Sew-a-Long: Gathered Skirt

Sew your own high-waisted gathered skirt with this step by step tutorial. I have been meaning to post this for a while now as its one of the easiest and quickest skirts you will ever sew!

Sitting at your natural waistline this skirt creates the gathered look through the use of an elastic waistband. You will also find a video tutorial on how to hand sew a blind slip stitch on the hem.

Materials

• 0.8-1.2 Meter(s) in silk, satin or chiffon fabric. I have used Silk Charmeuse in this tutorial.
• One meter of 1 5/8" width elastic
• Matching thread

Step 1

Gather the following measurements:

• Measure your natural waist line. Measure on top of a shirt that you would wear with the skirt.
• How long would you like your skirt? Measure the height from your natural waistline to your ideal hem length. You may need a hand with this one. Add 2" to your measurement for seam allowance and hem allowance.

Step 2

Create the above pattern or just mark the fabric directly.

To create gathers in a garment we need to give additional fabric to the width of the skirt. A good formula for creating gathers is to multiple the natural waist measurement by 2 to get a good amount of gathers.

Step 3

The vertical sides of the rectangle represent either a center back seam or a side seam. Sew these 2 raw edges together to create a seam.

I have applied a French Seam finish. Please click HERE for my tutorial on how to sew one.

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Step 4

Measure and cut out the elastic.

Natural waist measurement - 2" = Final cut elastic to be used on skirt.

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Step 5

Right sides facing, sew elastic ends together at 1" seam allowance. 

Open elastic waistband so right side is facing you, sew down seam allowances to one side at 3/4" seam allowance from seam.

Step 6

You should now have a circular elastic waistband ready to attach onto skirt. Divide your elastic into 4 equal sections. Mark as shown in below sketch, at the beginning of each quarter with either a pin or chalk. Use your side seam and/or center back seam as one of the marks.

Mark the skirt the same way, using your side seam and/or center back seam as one of the marks.

Step 7

Right sides facing each other, line up the four points of elastic to the skirt. Ensure raw edge of fabric is lined up to elastic edge.

Sew elastic to skirt at 1/2" seam allowance, stretching elastic to lay flat onto fabric as you sew, for each quarter section. This part will take a great deal of patience. Don't give up! You are almost done. If quarters are too much fabric to work with, break your sections up further into 8 sections.

Once your done sewing, your waistband should look like this.

Step 8

Its time to hem! You may choose your own hemming method. 1 1/2" has been allocated to finish the hem in this tutorial. 

I used Silk Charmeuse, so I want to use a hand sewn finish to avoid any top stitching. I will be applying a tailored hem finish with a blind slip-stitch. Follow the following steps to complete the same hem.

You will first need to prep the fabric by marking two fold lines with chalk prior to pressing. One line is 1/2" from bottom, the other is 1 1/2" from bottom.

Press up skirt on marked lines and pin. Click below video for a detailed demo on how to hand sew a blind slip-stitch.
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If you have any questions or comments, leave one. Dont forget to share your gathered skirt on Facebook.

Happy Sewing!
Designed, photographed and written by Sheila Wong Studios