I recently made my daughter a Chloe skirt (a yoga waistband maxi skirt by Made for Mermaids).  She loved the maxi length and wanted a knee length one too.  Well, I didn’t actually measure her when I made the shorter one and it was a little too short (her feelings too, not just mine plus she’s on the tall side so even though it isn’t really short, it looks like it is).  I hated to scrap the skirt and was sure there was some way I could add length to it.  I thought about just adding a ruffle to it, but I wasn’t sure it would look right.  Then I wished I could make it into a maxi length somehow.  Tiered skirt to the rescue.

The short Chloe – she really likes it, but wished it either was a couple inches longer or had shorts attached.

I measured the length of the maxi Chloe and divided by 3 (I wanted three tiers).  I added an inch to that number for two 1/2″ seams (in my case 33″/3 = 11″ + 1″ = 12″).

For the first tier, I used the Chloe pattern and cut the skirt at 12″.  For the second tier, I cut a rectangle that was 12″ high and the width of the bottom of the first tier + 10″.  You should add at least 25% of the width but not more than double.  So, if your bottom measurement is 20″, the next one should be at least 25″, but no more than 40″.  Repeat for each tier.  The longer the piece is, the more gathers it will have.  I wanted very little gathering for this skirt.

Sew the short edges of each tier together so you have a circle or fabric.  Run a gathering stitch around the top of each tier.

A gathering (or basting) stitch is a long straight stitch with no back stitches at the beginning or end.

Pull up the gathering so that it fits the bottom of the tier above it.  Spread the gathers evenly, pin, and sew.  Repeat for each tier.  Make the waistband per the instructions in the pattern.

I’ve been using my twin needle a lot recently, and I pulled it out again for the hem of this skirt.  I love the professional look of two perfectly spaced rows of stitching.

Chloe skirt with Grace top.