How to Make a High Waisted Pleated Skirt

First, fold the fabric in half. Pin the center of the pattern to the fold line and cut. Remove the pins and the pattern piece. Pin the pattern to the fold line again and cut. Unfold the remaining fabric. Pin the waistband pattern and cut.

Take the top of the skirt and make 1 inch pleats along the front and back leaving about 2 and 1/2 inches of space in between. You should have 7 pleats total. Stitch with a half inch seam allowance across the top to secure the pleats. Do this for both the front and back pieces.

Place the front and back pieces on top of each other with the right sides facing together. Pin one side all the way to the bottom. For the other side start pinning from the bottom up and leave 4 inches open at the top. Starting a 1/2 inch in, stitch with a 1 inch seam allowance leaving 2 inches at the bottom. Do the same on the other side, leaving 3 1/2 inches open at the top. Back stitch at the beginning and the end and fold to the right side.

After removing the pins, fold the edges up a 1/2 inch and iron. Then fold the waistband in half and iron. Unfold the waistband and pin one edge to the top of the skirt. Stitch with a 1/2 inch seam allowance leaving a 1/2 inch open at each end. Fold the waistband over to the inside and pin.

With a hand needle, blind stitch the inside seam leaving a 1/2 inch open on each end. A blind stitch is a stitch that lightly grabs a thread of the fabric from the inside that cannot be seen on the outside. Continue this until you’ve reached the end and double knot.

First, cut off the top of the zipper. From the top, insert the zipper into the waistband by folding over the edge of the fabric 1/4 inch on each side. Continue to fold and pin the fabric down to the bottom of the zipper. Make a 1 inch snip at the bottom. Make sure the zipper foot is on and stitch along the fold line. Do this for both sides.

Fold the skirt inside out. For both side seams, snip the seam allowance at the top. Fold over a 1/4 inch twice, pin, and stitch. Fold the hem up 1 inch and iron. Fold up another inch and iron again. Fold the extra fabric at the seams under and pin. Back stitch and stitch with a 1 inch seam allowance. Fold the skirt to the right side. The high waist cotton skirt is now complete.