Gored "Medieval" Skirt Tutorial

"Necessity is the mother of invention" has been so true for me lately! One of my favorite book series is called "The Knights of Arrethtrae" and the author, Chuck Black, is hosting a video contest. The objective is to take a scene from one of the books in the 6-book series and turn it into a short film up to 8 minutes long. The book we chose is "Lady Carliss" and the scene takes place in a swamp. Which won't be too hard to find, I suppose. 

Anyway, I am Director and Costume Designer and I needed to come up with a medieval-type outfit for my sister (who is playing the role of Lady Carliss). Thus, the "pattern" for this gored skirt was born! Depending on what fabric you use, it can be worn two different ways. Using fabric like wool, velvet, linen and silk gives the effect of a medieval skirt paired with, say, a blousson and a jerkin or cuirass...maybe some vambraces and a nice thick belt with a cape :) On the other hand, it works nicely in the modern world as well. The fabric I used is a medium-weight jersey fabric. It hangs really nicely! Denim, cotton, and velveteen would also do well. I doubt that crushed velvet would work, but if you give it a try, please let me know how it behaves for you. 

The skirt has a drawstring top (just to hold it up properly) and is worked in 6 "gores" or panels. They are narrow at the top and flared at the bottom. This gives the skirt an extra flowyness quality that is seen in many, many medieval designs and that's what inspired me!

Okay, so on with the tutorial! 

Gored Skirt Tutorial

By McKenna Rosen

 You Will Need:

4 Yards Fabric of Your Choice

(Suggestions Above)

Matching Thread

Drawstring or Ribbon

Measuring Tape

Chalk (For Marking the Fabric)

First, take the measurements of your victim, er, recipient (or yourself); measure waist and waist-to-hem. That's all you need! 

Next, divide and conquer! Actually, just divide your waist measurement by 6 and add 1. Then, take your length measurement and add 2. Not difficult. Think about it. Since you have 6 panels, you're dividing your waist measurement by 6 and adding 1 for seam allowance. Thus, you have again achieved your waist measurement after the panels come together.

The picture below illustrates really well what I'm going to explain here next:

Okay, so this is the overall shape you're going for. The piece on the left is cut on the fold. The top (narrow end) is HALF the final number you came up with above (because it's on the fold),  and the bottom is a slanted line to flare it out. The pieces on the right are your final number (not halved) cut on the selvedge edge so they're 2 pieces. This is 3 of your 6 pieces. The left panel is the center front and the two on the right are the side-front panels. I was able to cut mine on one width of fabric, but you may need to get creative if your fabric is super narrow :/ 

Do this again for the back panels; it's the exact same thing. Now if you haven't already seen in your head how this is going together, I'll give you strict instructions below.

1. Stitch FRONT-SIDE panel to FRONT panel, right sides together, matching the slanted edges. Press seam allowance

2. Repeat for second FRONT-SIDE panel.

3. Stitch BACK-SIDE panel to BACK panel, right sides together, matching the slanted edges. Press seam allowance.

4. Repeat for second BACK-SIDE panel.

5. Match up FRONT and BACK pieces together at selvedge edges. Stitch. Press seam allowance.

Try it on your "recipient" and make adjustments if needed (any knit or jersey fabric will need to be taken in because of how it stretches). 

All that's left is to make the casing, thread the drawstring through and finally, finish off the hem at the bottom! 

There you have it! Please email me (missmckennaray@gmail.com) or comment below if you have any questions. I would love to see your versions and variations of my idea so please send pictures and maybe I'll end up posting them!