How to Sew a Tiered Dress or Skirt
In this tutorial I'll show you how to add a tiered skirt to one of your favourite dress bodice or Tshirt patterns. This is a great beginner dressmaking project, but is also a great way for more experienced sewists to get creative and draft and make something without a pattern and tailor it to your own preferences. The principles for how to calculate the width and depth of the tiers is the same, it is easy to alter to your own taste and I'll show you exactly how in this step by step tutorial for how to sew a tiered skirt or dress.
00:00 Introduction
05:52 Calculating the depth and width of each tier
10:15 Sewing the gathering stitches
13:43 Gathering the tier
20:01 Testing the width of the first tier
22:20 Sewing the short edges of the tiers together on the overlocker
26:08 Pinning the first tier to the bodice
28:15 Sewing the first tier to the bodice
31:06 Finishing the edges of the first tier
33:00 Reducing the width of the second tier
36:41 Hemming
38:46 Conclusion
A few months ago I drafted and made a three tier maxi skirt and attached it to the bodice of one of my favourite dress patterns, Vogue 9344 and received lots of compliments and questions about how I created it. Today I'll show you step by step how to create a shorter 2 tiered skirt in jersey fabric, although the principles are the same. I'm using an adapted version of one of my favourite jersey top and dress patterns Simplicity 8982 and you can find links to everything I mention below.
In addition to how to calculate the width and depth of the tiers I'll show you tips for sewing gathering stitches and distributing gathers, where you can use an overlocker or coverstitch machine if you have one and lot of other general tips and advice.
A few points to bear in mind - if making a tiered skirt or dress with woven fabric, you may need to include a zip to allow you to get it on and off easily. You can just use the seam allowance of the first tier for this where the short edges of the first panel of fabric join together.
If you are creating a dress you may need to reduce the length of the bodice so the skirt hits you on the waist. Simply reduce the length of the pattern piece, but also remember to include a 5/8" or 1.5cm seam allowance to attach it to your skirt.
If you would like to create a tiered skirt rather than a dress, you could simply sew some decorative elastic onto the finished skirt to create a waistband or you could create a casing in your fabric for an elastic waistband. To create the casing measure your waist and cut a strip of fabric the length of your waist plus two seam allowances (2 x 1.5cm = 3cm) and double the width of your elastic plus two seam allowances (2 x 1.5cm = 3cm). You might want to give yourself a little extra length on the waistband piece because you can always reduce it down and make it shorter until you're happy with the fit before attaching it to the skirt.
► Sew Essential https://www.sewessential.co.uk/
► Jade 20 sewing machine https://www.sewessential.co.uk/husqva...
► Husqvarna seam guide foot https://www.sewessential.co.uk/husqva...
► Babylock Desire 3 coverlock machine https://www.sewessential.co.uk/sewing...
► Purple Thang https://www.sewessential.co.uk/purple...
► Vogue 9344 sewing pattern https://www.sewessential.co.uk/misses...
► Simplicity 8982 sewing pattern https://www.sewessential.co.uk/misses...
► Viscose jersey fabric https://www.sewessential.co.uk/floral...
► Prym decorative elastic https://www.sewessential.co.uk/haberd...
► Prym coloured waistband elastic https://www.sewessential.co.uk/haberd...
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