Making a simple garment: a gathered skirt – Sewing Machine (Senior 3 Home Science) | Ganzaa

Sewing Machine

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Senior 3 · Home Science

Sewing Machine

4 lessons

Lesson 3 of 4

Making a simple garment: a gathered skirt

25 min

Let's begin

The first garment many tailoring apprentices make is a gathered skirt with an elastic waist. It needs no paper pattern: just two rectangles of fabric, two side seams, a channel for the elastic and a hem. Yet it uses every skill of a garment maker: taking measurements, calculating and laying out the fabric, cutting on the grain, sewing and neatening seams, and finishing. In this lesson you plan and make one, step by step, with the machine skills from Lesson 2.

Definition

Garment: any item of clothing.

Grain: the direction of the threads in woven fabric. The straight grain runs parallel to the selvedge, the firm, finished edge of the fabric. Garment pieces are cut with their length on the straight grain so they hang straight.

Casing: a folded and stitched channel at the edge of a garment through which elastic or a cord is threaded.

Gathers: small, soft folds made when a wide piece of fabric is drawn in to fit a smaller measurement, such as a waist.

Hem allowance: the extra fabric left at the lower edge to be turned up and stitched.

1. Measure

Measure over light clothing with a tape measure held snug but not tight:

Waist: round the natural waist, the narrowest part of the body.
Hip: round the widest part of the hips. The skirt must pass over the hips.
Length: from the waist down to where the hem should fall.

2. Calculate the pieces

Quantity	Rule
Width of each panel (front and back)	hip × 1.5 ÷ 2, plus 2 seam allowances of 1.5 cm
Cut length of each panel	finished length + 4 cm for the casing + 4 cm for the hem
Elastic	waist − 5 cm, plus 2 cm to overlap the ends

The factor 1.5 gives a gently gathered skirt; use 2 for a fuller one. The 4 cm casing allowance is 1 cm turned under plus 3 cm for 2.5 cm elastic.

Worked example

Worked example 1: planning the skirt. Aline's measurements: waist 70 cm, hip 96 cm, finished length 60 cm. Her kitenge is 115 cm wide. Calculate the panels, the fabric and the elastic.

Width of each panel: $\frac{96 \times 1.5}{2} + 2 \times 1.5 = 72 + 3 = 75\ \text{cm}$
Cut length: $60 + 4 + 4 = 68$ cm.
Each panel's length must run along the grain, so the 75 cm width goes across the fabric (75 cm fits in 115 cm). Two panels one after the other need $2 \times 68 = 136$ cm of fabric, about 1.4 m (Figure 3).
Elastic: $70 - 5 + 2 = 67$ cm.
Finished skirt round the hem: $2 \times (75 - 3) = 144$ cm, which is 1.5 times her hip, as planned.

3. Make the skirt

Prepare the fabric. Wash, dry and press it first, so it shrinks before cutting rather than after sewing.
Mark and cut. Lay the fabric flat. Mark the two rectangles with tailor's chalk and a ruler, checking that each length is parallel to the selvedge. Measure twice, then cut along the lines.
Neaten the edges. Zigzag or overlock the two side edges of each panel.
Sew the side seams. Place the panels right sides together, pin, and sew both side seams with a 1.5 cm seam allowance, backstitching at each end. Press the seams open.
Make the casing. At the top, turn 1 cm to the wrong side and press, then turn 3 cm and press. Stitch close to the lower fold all round, leaving a 5 cm gap for the elastic.
Insert the elastic. Fix a safety pin to one end and push it through the casing, holding the other end so it does not disappear. Overlap the ends by 2 cm and stitch them in a small square. Close the gap and spread the gathers evenly.
Hem. Turn 1 cm then 3 cm to the wrong side at the lower edge, press, pin and stitch close to the upper fold.
Press and check the finished skirt (table below).

Quality check	Good result
Seams	straight, 1.5 cm wide, pressed open, edges neatened, secured at both ends
Gathers	spread evenly all round, elastic not twisted
Hem	the same depth all round, stitches straight, no puckers
Fit	slides over the hips, sits comfortably at the waist, the planned length
Finish	thread ends cut, chalk marks removed, pressed

Confidensews: cutting and sewing a gathered skirt with an elastic waistband, from measuring to finishing. The method of joining the elastic differs a little from this lesson; notice how the fabric is gathered evenly onto the elastic. The video uses inches: 1 inch = 2.54 cm.

Worked example

Worked example 2: will it fit? Mugeni has 1.2 m of fabric 115 cm wide. Her hip is 100 cm and she wants a 50 cm skirt. Is the fabric enough?

Panel width: $\frac{100 \times 1.5}{2} + 3 = 78$ cm, which fits across 115 cm.
Cut length: $50 + 8 = 58$ cm; two panels need $2 \times 58 = 116$ cm.
She has 120 cm, so the fabric is enough, with only 4 cm to spare. She must check that the fabric was pre-washed and straightened first, or it may come out short.

Warning

Common mistakes. Cutting before pre-washing (the skirt shrinks later); cutting across the grain (the skirt twists and hangs badly); forgetting seam and hem allowances (the skirt comes out too small or too short); and sewing over pins. Carry scissors closed with the points down, put pins back in the pin cushion, and stand the iron on its heel between pressings.

Tip

Exam tip. In a garment calculation, write the rule before the numbers and add the allowances last: fullness first, then seams, then casing and hem. Show the units at each line.

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Practice

Define the selvedge and the straight grain. Why are skirt panels cut on the straight grain?
Why is fabric washed and pressed before it is cut?
Calculate the panel width for a hip of 88 cm, with a fullness factor of 1.5 and 1.5 cm seam allowances.
For a finished length of 55 cm, what is the cut length of each panel?
Write the order of construction for the skirt, from neatening to final pressing.
Keza's waist is 66 cm. How long should she cut her elastic?
A finished skirt has bunched gathers on one side, a hem that dips at the back and seams that unravel at the waist. For each fault, give the likely cause and the remedy.

Show answersHide answers

The selvedge is the firm, finished edge of woven fabric; the straight grain runs parallel to it. Cut on the straight grain, the panels hang straight and do not twist or stretch out of shape.
To shrink it before cutting, so the finished garment does not shrink, and to remove creases so the measuring is accurate.
$\frac{88 \times 1.5}{2} + 3 = 66 + 3 = 69$ cm.
$55 + 4 + 4 = 63$ cm.
Neaten the side edges; sew the side seams; press them open; make the casing, leaving a gap; insert and join the elastic; close the gap and spread the gathers; turn up and stitch the hem; press and check.
$66 - 5 + 2 = 63$ cm.
Bunched gathers: the gathers were not spread evenly along the elastic; spread them and stitch through the casing at the side seams to hold them. Dipping hem: uneven hem depth or a panel cut off the grain; measure the hem from the floor and re-press it. Unravelling seams: no backstitching at the ends; resew the ends with 3 or 4 reverse stitches.

Sources and credits

Lesson text, Figure 3, tables, worked examples and practice: written by Ganzaa.
Video: How to Cut and Sew a Gathered Skirt with Elastic Waistband | Easy Beginner Sewing Tutorial, Confidensews, embedded from YouTube.

11. Measure

22. Calculate the pieces

33. Make the skirt

1. Measure

2. Calculate the pieces

3. Make the skirt