Self-drafted pleated maxi skirt

I used the leftovers from my Wiksten Shift top to make a big voluminous pleated maxi skirt! And I LOVE IT!

Author standing in front of an orange tree in the sunshine. She is wearing a full, pleated maxi skirt which is brightly patterned in orange, red and purple flowers. She is also wearing a black top and sunglasses and has her hand on her hip.

Here’s how I made it:

Cut a bit longer than needed, by the width of the fabric. This is the front.
Repeat as above – this is the back.
Draft a waistband to sit where you want it to on your body. I used this tutorial from In The Folds.
I then decided to pleat it, so divided the total width by the required finished circumference, then set about pleating.
I sewed it to the waistband, did all the usual finishing, inserted an invisible zip etc.

I would not do it this way again 🙂 I screwed up the waistband and it was too big. So I hacked about at the side seams to make it smaller. It’s a bit of a dog’s breakfast on one side…however, overall – it’s a winner! It feels amazing to wear and I love it.

As noted in my 2020 goals, I need to get better at fit. There is something about my waist to hip ratio that I am not getting right – I am 100% sure that things will fit, and they are invariably too big.

All the deets:

Pattern: None, except for the waistband (see In The Folds tutorial).

Size: My own. Sort of.

Adjustments:

I had to hack away the side seams as it was too large (dammit).
It’s a custom length – deliberately cut a bit long so I could definitely hem it exactly where I needed it to fall.

Fabric used: Linen noil from Tessuti (Italian)

Like it? Wearing it? YES and YES. Even with the issues making it, I LOVE IT.

Notes for next time:

Plan to pleat a skirt before you start making it!!!
Work out a waistband pattern that fits well.
Use a pattern, or fix the fit issues…