Free Guide for Sewing a Three Tier Skirt

Today we are sewing a skirt! 

This skirt is breezy, twirly, and beginner-friendly. We’ll build three gathered tiers and finish with a polished 4″ elastic waistband that’s stitched through in multiple rows for a ready-to-wear look. You can plug in your own measurements with the formulas below (I’ve also included a full worked example). Plus there is a free pattern piece for optional pockets! 

Pocket Pattern Piece: Pattern Piece

The full video tutorial can be seen here:

What you’ll need

• Light to medium-weight woven fabric (rayon challis, lawn, voile, lightweight linen, cotton poplin, double cotton gauze) If you want to include a lining you can add that as well. 

• 4″ sew-through knit elastic (wide waistband elastic)

• Polyester thread

• Ballpoint/stretch sewing needle (helps when sewing through elastic)

• Measuring tape, chalk/pen, scissors/rotary cutter

• Optional: serger (or zigzag) A serger does make this a lot faster!

  Take your measurements

  • Waist (W)

  • High hip/hip (H) (use the larger of the two; this ensures Tier 1 is comfy)

  • Finished length (L) from waist including the 4″ waistband 

  Design choices

  • Tiers: 3 equal-looking tiers

  • Gathering ratio: Start with ~1.8× between levels for flow without bulk (go up to 2× for extra drama) I did 1.8 for my ratio

  • Waistband: 4″ elastic, stitched through with multiple rows (e.g., 8–10 rows about ⅜″ apart)

  Formulas 

  1) Lengths

  • Visible waistband after attaching ≈ 3.5″ (because ~½″ gets caught in the seam)

  • Skirt body length = L − 3.5″

  • For 3 tiers, Finished height per tier ≈ (L − 3.5″) ÷ 3

  • Cut heights

    • T1 cut height = finished tier height + ½″ (seam at top)

    • T2 cut height = finished tier height + ½″

    • T3 cut height = finished tier height + ½″ (top seam) + 1″ hem

  2) Widths

  • T1 width = H × 1.8 (minimum; increase if you want more ruffle)

  • T2 width = T1 width × 1.8

  • T3 width = T2 width × 1.8

  3) Waistband elastic

  • Cut 4″ elastic to (W − 1″ to 2″). Overlap ends by ½″ and zigzag to make a loop.

  Worked example (W=23″, H=25″, L=30″ including waistband)

  Lengths

  • Skirt body = 30 − 3.5 = 26.5″

  • Finished tier height ≈ 26.5 ÷ 3 = 8.83″

  • Cut heights:

    • Tier 1: 8.83 + 0.5 = 9.33″

    • Tier 2: 8.83 + 0.5 = 9.33″

    • Tier 3: 8.83 + 0.5 + 1 = 10.33″

  Widths (using 1.8×)

  • Tier 1: 25 × 1.8 ≈ 45″

  • Tier 2: 45 × 1.8 ≈ 81″

  • Tier 3: 81 × 1.8 ≈ 145″

  Waistband elastic

  • Cut to 21–22″, overlap ½″, zigzag to join.

  Sewing steps

  1. Assemble tiers

  • Join panels for each tier into loops; finish vertical seams. Note, if using pockets these will be sewn into the outside fabric for tier 1. 

  • Pockets: Match with right sides together the straight edge of the pocket with the straight edge of the tier. Place on either side of the tier and sew. With right sides together, match the pockets with the front and back tier, and sew around the pocket. Finish off sewing the tiers together at the top and bottom being sure to leave the pocket open. 

  • Run two rows of long basting stitches along the top of T1, T2, and T3 for gathering.

  2. Join tiers (repeat these steps for the lining, so you have two finished skirts. This would be the outside of the skirt and the lining). 

  • Gather T2 to match T1; sew with ½″ seam; finish and press seam up.

  • Gather T3 to match T2; sew; finish; press up.

  • Hem T3 with a 1″ double turn (½″ + ½″).

  3. Elastic waistband

  • Make a loop from the 4″ elastic (cut length above). Make a loop with the waistband fabric as well. 

  • Mark quarter points on the elastic and waistband fabric.

  • Insert the elastic into the fabric loop so the elastic goes into the wrong side of the fabric. 

  • Stretch elastic to match quarter points; sew with a zigzag/serger so the seam stretches.

  4. Row-stitch through the elastic and add to the skirt.

  • Mark 8–10 parallel lines about ⅜″ apart across the elastic height. 

  • Sew each line through elastic, stretching the elastic flat as you stitch so the seam won’t pop later. Sew all rows in the same direction for a smooth finish.

  • Match the outside seam allowance of the skirt waistband to tier 1 of the skirt. Gather tier 1 if necessary. Sew in place. Repeat these steps for the lining by matching the seam allowance of the waistband on the inside to the tier 1 of the lining. 

  • Your skirt is complete!

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  Quick yardage planning

  • Add up the cut heights of all tiers, add a few inches for panel joins and shrinkage, then divide by your fabric width to estimate panels.

  • For very wide Tier 3 (e.g., 145″), expect 3–4 panels regardless of 45″ or 58–60″ fabric widths.

  
  

  Save these formulas, and you can recreate this skirt for any size or length! Looking for more sewing tips? Check out my YouTube channel and my Amazon storefront! Note: I may make a small commission from my Amazon storefront and links in this blog post. Thank you for supporting me :) Happy sewing! ✂️🧵