Pleated Wrap Skirt Pattern

I hadn’t touched my sewing machine in almost 2 weeks. I was starting to get hives.

Lol – ok, maybe I am exaggerating. But this past Friday I FINALLY found some free time in what can only be called, ‘the most hectic schedule of my life’, and didn’t quite know what to do with myself. Sure – there was certainly work to be done. And the lure of sitting on the couch and watching Netflix for a few hours was undeniable. But what I really wanted to do…was sew.

I didn’t know where to begin! I had no sewing projects on my must make to-do list, all of my deadlines were a week off (and let’s get real – I hadn’t yet decided what I was making for those anyway), and there were no UFO’s sitting on my desk waiting to be completed. I was literally a blank slate.

I knew I wanted to sew something more complicated than a basic pencil skirt or t-shirt, something with style, yet something I could still accomplish in a day’s time.  Which ruled out the dress idea I have had floating around in my mind – as that is going to take me a couple of days to nail down specifics. And the pants I have floating in my head might be tricky – the fit has to be perfect for the wide leg flairs I want.

It was decided, I would sew a skirt. A cute wrap skirt with pleats, out of this gorgeous chambray fabric that I scored in the clearance bin at my local Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft Store.

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Pleated Wrap Skirt

Free Women’s Skirt Sewing Pattern

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Time needed: 2 – 3 hours, Skill level: Advanced beginner

MATERIALS:

• 1.5 – 2 yds woven fabric
• Pleated Wrap Skirt ePattern – Click HERE to download
• Invisible zipper
• Basic sewing essentials

SIZE CHART:

Pattern size measurements –

• XSmall – waist 27″, hips 33.5″
• Small – waist 29″, hips 36″
• Medium – waist 31″, hips 39″
• Large – waist 33″, hips 41.5″
• XLarge – waist 35″, hips 44.5″

Measure your waist and hips to cut the right size pattern.

HOW TO SEW THE PLEATED WRAP SKIRT:

Step one – Cut out pattern pieces as instructed. To cut the 8″ wider front skirt pattern, simply elongate the waist on the side of the skirt with the shorter side seam. If desired, cut a piece of lightweight interfacing for the waistband and iron onto the wrong side of the waistband. Finish the bottom hem of all skirt front and back pattern pieces by turning the hem under 1/4″ towards the wrong side and ironing. Turn again 1/4″, enclosing the raw seam, and press again. Sew to hem.

Step two – Create 4 or 5 knife pleats in the top waistband of the elongated front skirt panel. There is no exact finished width you need to the skirt pattern to be when done with pleating. The skirt panel should be approximately three quarters of the width of the other front skirt panel, you want it to be thinner in total width, so it achieves the ‘wrap’ look when finished.

Step three – Lay the pleated skirt panel on top of the regular front skirt panel, so that both right sides are facing up. Line up the side seams and waistband seam and pin together the matching seams. Baste stitch using a 1/4″ seam allowance to secure.

Step four – Place back and front skirt pattern pieces right sides together, matching up the side seams. Pin and sew. Finish seam with serger, pinking shears, or zigzag stitch. Press.

Step five – Finish the back center skirt raw edges and waistband with either serger, zigzag stitch, or pinking shears.

Step six – Fold waistband in half, wrong sides together, and press. Fold one long edge of the waistband 1/4″ towards the wrong side and press along one edge. Finish side edges of waistband with either a serger, zigzag stitch or pinking shears.

Step seven – Place waistband’s unfolded edge right sides together with the waistband of the skirt. Pin and sew. Press seam up.  

Step eight – Sew invisible zipper to waistband and upper back center seam of skirt.  Pin and sew back center skirt seam right sides together, underneath the zipper. Press open.

Step nine – Fold waistband down, towards the inside of the skirt. Pin around and sew, enclosing the seam inside the waistband.

Press for a nice, clean finish.

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Thanks so much for stopping by, and until next time…

Happy sewing!