All about skirts

Introduction

Skirts are a wardrobe staple for most women. They can be tailored, flared, business-like, formal, informal, warm in the winter and cool in the summer. They are perfect for almost any occasion and always a good choice when one isn't sure what to wear. They can be dressed up or dressed down, depending on one's mood.

Skirts are also quite simple to sew and fit. They are also easy to design and a perfect starting point for anyone who wants to learn how design their own sewing patterns. The first garment I designed for myself from scratch was a drindl style skirt which I made up in wool/rayon challis. It quickly becme my favourite and led me to designing and sewing more skirts.

Perhaps you are saying, I prefer pants; they fit better and they are more comfortable. Besides, I don't look good in skirts, too lumpy, skinny, fat, like a box...the problem isn't you, it's the skirt. It wasn't made for you! A good fitting skirt is much more comfortable than pants, and it doesn't emphasize anything that you want to keep hidden, nor does it bunch, sag, pull, or ride up.

The secret to a good fitting skirt is the basic pattern, also knows as a sloper or a block. The basic pattern is the building block used to draw all the other patterns. It's not difficult to draw your own then play with it until it fits to perfection. No pattern company know exactly where my hip is the largest or yours nor do they know our exact height, and not one pattern company knows the exact distance between my waist and my hip.

I'd like to point out a phrase in the previous paragraph, play with the pattern. It's important to see this as fun, as a something done for pleasure and enjoyment and not a horrible chore. Don't fret over mistakes, learn from them, don't beat yourself up, everyone makes mistakes. Don't say "I'll never get this right I'm so stupid." Say "what went wrong, how can I fix what went wrong and what can I learn from this mistake." after spending years saying statement one, I've found statement two to be more of a help to me!

Before we grab our pencils, paper, pins and needles, let's review the different types of skirts, how they are made and how they fit. For everyone who thought there was only one or two types of skirts, you are in for a surprise.

skirt Styles.

The straight skirt

This is the style that is made and sold more than any other. It consists of a front, a back, both with darts to fit the skirt to the figure, and usually a waistband. The skirt is fitted between the waist and the hips and falls from the hips to the hem in a straight line. This skirt is the least flattering to the most figures, except the petite, who can wear it successfully because of the strong verticle lines. It can look boxy if it's too short or too long. The darts also can sit in the wrong place and many women find that if the hips fit the waist doesn't, or if they fit the waist the hips are too tight. Many of these problems can be fixed by making and fitting your own personal pattern. For sewing, It's 2 out of four on the easy to difficult scale, and will be our basic starting point.

The tapered or tailored skirt

This skirt is similar to the straight skirt, except instead of falling straight from the hip, it gently curves inward toward the knees. It's very flattering on anyone who has a defined waist line. It elongates the shorter woman and can turn a tall woman into a knock out. It gives a strong hourglass shape to most figures, however it can sometimes give an ice cream cone effect if the taper is too narrow. It shouldn't impede walking, there should be a small vent or pleat to facilitate walking. If the waist to hip measure is over twelve inches, then this skirt is a poor choice. If one has an "apple" it's a poor choice. It's also a poor choice for anyone is is small on top and larger on the bottom. It can be tricky to fit and there are many opportunities for mistakes. It rates three out of four for difficulty.

The A-line Skirt

This is the style and shape most associated with home sewn skirts. As the name says, it falls from the waist to the hips to the hem in an A shape. It is flattering to many figures as it narrows the waist visually. The "apple" shape looks good soft A-lines. It is a poor choice for anyone who is shorter than 5 feet tall as it can truncate the vertical lines needed accent height. Tall woman can and should wear this one longer or shorter than knee length, but never at the knee as once again it chops the leg line in half. There are many ways to make and fit this one, and it's very versatile. Again, it's a two out of four on the easy scale.

The Flared Skirt or Trumpet

The flare is different than the A-line. It's wider at the hem than a basic A-line and when made in a soft fabrics it will hang in graceful folds from the hip. It's well suited to almost all figure types. It can be made in a wide variety of fabrics and is very versatile. The trumpet is an exageration of the basic flare, fitted in the hip area and more flared at the hem.

The gored Skirt

The gored skirt is a skirt made from more than just a front and a back, both cut on the fold. There can be four panels, six, eight, twelve, etc. Theses skirts are easy to fit, very comfortable, can be amade in almost any type of fabric. They can be straight, A-line, flared, swirled, gathered, the possiblities are endless. And because there are more seams, it means they are easier to fit. It's not well known outside of the world of tailors and dressmakers; but the more seams in a garment, the easier it is to adjust the fit. It seems counter intuitive, for years we've been led to believe that fewer seams means easier to make, but it's not true. Look at many modern patterns, with few darts and seams they might be quick to sew but they don't fit and they look sloppy. The gored skirt is one of my specialties. The gored skirt looks good on almost all figure types. It visually elongates the shorter woman, the strong vertical lines adding height. It's excellent for the plus sized woman, also, it's easy to fit and once again the strong lines make the eye move up and down, rather than across. It can range in ease of sdewing all the way across the board, from a one to a four.

The gathered skirt or Drndl

The gathered skirt is usually made of a softer and more flowing fabric. The fabric is cut anywhere from one and a half to three times the hip measure then gathered onto a waist band. Multiple layers of fabrics can be used for different effects. A drindl is easy to fit, easy to wear and good for almost all figure types. My first pattern designed by me was a drindl skirt. It's about a one and a half in ease of sewing.

The cargo skirt.

The cargo skirt is a cross between the straight and four gore skirt. It's commonly sewn in denim but it can also be made from firm twill fabrics, chinos, khakis and gabardines. It's often made with with pockets, tabs, loops and other details. It almost always has a fly front opening. It's a modern look, part of the "urban hipster" or "urban explorer" look. It can look heavy and clunky on shorter figures and is best reserved for those who are tall and not too thick in the middle. If you have no waist and the rectangle shape, this skirt is ideal. It's best for casual wear only. It can be easy to sew, but as more details are added it becomes increasingly difficult.

The Elastic waist skirt.

A straight skirt with an elstic waist is one of the first things we were taught to sew in school in Home Economics. It's one of the most common patterns available in the catlogues, often reccomended as a beginner pattern. It's really not a very flattering or well fitting option. Made in the wrong fabric, such as quilter's cotton; it can be a disaster. It is bulky in the waist, doesn't do anything around the hips, and it's hard to get it to flow in a graceful line from the hips. It's often marketed to plus sized women, yet it doesn't flatter her figure! Never make a straight skirt with an elastic waist. However, drindls, flared skirts, gored skirts, anything that is at least ten inches wider than the hips, makes a nice elastic waist skirt. It's saving grace is that it's easy to sew, a one out of four.

The yoked skirt

This skirt has many different shapes, on the bottom, but at the waist and hips it has one particular detail: a seperate yoke peice that the main part of the skirt is sewn onto. Denim skirts often have yokes, yokes are often used to hi-light embroidery or applique, they can be showcases for fancy sewing and needlework.

The tiered Skirt

Also know as gypsy skirts, peasant skirts, belly dance skirts, these are long, flowing, gathered skirts often worked in different colours, and fabrics. Four tiers is the most common, but you can make them in as many teirs as you wish.If the skirt is one colour, it is flattering to many figures as the gathering gives strong vertical lines. However, skirts made of teirs of different colours are best reserved for taller women, as the strong horizontal lines cut across the figure, visually shortening it.

The novelty skirt

This category includes "hobble" skirt of the early twentieth century to the balloon and bubble skirt that have shown up in Paris runways in the newest collections. This is anything that is likely a fad of fancy and will likely go in and out of fashion quickly.

Now that we have a brief overview let's begin by making the basic straight skirt block. We always start any pattern with a good set of body measurements. Measure yourself honestly. If you need to fool yourself by using metric, then do that. A skirt won't fit if it isn't madde according to your body. If you can get some assistance while measuring, it will ensure accurate numbers. Before you get out your tape measure, wrap a length of elastic around your waist, and move around, walk sit, whatever and the elastic will settle at your natural waist line

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