the intact pocket and side seam. Totally unconventional (aka I made this up:) But it works! Trust me. Now stitch the pinned edge of the skirt and the waist band
21. Fold the waist band back along the pressed center, and turn the edge under just 1/4″ on the inside of the skirt and pin in place. This fold should just barely cover the seam you just finished.
22. Top-stitch the edge of the waistband, as close to the seam as possible, ensuring you are securing the facing fold as well
23. Press your invisible zipper and place in the open side seam (here’s a great zip tut, if you need one. I’ve been meaning to create my own…) You’ll be sewing the zipper onto the 3/4″ of fabric on the back of the zipper side seam, so be careful of the pocket.
24. Yay! You have a zipper AND a pocket in the side of the skirt!
25. NOW you get to unpick those six basting seams that are holding your perfect pleats in place! Take care to not rip through your fabric, or the waist band at the top
26. Your skirt should be looking mighty fine about now! All that’s left is the hem
27. Measure from the top of the waistband to the desired hem length and fold the fabric up and pin
28. Fold the raw edge of the fabric under to create the desired hem width, and stitch as close to the top edge as possible. You’re done!
26 Comments
Great tutorial, thank you! My pleats always end up wonky so this will be a great help!
Thanks Helen! It’s amazing what a little basting will do to keep lines straight. Good luck!
This is great! love how flattering pleated skirts are. .. another thing to make added to my list.
I love that all (or at least most) your skirts have pockets… That is something I miss in every skirt I buy!
Yep, I’m fully in favor of pockets. Especially if I’m making something myself, why not add them!?
Do you have a way to set the pleats? I like how you have the crease running down to the hem, but I should think that would wash out – When I’ve tried to look into pleat setting, I’ve only heard that one should get it professionally done. Otherwise, beautiful skirt and blog (I’ve been lurking on Google Reader for a couple months, but just now commenting – excited to see a DC-area sewing blog!).
Hi there Emma! It’s nice of you to hop out of reader to comment:) I don’t know how to permanently set pleats. These are just pressed with a steam iron. I have heard of setting pleats in polyester or other synthetic fabrics with really high heat, but I’m not sure it would work with cotton like this. To keep these pleats all day, I’d plan on laying flat to dry with the pleats folded well, then starching and ironing. xo
Excellent! My sister requested I make her a dress similar to this Shabby Apple version from a few years back , and I was wondering about the easiest way to do box pleats. It would work to use your tutorial and add a bodice, I do believe. Thanks!
HTML blunder — this Shabby Apple dress.
Hi there Michelle!
It looks like the pleats on that adorable dress are knife pleats, which are super similar to box, but all the folded fabric goes the same direction. To do knife pleats, after sewing the 2″ seam for the pleat, instead of centering the fabric to press, you’ll just iron it all to one side. Also, you can make the pleat faces narrower–about 2″ instead of the 4″ I talk about here. Adding a bodice and a wider waistband to this skirt would make a really darling dress, though, too! Good luck!
xo
Thanks, Miranda!
This is such a great tutorial. I am looking forward to a step by step on the zipper though. I ALMOST get it, but not quite enough to articulate what I DON’T get. (Don’t you love that?) Also, did you serge the sides/around the pockets to keep things from fraying?
Thank you again for a great tutorial!
love this! thank you! found a beautiful skirt wayyyyy out of budget but thanks to you i will be making it for just under $14 woo hoo!
I’m so glad Ashley! Hooray for making it yourself:) xo
Thanks for this tutorial! I made my first pleated skirt with it. I did mine in gingham.
link:
http://pinterest.com/pin/43769427600352875/
This is awesome! Thank you so much for sharing, your skirt looks amazing:)
This tutorial is amazing! I have never made clothes before but have been wanting to make the jump, but I do have a quick question – what is the seam allowance for the sides and waistband? I’ve only made quilts before, where the default is 1/4″, but didn’t want to assume. Thank you!
Great! I hope you try it! The seam allowance is generally 1/2″ when sewing garments. Since this isn’t an actual pattern, though, you can use whatever you’d like and account for it when you cut your pieces! Good luck!
Thanks for this tutorial. I was precisely looking for it. So…if I want to add just 2 pleats instead of 3, do I have to add 8 inches instead of 12 to the pattern? Is each pleat is 4 inches wide? Sorry but I am very bad visualizing this!
Yep! You’ll need to add 4″ for each pleat. Those are the additional 2″ for each side of the pleat that are folded under, creating the folded edges. I don’t know how 3 would work, though, because you will need a even number of seams to create a balanced skirt. For example, this skirt actually only has 2 real pleats, but it has 3 points where the 4″ sections were sewn together. Does that make sense? You add the extra inches to where the folds of the pleats will meet. Hope that helps!
If I would want to make the skirt wider at the bottom, do I make the pleats bigger? Or how would I go about that?
Yeah, that would work. Whatever width you hide in the inside of the box pleats, you will have in fullness at the hem. You’ll just need to make sure you don’t add too much as to overlap folds on at the waistline, because that will add bulk up where you want it flat, you know?
Good Luck!
I don’t get how to do the zipper when you have no seam allowance. Help!
Hmm, good question. I used the 1/4″ on either side of the seam as seam allowance for the zipper, then eased the seam into the zipper to avoid any puckering. Does that make sense to you? If you want, you can insert the zipper before sewing that side seam, then finish the seam after, so you have a clean seam. good luck!
Hi
I’m attempting this right now but I’m stuck on how to get from step 16 to 19 (after I’ve made the waistband). It looks completely different and I’m not sure whether I’ve done something wrong D:
The waistband part is confusing