How to Make a Skirt Pattern: Base, Types and Grading

The base pattern of a skirt is drafted from four measurements: waist circumference, hip circumference, hip depth (the distance between those two lines) and the desired length. It is built in two pieces, front and back, that take in the difference between waist and hip with darts; from it you derive the straight skirt, the pencil skirt, the flared or circle skirt (no darts, built on a circle) and the pleated skirt, which adds fabric panels. Before grading it to the whole size range, the pattern is tested and corrected in the base size.

Modeltex production guide. Updated on Sep 8, 2026.

The measurements you need before drafting the pattern

To draft the pattern you need four measurements: waist circumference, hip circumference, hip depth (from the waist to the hip line, usually between 18 and 22 cm, as a rough guide) and the desired length of the finished skirt. With those four measurements you build the base rectangle; darts, flare and pleats are added afterward on that structure.

In production they are taken from the base size of your size chart, not from a single person. As a rough reference, in women's sizes S to L the waist runs between 66 and 78 cm and the hip between 90 and 102 cm, but every chart varies by brand, so this is a starting point and not a fixed measurement.

To draft it, patternmaking paper, a ruler, a square, a tape measure and a French curve are enough; if you will later digitize it as DXF or open it in a CAD such as Optitex or Audaces, it helps to dimension every point and every dart in centimeters from the start.

The pieces of the base pattern: front, back and darts

The pattern is built in two pieces, front and back, each one a quarter of the waist and hip circumference plus seam allowance, running from the waist line to the hip line and extended down to the desired length. The width at the hip comes straight from the quarter circumference; the width at the waist is closed with darts, because the waist is smaller.

That difference (between 5 and 7 cm per piece in a middle size, as a rough guide) is split into one or two darts at the front and two at the back, 2 to 3 cm each and 9 to 12 cm long; the back darts are usually deeper because the back has a bigger difference in circumference. Two darts per piece is the standard that balances fit and sewing speed in series production.

Straight and pencil skirts: fitted, with darts, and room to walk

The straight skirt starts from the base pattern with the waist darts and little extra ease at the hip, and falls straight to the hem. If the fabric has no elastane, a fitted straight skirt below the knee leaves no room to walk, which is why it gets a back or side slit, a kick pleat at the center back, or a buttoned opening.

The pencil skirt has less shaping at the hip and straighter sides, and it is usually cut in woven fabric with 2 to 3% elastane, which sometimes lets you skip the slit if the length is not too tight. The difference from the straight skirt is in how much shaping the dart carries and how much fabric is left for walking.

Flared or circle skirt: the circular pattern, no darts

The flared or circle skirt has no darts: the flare of the fabric absorbs the difference between waist and hip, because the pattern is built on a circle, with the waist circumference as the inner radius and the desired length as the outer radius. A quarter circle gives moderate flare and good fabric yield; a half circle needs two panels joined and gives more flare; the full circle has the most flare and the highest fabric consumption.

Since there are no darts, it is cut with one side seam or one seam at each center, and part of the outline falls on the bias, so that area drops and stretches over time. Let the garment hang for at least 24 hours before leveling the hem, and plan for that adjustment in production, not only in the sample.

Pleated skirt: additional fabric panels

The pleated skirt adds wide, defined pleats, usually between 4 and 8 per piece, each one formed by a fabric panel two to three times wider than the space it occupies when closed, held by a waistband or a yoke with a fixed stitch above each pleat.

The fine-pleated skirt has many thin, even lines, with the pleats heat-set on industrial presses: it works well in polyester and badly in pure cotton, which does not hold the pleat. Both use quite a bit more fabric than a straight skirt: an eight-pleat skirt can need 1.5 to 2 times the fabric of the same skirt without pleats.

How to test and correct the pattern before grading

Before grading you have to approve the pattern in the base size: cut a sample in a fabric that behaves like the final one and sew it with real seams and waistband. On a dress form or on a person of that size, check that the waist is neither loose nor tight, that the hip does not pull, that the darts point to the fullest point without puckering, and that the length is the agreed one.

If something does not fit, correct it on paper (open or close the dart, move the hip line, adjust the hem) and test again; only once the base size is approved do you grade to the other sizes according to your size chart. Grading a fit defect multiplies it across the whole size range.

The shortcut: start from a skirt pattern already approved and graded

Developing a skirt pattern from scratch, with its tests and corrections, takes weeks until the size range is ready to cut. Modeltex has ready-made skirt patterns in its catalog (straight, pencil, flared, pleated and more), each one with the full women's size range (XS to 4XL) graded and approved with a sewn sample.

They come as A4 PDF, plotter PDF, DXF/AAMA, PDS and the other CAD formats the industry uses, and they go straight into your production without going through base pattern development. If you have your own design that is not in the catalog, Modeltex custom patternmaking develops it with your size chart and delivers it graded and approved.

Frequently asked questions

How do you make a skirt pattern?

It is drafted from four measurements: waist circumference, hip circumference, hip depth and desired length. With those you build a two-piece pattern, front and back, that takes in the difference between waist and hip with darts; from there come variants such as the straight, pencil, flared with no darts or pleated skirt. The pattern is tested in the middle size and only then graded to the whole size range.

What is the difference between a straight skirt and a pencil skirt?

Both start from the same base pattern with darts, but the straight skirt follows the whole hip curve and, without elastane, needs a slit or a pleat to walk. The pencil skirt has less shaping and straighter sides, and it usually carries some elastane, which sometimes lets you skip the slit.

How do you make a flared or circle skirt pattern without darts?

It is built on a circle: the waist circumference is the inner radius and the desired length the outer radius, with no darts because the flare absorbs the difference between waist and hip. Using a quarter, half or full circle changes the flare and the fabric consumption, and part of the outline falls on the bias.

How much extra fabric does a pleated skirt need compared to a straight one?

It depends on the number of pleats, but a skirt with eight pleats can need 1.5 to 2 times the fabric of the same skirt without pleats (as a rough guide). The fine-pleated skirt, with one continuous panel several times wider than the waist, usually uses even more.

Why does a skirt need darts at the waist?

Because the waist is smaller than the hip and that difference has to be taken in somewhere: with darts or, if there are no darts, with flare, as in the circle skirt. In a middle size it runs between 5 and 7 cm per piece, split across the darts at the front and back.

How do you test a skirt pattern before moving it to production?

You cut a sample in a fabric similar to the final one, sew it with real seams and waistband and try it on a dress form or on a person of the base size, checking the waist, darts, hip and length. Only with that sample approved is the pattern graded to the whole size range.

More guides

Sewing patterns ready for production, with the full size range, in the Modeltex catalog.