Free Box Pleated Skirt Pattern for Girls

Learn how to sew a box-pleated skirt for your little girl by following the step-by-step instructions. This box-pleated skirt sewing pattern will help you make it in 10 sizes and it is free!

This box-pleated skirt sewing pattern is suitable for all seasons. The pattern has been a favorite among my readers for years. It had been a paid pattern and now I have made it available as a free pattern in 10 sizes!

Unlike other box-pleated skirt patterns, this skirt pattern is made of two fabrics, giving you options to mix and match fabrics in different prints and colors.

This sewing project has been used by my readers as a cheerleader skirt pattern, over the years.

Free Box Pleated Skirt Pattern for Girls

Material Requirement:

Corduroy or medium weight cotton in any desired print or color for the waistband and box pleats- requirement specified in table-1
Corduroy or medium-weight cotton in a different print or color for the alternating panels of the skirt – requirement specified in table -1
1- inch Elastic- refer table-1 below.
Sewing Notions.

I suggest you read the entire pattern before starting to get a general idea.

All the fabrics used here are 44/ 45 inches in width.

The fabrics shown here are only for illustration purposes and as such may vary from the original

The seam allowance is 3/8 -inch throughout unless otherwise specified.

Take the fabrics required for the skirt. Let’s name the fabric for the waistband and box pleats “B” and the fabric underneath “A”.

Approximate Finished Lengths

Material Requirements

Table-1

Measurements

Table-2

In the table below, “W” stands for the width of the fabric and “L” for the length.

Sewing:

Cut the fabric panels for the skirt, referring to table -2 above. You will need eight pieces each from each of the fabrics. Note that panels in fabric A are wider than panels in fabric B.

Cut the waistband piece, again referring to the table-2 above. Let’s start sewing.

Take one panel each from each of the fabric and layer them with the right sides together and aligning the edges. Sew along one of the longer edges to join them together.

Next, open the joined panels. Take the next alternate piece and keep it over the joint panels with the right sides together and aligning the edges. Again sew along the longer edge by a 3/8 -inch seam.

Repeat the steps with the remaining panels to get a long strip of fabric with 16 panels of alternating fabric.

Press the seams open.

Let’s do the box pleats.

Mark the center of the first panel in fabric A as shown above.

From the left-hand side, bring the seam line of the first two panels towards the marked point and pin. Next bring the seam line on the right-hand side towards the same point and pin again.

Now mark the center of the next panel in fabric A; bring the seam line on the left to this point and pin. Do the same with the seam line on the right-hand side.

Keep pinning till you get all the panels box pleated.

This is how it would look like on the wrong side

Baste the box pleats in place.

Next, we do the lower hem of the skirt.

Fold the lower edge of the skirt by ½-inch twice and press.

Sew down the hem.

Next, we sew the two side edges of the skirt together to form a closed piece.

Fold the skirt over with the right sides together and aligning the edges; sew along the side as marked above.

Now we have one more panel left to be box pleated.

Make the box pleats just like you did earlier and pin.

We are done with all the box pleats, now we move on to the waistband.

We first need to do the casing for the elastic.

Take the waistband piece and fold one of the raw longer edges by 3/8-inch and press.

Fold again by 1 & 3/8 – inches and press once more.

Fold it in half width-wise, aligning the edges, and sew the shorter edges shut to form a tube. *Make sure to open the folds while you sew.

Fold the casing back and sew it shut along the edge of the fold. Take note to leave a 1.5- inches gap to insert the elastic.

Our waistband is done. Let’s attach it to the main body of the skirt.

Keep the waistband on its right side with its upper edge facing the upper edge of the skirt, which is kept on its wrong side, and slide the waistband into the skirt.