How to make a pleated skirt

1. Materials & tools

Materials (size M at a 3× pleat ratio)

• Main fabric (polyester, chambray or lightweight wool) — about 110 cm wide × 200 cm (43 × 79 in) at a pleat ratio of 3; less at a lower ratio
• Flat elastic (2–3 cm / 1 in wide) — about 0.9 × your waist (the pattern notes give a guide; fit it on yourself)

Tools

• Sewing machine (or needle and thread)
• Fabric marker or pencil
• Ruler and scissors
• Iron
• Pins or clips

2. Make the pattern (auto-generated in Katagami)

With the Katagami pattern tool, you just enter the finished size and it drafts a seam-allowance-included pattern, tiled to print at actual size on Letter or A4.

1. Open the tool
   Open the pattern tool and choose “Adult clothes” → “Pleated skirt” from the tabs at the top.
2. Enter the size
   Enter waist, hip, skirt length, pleat ratio and the visible pleat width. Once pleated, the top edge is hip plus 6 cm so it passes over the hips; elastic then draws it in to your waist. The tool works out how many pleats you get and how much each one folds away.
3. Set the seam allowance
   Use the slider at the bottom (beginners: 1.0–1.5 cm / about 3/8–5/8 in).
4. Print
   Press “Print (actual size)”, then in the print dialog set Scale = 100% and turn “Fit to page” OFF. Check the 50 mm calibration box on the first guide sheet with a ruler.

3. Cutting the fabric

1. Trace the pattern
   Both pieces are rectangles, so you can skip printing and mark the measurements from the guide sheet straight onto the fabric.
2. Cut
   Cut the number of panels the guide sheet gives. The full width is split into equal panels that fit across the fabric.
3. Finish the edges
   Zigzag or serge the side seam allowances.

4. Sewing

4-1. Join into a loop

1. Sew the panels right sides together one after another into a loop and press the allowances open. Plan the pleat marks so each join falls inside a pleat, where it will not show.

4-2. Fold the pleats

1. Along the waist edge, mark at the interval given as the visible pleat width on the guide sheet.
2. Fold at the marks, all in the same direction, and pin. The amount each pleat folds away is on the guide sheet.
3. Baste 2–3 cm (1 in) below the waist edge with a long machine stitch so the pleats cannot shift.
4. Press the whole thing firmly. If you want the pleats to show all the way down, press them to the hem too.

4-3. Waist and hem

1. Fold the waist edge over twice to make a casing and stitch, leaving a 3 cm (1¼ in) gap.
2. Thread the elastic, fit it to your waist, stitch the ends and close the gap.
3. Turn the hem up twice and stitch.

✏️ Work in this order: mark → fold and pin every pleat → baste → press. If you sew as you go, a pleat that drifts out of place cannot be corrected without unpicking.

5. Tips & variations

• Pleats that last: polyester blends take a pressed crease and keep it through the wash. Pure linen will not.
• Fewer pleats: increase the visible pleat width to about 5 cm (2 in) for a calmer, box-pleat look and far less folding.
• Short on fabric: drop the pleat ratio to 2–2.5×. The pleats are shallower but still read as pleats.