Hi everyone, Holly here! I have a super simple hack today for your Wattle skirt. You may have been able to tell after all these years, but I love a good ruffle or gathered tier. It’s my favorite go-to hack for patterns, and Wattle is no different. Personally, I think it works best on View C, which is what I will be showing you here, because the gathers of the ruffle tier pair well with the gathers at the waist. So let’s get started…
To start, before you cut out your fabric, measure 5″ from the bottom of the front and back skirt pieces and cut. We need to take off some length to make room for the tier.
Of course, this is customizable. Remove as much or as little to create your desired length.
Then cut out your fabric pieces and sew the skirt following all of the instructions, except for the hem.
Now your need to create your ruffle tier. Cut out two rectangles that are 1.5x or 2x the width of the front skirt pattern piece (depending on how dense you want the gathers to be. 1.5x will be less dense, 2x will be more dense). The height of the tier, again, depends on your desired finished length. I went with 12 5/8″ (11″ finished + 1 5/8″ seam and hem allowance).
With right sides together, sew the two tier rectangles together at the side seams. Finish the raw edges with your preferred method.
Using a long machine stitch, sew one or two rows of basting stitches along the top of the skirt, 5/8″ from the raw edge. Leave long threads at the ends.
Gather your tier panel by carefully pulling on the long end threads. Gather until the tier is about the same width of the bottom of your skirt.
With right sides together, insert your skirt inside the tier so that the bottom raw edge of the skirt is aligned with the gathered top edge of the tier. Line up the side seams and adjust the gathers as needed so everything lines up. Pin in place.
Sew together at 5/8″ from the raw edge, and finish the raw edge with your preferred method.
Press the seam allowance up towards the skirt (and topstitch if you would like).
Hem your ruffle tier by turning up the bottom edge by 1/2″, and then again by another 1/2″, and stitch.
That’s it, all done! Get out there and wear your super cute new skirt!
LOOKING FOR MORE WATTLE POSTS?
Here’s the full list of Wattle tutorials :
- How to choose between Wattle & Wattle Curve
- Pattern Tester Round-up
- Inspiration + Ideas
- Pockets (all views)
- Bias Cut seams (views A & D) and Tips for Pattern Matching
- Pleats (view B) and Alternate Pleat Patterns
- Gathers (view C)
- Button Waistband
- Tie Waistband
- Hemming
- Wattle skirt hack: Bib overalls
- Wattle skirt hack: Gathered tier hem (this post!)
Don’t forget to tag your creations with #MNwattle and @megannielsenpatterns when sharing on social media, and check out what everyone else is up to!
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