This beginner sewing tutorial covers how to attach a gathered skirt to a bodice. This is a basic sewing skill, and is done on a simple dress pattern with a basic bodice and a skirt that doesn’t have a placket extending into it.
If you’re looking for a tutorial to attach a gathered skirt to a lined bodice, I have a blog post here that you can check out.
Sew the bodice
You will want to be working with a bodice that’s pretty much finished. My bodice just still needed snaps. If you have a placket for buttons or snaps like mine, make sure to sew the placket together across the bottom. Sorry for the bad photo!
If you haven’t already notched, make sure to notch at center front and back (1/4 inch slits to help with matching up the skirt later).
Sew the side seams of the skirt together
Sew the side seams of the skirt and finish them with a zigzag stitch or serger (here is a really quick tutorial on how to finish seams with a zigzag stitch from Tilly and The Buttons). Then iron the seams to either the front or back. I prefer to iron them to the front.
Again, make sure you have notches at center front and center back to make it easier to match up to the bodice.
Sew gathering stitches along the top of the skirt
Sew two rows of gathering stitches (longest straight stitch, needle tension low, no backstitching, leave 4 inch tails) along the top edge of the skirt.
I like to make my gathering stitches so that they’ll be on either side of the actual stitching line (so for a 1/2 inch seam allowance, I sew the gathering stitches at 3/8 and 5/8 inch). Make sure to have the right side facing up.
I sewed from center back all the way around. If you’re working with a larger skirt, you could sew from side seam to side seam on the front and back, so that you’re working with shorter sections when you actually gather in the next step.
If you’ve never sewn gathers before, check out my thorough guide to sew gathers easily here!
Pin the skirt and bodice together and gather
Lay your skirt wrong side out, and you’re bodice right side out. Then slide the bodice inside the skirt and match the notches and side seams.
Pin right sides together, then pull on the bobbin tails to gather the skirt to the width of the bodice (again, there’s more detail on this in the gathering tutorial I mentioned above). Add more pins if needed.
I like to place pins directly at the side seams to really make sure that they’re perfectly lined up.
Sew the skirt and bodice together
Sew with the gathers facing up. You will be stitching between the two rows of gathering stitches.
Once you’re done, use your seam ripper to cut the bobbin threads of the gathering stitches in the center of the section, then pull on the bobbin tails to remove the gathering stitches. Then pull away the thread that’s visible on the right side of the skirt.
The picture below shows the bobbin threads of gathering stitches that have been cut at center front.
Finish the seam and iron
Finish the seam you just sewed with a zigzag stitch or serger. Then iron the seam allowance up towards the bodice. I like to iron from the right side.
Top stitch along the bodice (optional)
Top stitching attaches the seam allowance to the bodice. It’s not necessary, because the skirt will lay properly either way. So in this case, you would be doing it for style more than function.
I like to use a slightly longer straight stitch, just because I think it looks better. Place your dress at the sewing machine, right side up. Make sure that the seam allowance is indeed up towards the bodice. Then stitch on the bodice, about 1/8 inch from the edge. You don’t want to stitch too close to the edge, because that wouldn’t catch and hold as much of the seam allowance. I started at center back. Make sure to backstitch!
Hem the skirt
And the final step is to hem! If you’d like a full tutorial on how to hem, I have a blog post for how to hem a straight edge here, or for how to hem curved edges (circle or A-line shaped skirts) as well.
All done!
Was this simple sewing tutorial on how to attach a gathered skirt to a bodice helpful to you? Let me know if you still have any questions about this process in the comments below. Thanks for following along!
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