Drape Gather Skirt – Laying Up and Cutting Out

I’ve put together some diagrams for cutting out the Drape Gather Skirt sewing pattern.  I’ve considered fabric widths of 110cm, 130cm and 150cm for the shell of the skirt, across all the sizes 6-22.  I’ll deal with the cutting of the lining for this skirt in a separate post.  I suggest that your first sample is an unlined skirt so you have the opportunity of finessing the fit before making a fully lined version.  One constant feature of cutting these drape patterns is there is always what I would consider a lot of waste fabric.  I tend to keep the larger pieces and use them in future projects.  I’ve found that a pattern with a number of smaller pieces works really well.  I use a paneled waistcoat design that has 5-6 pattern pieces that use the waste from the skirt design very well.

The first lay plan is for Sizes 6-14 on fabric 110cm wide.  It’s a single lay cut and I’ve specifically included it in my plans because I’m in love with patchwork/quilting fabrics that come in this width and I intend to cut a number of unlined skirts for the summer.  For this lay-up you’ll need 1.5-1.8 metres of fabric.  The full Fabric Usage Chart is at the bottom of this post.

Please note that I’ve placed grain lines in both directions on these patterns.  You can use either grain line depending on your fabric width and the pattern or weave of your fabric.  All that’s important is that both back/side panels of your skirt are cut on the same grain so that you have the same look and behaviour of fabric on both sides in your final skirt.

This lay plan is for Sizes 6-14 on fabric 130cm wide and you’ll need 1.4-1.5 metres of fabric for this lay plan.  I find that some fabrics do come in this width.  Mostly suiting blends and some vintage fabrics.

This lay plan is for sizes 6-14 on fabric 150cm wide and you’ll need 1.1-1.4 metres of fabric.  With the wider fabrics you can place the pattern on the alternate grain line.

The first image is for the lay-plan for sizes 14-22 on fabric 110cm wide and you’ll need 1.8-2.3 metres of fabric.

This lay plan is for sizes 14-22 on fabric 130cm wide and you’ll need 1.5-1.9 metres of fabric.

This lay plan is for sizes 14-22 on fabric 150cm wide and you’ll need 1.4-1.75 metres of fabric.

When you have finished cutting the fabric there are a few more things to do before you are ready to sew.  At this stage of the process, I like to prep my cutting with all the trims and fusible interlinings ready to jump onto the sewing machine.

You’ll need an invisible zip and you’ll find the lengths listed in the table below.  Cut a piece of fusible interlining for your waistband and include it with all your trims.  Also a button for the waistband (1.5-2 cm/ ⅝-¾”), matching thread for sewing and some bias binding to finish the hem.  I like to bundle all the cut pieces and trims together and roll them up and secure them with a tie so nothing is lost.  I place these bundles in a bin beside my sewing machine for those fabulous days where I get to sew all day long.

As soon as you’ve completed your cutting out and preparation for sewing you can click through to the next blog post for sewing instructions.

If you have any questions about this pattern or the sewing process, don’t hesitate to use the comments section below. 🙂  If you’d like to share your photos of this blouse you can join my Facebook group, or Instagram.  To be sure I see the posts please use my handle @studiofaro or the hashtag #DrapeGatherSkirt.