Creating a Tribal Style Tiered Skirt

A "Tribal Style" Tiered Skirt.

A tiered skirt is useful for Tribal and gypsy style dance as well as being a good alternative to the classic circular skirt. It can be made out of any fabric though is best suited to non- stretch fabric which is not too thick. The skirt pictured has been made from a dress-weight 100% cotton which had a gold random pattern on the 'top' side. If you are not good at sewing always try out a new project on some cheap fabric first so you get an idea how it works - it will always do as an underskirt or class skirt.

	The finished skirt has a bottom hem which is 10 yards (9 meters) long. The middle layer is 120 inches long (3 meters) and the top layer is 60 inches (1.5 meters). I made the skirt from fabric that was 45 inches (110cm) wide which is a fairly standard width for dress fabric. To save on sewing I cut the tiers long-ways out of the fabric rather than across.
I used 5 yards (4.5 meters) in the skirt but bought some extra to use in my turban. This material will make a skirt up to about 40 inches long and is wide enough to fit most sizes (see notes further down if you are very slim). I also used spool of matching cotton thread (buy two in case you make mistakes and have to un-pick and re-sew) and a length of elastic one and a half inches wide for the hip band. You will need good sharp scissors, a tape measure and lots of pins. If you are tall and want to use this method to make a skirt longer than 40 inches you will have to find a wider material - which is possible. Alternatively you can add extra length by adding a contrasting band of braid to the bottom hem or you could use an extra strip of material to make a separate hip band. Or you could use the alternative method suggested at the end of this piece. First measure how long you need your skirt to be. Measure from where you want the top of the skirt hip band to the appropriate point at the bottom. Either get a friend to help or take the measurement from a finished skirt that you know fits. My skirt length was 32 inches (as I am short). By dividing this by three I can work out that each tier needs to end up being just under 11 inches when the skirt is put together. Work out how deep the tiers will be before you cut the fabric as follows - Top layer - will be 1/3 of your finished skirt length plus one inch (2cm) plus the width of your elastic. This allows half an inch for the seam joining it to the middle layer and enough material to form the channel for top elastic. If this works out as more than 1/3 of the width of your material then you need to think about using another method. Middle layer - will be 1/3 of your finished skirt length plus one inch (2cm). This allows half an inch for the seam joining it to the bottom layer and another half inch seam joining it to the top layer. Bottom tier - will be 1/3 of your finished skirt length plus one and a half inches (3cm). This allows half an inch for the seam joining it to the middle layer and one inch turned over for a simple narrow hem. Work out these 3 measurements and write them down - however do not get too hung up on exact measurements - the skirt can be adjusted to some extent later! You are now going to cut the material along its length cutting off the bottom tiers at the selvage edges and leaving a strip in the centre which will form the top and middle layers.
	1: Fold your cloth lengthways so that the selvage edges are together and fold the length over . Depending on how slippery the material is you may be able to cut through several layers at a time by careful folding - but check the material is straight before cutting and pin the layers together if they seem likely to slide.
	2: Measure the depth of the bottom tier and seam/hem allowances measuring up from the selvage edge. Use pins to mark the line of the cut.
	3: Double check your measurements before actually cutting - try to cut in a clear straight line and keep checking that the fabric has not 'wriggled' out of position.
	4: Separate out the layers. You should have three long strips each 5 yards long. Set aside the middle layer - which has two cut edges. Get the two pieces that have selvage edges - this is your bottom tier. Making sure that you put right sides together align the selvage edges and pin the short ends together.
	5: Sew the two strips together so that you now have one 10 yard long strip. Set this aside.
	6 :Lay out the middle strip that you set aside before. This is going to become the top and middle layers. If you are slim and/or the material is bulky you may find that 60 inches (1.5 meters) is too wide for your hips. Decide what would be a more suitable width for you - but remember the top layer should not be tight fitting, as it will restrict your movement. For a standard fit measure 60 inches (1.5 meters) - or your chosen length - along the length and cut across the strip. You now have a short length - which will be the top layer and a longer length that will be the middle layer. Set the shorter strip aside for now. Don't worry about cutting this to the correct depth yet.
	7: Take the longer strip which will be the middle layer. Measure up from one cut side the depth you need for the middle tier - 1/3 the length of the finished skirt plus one inch (2cm).
	8: Cut off the excess so the middle tier is now the correct depth.
	9: Now you are going to join the top tier to the middle tier. This can be done by either gathering or pleating the length of the middle tier to match the length of the top tier. To help you get the pleats or gathers evenly spread I suggest you first roughly pin both tiers together at the ends, in the middle and evenly at other points so that it is easier to share the fabric out.
	10: The simplest way is to make a series of small (half inch or 1 cm) pleats in the middle layer fabric as you pin the two together. You could gather the middle layer by using a draw thread, but in my experience this method is more difficult than pinning pleats - especially when you are dealing with so much fabric. Provided the pleats are small the end result is less bulky and looks very similar.
	11: Before sewing pin the pleats or gathers in place. Sew the top tier to the middle tier - you can then over-sew the seam edges or tidy the seam up as seems appropriate.
	12: Follow the same process to join the bottom tier to the middle tier.
	13: With 'right sides' together pin the edges of the skirt togther - make sure that the seams between the tiers match up properly. Sew the main skirt seam. At this stage you can also turn up a small hem and sew this. You don't need to measure the length of the skirt at this stage - you will be making any adjustments to the top! If you want to you can add a contrasting ribbon/braid along the hem at this stage - this looks very effective if the material you have used is plain. It can also add a little length to the skirt if you have need.
	14: Now measure up from the hem to mark out the final length of the finished skirt - mark or pin this all the way around the top tier. At this stage you can try on the part finished skirt to check you have got the measurements right.
	15: Before cutting the fabric you have to allow extra fabric to cover the back of the elastic and a half inch (1cm) to tuck under. My elastic was one and a half inches wide so at this stage I added two inches to the skirt length at the top. Cut off the excess from the top of the top tier.
	16: Create a channel for the elastic by turning the top of the top tier over - tuck the cut edge under so that all the raw edges are hidden. Pin or tack this and check as you go that the elastic will fit. Sew the channel leaving a small gap so you can push the elastic in. Thread the elastic through the channel. If you pin a large safety pin to the end of the elastic this will help you feed it through the channel. Make sure that the elastic is not twisted before sewing the ends together. Tidy up the gap in the channel and the skirt is ready.
Alternatives The method above uses the length of the fabric to save sewing. However much the same method can be used to make a tiered skirt cutting the tiers across the width of the fabric. This is useful if you need a longer skirt, if your fabric is narrow - in which case you may need to use more widths of material in each tier if your fabric is very wide if the pattern needs to run in a particular direction, if the fabric stretches or have a 'nap' You will need to work out the overall length of the skirt as before and divide this into 3 and add on the additional amounts for seams, hems and elastic for each tier as appropriate. You can then cut the material into strips the appropriate depth for the individual layers cutting out however many of each you feel you need. For example - a similar skirt to the one detailed above can be made from 60 inch (150cm) wide material as follows. Cut one top tier - to the length worked out as above Cut 2 middle tiers - to the length worked out as above Cut 6 bottom tiers - to the length worked out as above Sew the 6 bottom tier pieces into one strip Sew the 2 middle tier pieces into one strip Then proceed as from stage 9 Disaster! If your skirt has worked out too long it is much easier to take it up from the top (which is narrow) than the bottom which is very, very long. If the skirt has turned out too short - you can uses narrower elastic - or even a drawstring cord - which will sit in a narrower channel giving the skirt a bit more length to the top layer you can sew an extra 'tier' to the top and make this into the channel for the elastic you can add a bit of extra length by sewing on a broad ribbon to the hem you can add a contrasting longer 'underskirt' bottom tier. Make sure you cut this to the required length - you will need at least the same width of fabric as the middle tier but should have a little more. Pleat or gather this and sew it to the inside of the skirt to the seam where the bottom layer joins the middle layer. This makes the skirt look very much more full as well as giving additional length.

Contributor: Chris Ogden
Contact: Email Chris here

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