Pleated Skirt With Waist Band

Pleats can be hard to make neatly unless you're careful. You'll be careful, though, right?

Cloth -- At least a quarter yard, and possibly a half yard depending on the size.
Your Sewing Stuff -- Needle, thread, scissors ... basics.
Chalk and Tape Measure -- For marking pleats.

Measure around your doll's waist line. Multiply this measurement by two. Throw an inch or two in for good measure. This is your width.

Now, take a tape measure and measure from your doll's waist to wherever you want the skirt to fall. (Knees? Ankles? Mini skirt?) Add a half inch. This is your length.

Cut a rectangle that measures your length by your width. Also, cut yourself an unfinished waist band. (You may want to look at the waist band article.)

Hem the large rectangle. (Refer to the hems article.)

Now, we're going to mark pleats. Take some chalk and a tape measure. If you mess up, squirt your cloth with water, rub out the chalk, and try again.

Mark the center. (Put an extra long mark there, or a star or something.) Measure out a half inch from that center mark -- this marks the box pleat in the middle of your skirt. From either mark, measure a half inch, then an inch, then a half inch, then an inch, and so forth, to the edge of the skirt.

It should look like this.

Copy those markings to the bottom edge.

Now, to pleat -- fold the cloth TOWARD THE MIDDLE (no matter what side you're working on). Fold so that the marks that are a half inch apart meet.

Pin it WELL. Soak it in water, and press it once with the pins and once without. Show the cloth you mean business.

Sew along the waist band's edge. When you finish, take it off the machine, take the pins out and tug on it. If it comes apart, repair it.

To add velcro, decide which edge you want to be the top and which you want to be the bottom. Fold the edge under twice (like when you did the pressed hem!), then pin the velcro on.

Make SURE that you have the fuzzy side of the velcro sticking up on one edge, and the scratchy side sticking up on the other! Sew a straight stitch around the velcro. (I recommend sewing off the velcro just a few stitches at the bottom edge. Look at one of your AG outfits -- the velcro doesn't go down and meet the final seam. Instead, they gave it a few stitches before the seam started.)

Once the velcro's in, take the pins out, fold the skirt with right sides together, pin it, and run a seam between the hem and a few stitches below the velcro.

Ta da!

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