Pleated Skirt with Asymmetric Button Closure & Elasticated Waistband
A women's midi skirt with flat middle panels at front and back and pleated side panels, an off-centre buttoned opening on the left of the front panel and a 4 cm waistband with elastic over the pleated areas.
When To Wear
- For work in autumn and winter, with a fine knit or a shirt tucked in.
- With boots or flat shoes in the cooler months.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Narrow at the waist, widening towards the hem as the pleats open below the stitched-down section.
Length: Midi; side panels cut 85 cm long.
Closure: Opening along the left edge of the front middle panel, topstitched along the marking, with vertical buttonholes; three buttons on the opening and one on the waistband.
Skirt: Side panels cut to a width set by the waist measurement and pleated as triple pleats with a 4 cm visible width (8 cm pleat depth). Pleats are stitched down for 19.5 cm from the waist; the seams to the middle panels lie in the inner fold of a pleat.
Waist: Waistband 4 cm finished, flat and interfaced over the middle panels, with two casings holding 3.5 cm elastic over the pleated side panels.
Finishing: Panels hemmed before pleating; opening allowance topstitched 0.5 cm from the edge.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. Calculating and pressing triple pleats (or having them made in a pleating workshop), an opening hidden in a pleat, and a part-elasticated waistband.
Fabric Recommendations
Suiting fabrics of natural and blended fibres; the sample is made in a fine wool fabric.
Additional Supplies
- Elastic, 3.5 cm wide
- Fusible interfacing (waistband, except the casing areas)
- 4 buttons
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- Middle Front Skirt – 1 piece
- Middle Back Skirt – 1 piece
- Side Panel (for front and back, cut by measurement) – 2 pieces, 85 cm long each
- The width of each side panel depends on the waist circumference:
- Waist 62–67 cm: width 84 cm
- Waist 68–75 cm: width 96 cm
- Waist 76–83 cm: width 108 cm
- Waist 84–95 cm: width 120 cm
- Waist 96–107 cm: width 132 cm
- Waist 108–119 cm: width 144 cm
- Waistband (cut by measurement) – 1 piece: length = length of the skirt's upper edge plus 4 cm for the closure extension; width 8 cm cut (4 cm finished).
- From fusible interfacing: Waistband (except the casing areas).
- Casing length: from the side edge of the Middle Front Skirt to the side edge of the Middle Back Skirt.
- Important: Press pleats into the side panels. The easiest way is to have the pleating done in a workshop: triple pleats with a visible pleat width of 4 cm. This means each pleat needs 12 cm of fabric: 4 cm visible width plus 8 cm pleat depth. For the first pleat at the right edge of the left panel you need half the pleat depth (4 cm) plus seam allowance. For the last pleat at the left edge, mark the visible part of the pleat, 4 cm wide; after this visible part, add another half pleat depth plus seam allowance for the pleat on the Middle Front Skirt. Hem the panels before pleating.
Sewing Instructions
- Hem the Middle Front Skirt and the Middle Back Skirt.
- On the wrong side of the pleated side panels, stitch the pleats closed for 19.5 cm from the upper edge.
- Press the pleat fold on the Middle Front Skirt to the wrong side.
- Topstitch the left side of the Middle Front Skirt along the marking.
- Make vertical buttonholes at the markings.
- Pin the Middle Front Skirt and Middle Back Skirt to the pleated side panels so that the pleat fold of the Middle Front Skirt matches the marked visible pleat width on the pleated panel.
- At the back, the pleat fold of the pleated panel lines up with the seam line of the Middle Back Skirt.
- Stitch the seams in the inner fold of the pleats, leaving the opening on the left side of the Middle Front Skirt unstitched.
- Stitch the outer pleat fold for 19.5 cm from the upper edge.
- Press the opening allowance of the side panel to the wrong side and topstitch 0.5 cm from the edge.
- At the lower end of the opening, stitch the pleat depth for 5 cm along the seam line, starting from the pleat fold.
- Right sides together, stitch one long edge of the Waistband to the upper edge of the skirt, with the closure extension at the pleat depth of the left side panel.
- Fold the Waistband in half lengthwise, right sides together, and stitch the short ends.
- Turn the Waistband to the wrong side, fold under the lower edge and pin it over the attaching seam.
- To form the casings, stitch across the Waistband at both ends of each pleated area.
- Cut the elastic into 2 pieces, insert them into the casings and secure them to the Waistband at the pleat folds and at the closure extension.
- Stitch the remaining open lower fold of the Waistband in place along the attaching seam.
- Topstitch along the middle of each casing between the cross stitches, stretching the elastic as you sew.
- Make 1 buttonhole on the Waistband.
