Pleated Midi Skirt

Do you have a wardrobe piece that you wear a lot? 

And by "a lot" I mean so much that it could be your uniform?!  For me it's this navy pleated midi skirt.  I made it out of Ponte (for those who don't sew *yet* it's a nice heavy but not too stretchy knit fabric).  I decided to add an exposed red zipper and red button to give it some one-of-a-kind-ness (it's a word today). 

I inherited by Husbands' Nonna's sewing machine from the 1950's, tins of buttons, reclaimed zippers and other notions.  I try to add a special Nonna touch to all of the clothes I make my girls and occasionally some of my pieces.  Both the red zipper and button are compliments of Nonna, God bless her soul.



I love making midi skirts because they are easy and forgiving.  All you need to do is start with your waist band measurement (allowing seam allowance for adding the zip) and then add pleats as needed to the skirt pieces to make it fit your waist band. 

There are some great formulas on Pinterest for figuring out the number of pleats:waistband ratio, however my mathematically challenged brain prefers trial and error (not at all efficient, but works for me). I start with my centre box pleat and work my way out until the skirt piece matches up to the waist band.  Simple!

Here is a simple outline of how I made my skirt:

 

There is a great easy to follow tutorial on Elizabeth Ave  which is similar to my skirt.  The best part of making it yourself is that you can make the skirt as long as you want! 
Perfect for nice tall frames!
 
Do you have a wardrobe piece that you wear a lot and can dress up or down?  I'd love to hear about it!