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Friday, March 14, 2014

Tutorial---How to Draft and Sew an 8-Gore Flared Skirt




Recently I made an 8-gore flared skirt for my daughter. I am excited to share the pattern drafting and sewing tutorial for this twirly skirt.

How to draft:

I developed this pattern from the A-line skirt draft (posted here).



The draft shows 1/4th of the entire skirt. Draw a line EF that divides the 1/4th skirt into two gore panels. Label them 1 and 2. Measure up from D at center front to a point from where flare starts (for example, 4 inches). DH = FI = CG. Draw a curvy line connecting points G, I, and H, which is parallel to the hemline.






Extend the hemline CFD on both sides. Let us add flare to the gore panel 2. Measure out from D the width of the flare (example 1.5 inches). Mark it K and connect with H. Repeat for the other side of the panel. Measure 1/8 inch (0.125 inch) from K and J and label them L and M, respectively. Join L and M. Trace panel 2 and add 1/4 inch seam allowances at the top and at the sides and add 3/4 inch hem allowance. Repeat this process for gore panel 1.




Now you have two flared gore panels.







Remember, these two panels are for the front right side. You will have to mirror these pieces to get the two panels for the front left side. And then use these four panels to cut the panels for the back of the skirt. Add seam allowances to each of these panels.




How to sew:

Use a serger or zig-zag stitch to finish the edges of each gore panel before joining. Join the front four panels with an 1/4-inch seam allowance. Open the seams and press well. Top stitch on both sides of the seams.


 
Repeat this for the back of the skirt. And join the front and back of the skirt.




Hem the bottom. Attach the waistband and insert the elastic into it (tutorial here). And you are done.





After finishing the skirt, I realized I shouldn't have used a fabric with bold prints (you can see in the image that the patterns do not match at the seams). So when you make a skirt like this, better go for solid color fabrics or fabrics with small floral prints.

You can find lots of free PDF printable sewing patterns on this page on my blog. You can download and use them to create your own clothes.

You can also click the Free Sewing Patterns Page at the top of this blog page (under the blog title) to find more free sewing patterns.

Click the below links to browse through all the pattern drafting and sewing tutorials on my blog.



Bye for now! Have a nice day!

--- Flora