Grandmaʼs Sewing Cabinet Skirt Pattern Drafting Sew-Along

Drafting Guide

Visit GrandmasSewingCabinet.com for Video Tutorial

This handout will guide you step by step so that you will have a “first pattern” by the end
of it. Donʼt skip any steps--you are simply drawing lines (most of them straight) in a
sequence based upon the measurements that you took in the last lesson. Just follow
the red lines!

For simplicity, transfer your measurements to the appropriate blanks in this worksheet
(the measurement name is written in subscript below each space):

Enter your Center Front Hip Depth in Step 2.

Enter your Back Hip Arc in Steps 3, 4, and 5.

Enter your Center Back Hip Depth in Step 7.

Enter your Front Hip Arc in Steps 8, 9, and 10.

Enter your Back Waist Arc in Step 13.

Enter your Back Dart Intake in Steps 13, 15, 17.

Enter your Back Dart Placement in Step 14.

Enter your Front Waist Arc in Step 18.

Enter your Front Dart Intake in Steps 18, 20, 22.

Enter your Front Dart Placement in Step 19.

Steps:

1. Cut a piece of dot paper or grid

paper that is about 36” x 36” and
draw a vertical line down the middle
of it the length you want your skirt
to be. Example: If you want your
skirt to be 25 inches long, draw a
25 inch long line. Mark the top of
the A and the bottom B. This is
your side seam.

2.Measure down ___ (center front hip

__ , draw a short line,
depth)

making sure that the angles are

90º (called “squaring the line”),
and mark it C. This will
eventually become your hip line,
also known in pattern drafting as
your Horizontal Balance Line
( or HBL).
 3.Draw a line from A to the left
that is equal to your Back Hip
Arc + 1/2” of ease: ___Hip Arc__
+ 1/2” ease =__A to D__. Make
sure that the line is exactly
perpendicular/square to your A-
B line. Mark the end of the line
D.

4. Draw a line line from C to the left

that is equal to your Back Hip Arc +
1/2” ease. This line is the same
length as A-D. Make sure the line
is square and mark it E. ___ Hip Arc__
+ 1/2” ease = __C to E__ .
 5.Draw a horizontal line from B to
the left that is equal to your Back
Hip Arc + 1/2” ease. This line is the
same length as A-D. Make sure
the line is square and mark the end
of it F. ___ Hip Arc__ + 1/2” ease =
__B to F__ .

6. Draw a vertical line from D to F.

This is your center back of the
skirt. You should now have a big
rectangle.
 7.Measure up from E __Center

Back Hip Depth__,

draw a short line,
making sure it is square, and
mark it G.

8. We will now repeat this process

with the skirt front. Draw a line
from A to the right that is equal to
your Front Hip Arc + 1/2” of ease:
___Hip Arc__ + 1/2” ease =__A to H__.
Make sure that the line is exactly
perpendicular/square to your A-B
line. Mark the end of the line H.
 9.Draw a line from C to the
right that is equal to your Front
Hip Arc + 1/2” ease. This line
is the same length as A-H.
Make sure the line is square
and mark it I. ___ Hip Arc__ + 1/2”
ease = __C to I__ .

10.Draw a horizontal line from B to

the right that is equal to your Front
Hip Arc + 1/2” ease. This line is
the same length as A-H. Make
sure the line is square and mark
the end of it J. ___ Hip Arc__ + 1/2”
ease = __B to J__ .
11.Draw a vertical line from H
to J. This is your center front
of the skirt. You have now
drawn in the rough outline of
your skirt pattern.
12.We will now work on the waist and figuring out how much to add for your
dart intakes. The dart intake is the flappy part of the dart after the legs
(the two lines) have been folded/sewn together. For this lesson, I will
be using the Ready to Wear ratio. You can use that ratio and then futz
with the intake after you make your sample skirt or you can figure out
what it is right now. Subtract your waist measurement from your hip
measurement to determine the difference (round it to the nearest whole
number) and then look down the chart to find the ratio that is closest to
your number. Enter the back dart intake in Step 13.

Hip - Waist Difference Front Darts Back Darts

Ready to Wear Ratio 2 darts @ 5/8” intake each 2 darts @ 1” intake each

4” difference 1 dart @ 1/2” intake 1 dart @ 3/4” intake

5” difference 1 dart @ 1/2” intake 1 dart @ 1” intake

6” difference 1 dart @ 1/2” intake 2 darts @ 5/8” intake each

7” difference 1 dart @ 1/2” intake 2 darts @ 3/4” intake each

8” or 9” difference 2 darts @ 3/8” intake each 2 darts @ 7/8” intake each

10” difference 2 darts @ 1/2” intake each 2 darts @ 1” intake each

11” difference 2 darts @ 5/8” intake each 2 darts @ 1 1/8” intake

each

12” difference 2 darts @ 5/8” intake each 2 darts @ 1 1/4” intake

each

13” or 14” difference 2 darts @ 5/8” intake each 2 darts @ 1 3/8” intake
each
 13.For the back: Starting at D,
measure the amount equal to
your Back Waist Arc + Dart
intake + Dart intake + 1/4”
ease. D to K = __Back Waist Arc___
+ __Back Dart Intake__ + __Back Dart

Intake
__ + 1/4” ease = __D to K

Measurement
__. This is your back
waist. Make sure your line for
K is square. Make this line
nice and long.

14.For the dart placement, starting at

D, measure the amount of your
back dart placement and mark it
with a dot and an L. D to L =__Back
___.
Dart Placement
 15.Mark the dart by measuring
to the right the amount of your
Back Dart Intake and marking it
at the waistline with a dot. Dart
=__Back Dart Intake__. Skip steps
16 and 17 if you only need to
make one dart.

16.To place the second dart,

make another mark 1 1/4” from
the Dart Intake dot you just
made.

17.Mark your second dart by

measuring to the right of the dot
you just made the amount of
your Back Dart Intake and
marking it with a dot along the
waistline. Dart =__Back Dart Intake__. You should now have four dots.
 18.We will now repeat this
same process for the front.
Starting at H, measure the
amount equal to your Front
Waist Arc + Dart intake +
Dart intake + 1/4” ease. H
to M = __Front Waist Arc___ +
__Front Dart Intake__ + __Front

Dart Intake
__ + 1/4” ease = __H

to M Measurement
__. This is
your front waist. Make sure
your line for M is square
and nice and long.

19.For the dart placement, starting at

H, measure the amount of your
front dart placement and mark it
with a dot and an N. H to N =__Front
___.
Dart Placement
 20.Mark the dart by measuring to
the left the amount of your Front
Dart Intake and marking it at the
waistline with a dot. Dart =__Front

Dart Intake
__. Skip steps 21 and 22 if
you only need to make one dart.

21.To place the second dart, make

another mark 1 1/4” from the Dart
Intake dot you just made.

22.Mark your second dart by

measuring to the left of the dot you
just made the amount of your
Front Dart Intake and marking it
with a dot along the waistline. Dart
=__Front Dart Intake__. You should now
have four dots on your front waistline.
 23.You will be using your hip
curve to draw the side seams.
For the back of the skirt: Align
the straight side of the hip curve
with the A-B line. Slide the
ruler up and down until it
touches both C and K. From C
measure your Side Hip Depth,
make a dot, and mark it P along
the line made by K. C to P -
__Side Hip Depth__.

24.We will repeat this process for

the skirt front. Align the straight
side of the hip curve with the A-
B line. Slide the ruler up and
down until it touches both C and
M. From C measure your Side
Hip Depth, make a dot, and
mark it Q along the line made by
M. C to Q -__Side Hip Depth__.
 25.We will now draw the
preliminary waist lines. Using
the shallow/straighter end of
either your hip curve or your
French Curve, draw a line from
G to P (back waist) and then
another line from H to Q (front
waist).

26.Weʼre getting close to the finish

line...I promise!
 27.To make the darts: Find the
exact center of each dart intake.
For the back darts, measure
down 5 1/2 “ (5” for juniors or
petite) and make a dot. Draw
the dart legs up from the dart
and through the waistline dots
you made.

28.Repeat this process for the front

darts, only measure 3 1/2” down
from the waist.

29.Cut your pattern out along the

sides and bottom. Do not cut
along the top--we still need to
draw our final waistline seam!
30.Fold your darts closed, with the flappy part facing toward center back or
center front, and tape them shut just enough to hold them in place but
not too much because you will have to open them up again in a later
step. The pattern will not lay flat anymore.

(The following three images are courtesy of Pasadena City College Fashion Design
Program)
31.Using the French curve or the hip curve, redraw your waist seams (this
is called trueing) using the preliminary line as a rough guide. To help the
line stand out, use a red pencil or Sharpy.

32.Cut along the line you just drew.

33.Open the darts up again by carefully removing the tape. You may see
little “tents” above your darts. Donʼt cut them off.

34.Mark your pattern by drawing a grainline two inches in from the Center
Back and writing “place on fold” along the Center Front.

35.You have finished making your test pattern but there arenʼt any seam
allowances on it!
 Pattern with 1” seam allowance drawn onto pattern along back seam. Note the
barely visible grainline drawn on the pattern because I used pencil to draw it in.

36.Pin your pattern to your muslin (donʼt forget that the Center Front is
placed on the fold). Trace around the pattern using chalk or a pencil
(this is your sewing line). Then, using your ruler, draw a 1/2” cutting line
along the side front, side back, and waist, directly onto the fabric. Draw
a 1” cutting line along the center back.

37.Cut out your fabric and baste the skirt together to see how will the skirt
fits!