Expanding the Waist for Box Pleats without Recalculating!

I love box-pleated skirts. I have always wanted to make one, but was never good with math so I never got it right. That is why I love the Poppy Skirt from Phat Quarters.

I wanted to make Leah a new box pleat skirt, but she didn't fit the measurements. That is not usually a problem.  I knew I could still make the skirt but how to add 4” at the waist without ruining or re-figuring the pleats?  There was no way I could work out the math without giving myself a headache!

I decided to make the skirt version with the elastic waist to give myself some wiggle room (and her too).  I started with the front and instead of cutting the rectangle to size, I added 10” to the width and began marking for the pleats according to the directions starting with the center pleat.  I pleated on each side evenly until I had the width needed according to the front and back waistband measurements with 2” added to each.  I added the seam allowance on each side and cut the excess fabric off.

Next, I added the pockets to the sides. I also added the pocket to the extended width of the back piece and sewed my side seam. I extended the width 5” to each back piece.

  

Then, I continued pleating until I had the width needed for the one back piece then did the same thing for the other back piece, adding 2” total.  (1” on each back piece plus seam allowance)

This pattern is so well designed that I only had to make very small adjustments to the pleats for them to be even. I finished the pattern according to the instructions for the waistband with elastic.

This Pattern is on sale on Maarch 19, 2020 for Throwback Thursday! Grab it at 

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