I have been watching the maxi skirt’s popularity rise over the last year or two, and it has mostly confused me. Don’t get me wrong, I love a beautiful skirt… but so many of these maxi skirts aren’t. So many of them are elastic waisted, polyester, one-size-fits-all things, often festooned with a print that doesn’t do much for the backside. In my opinion, they are basically the sweatpants of the skirt world. They look great on young university students, but all that extra fabric doesn’t do much for most women. If you search for “maxi skirt” on Pinterest, most of the women sort of look like columns. No waist, no hips, just fabric. Call me an idealist, but I think a skirt should do more for a woman than make her look like an architectural feature.
Now, the Edwardians knew how to do skirts. Damn. You’d think they’d be stuffier than that, given how long ago this was, but oh no. The gored skirt of the Edwardian era is the maxi skirt’s beautiful, grown up sister, with all her womanly curves. The gored Edwardian skirt is surprisingly sexy, and wonderfully easy to make. I promise. It’s so modern you can even pull it out of a wide variety of easily accessible modern dress patterns. And it’s so sexy that your bum may prefer the skirt to your favourite yoga pants (which is fitting, considered the gored skirt was basically the yoga pant of the early 1900’s).
When I say “gored” skirt, I’m talking about a skirt made with princess seams. A skirt that has about 7 pieces in it—front, side front (x2), side back (x2), and back (x2). With these different pieces you can construct a skirt that hugs your bum, whittles your waist, and flares out to a deliciously indulgent train (or not, if you’re feeling more practical). You can choose where you want the waist to hit as well, which is very convenient if you’re not overly fond of your tummy and want your skirt to sort of double as an under-bust corset.
I pulled my skirt pattern from a princess seamed dress pattern I’ve had for years. If you’re familiar with sewing you’ll be able to do this without any trouble. If not, I recommend using a pattern like Sensibility’s 1909 Beatrix Skirt Pattern, which includes more specific instructions (I would have bought that one myself if I’d had the time to wait for it to get up to Canada).
I started by tracing out the pattern pieces onto pattern tracing paper, using the size that matched my hips and waist (more or less).
From there, I made up a dummy using scrap fabric. A good thing, too, as it was far too large and I ended up having to knock about 8″ off the waist for the final skirt.
The final skirt came together beautifully. The only hitch on a princess seam is often the easing for the bust, and that obviously wasn’t a problem here.
I browsed Pinterest for ideas on waistbands, closures, and embellishments, and opted for a front closure with fake buttons (velcro for the win here!) and a black waist band.
The waist band was simple enough to draft—measure my waist, add a few inches for overlap and seam allowance, double the height so you can fold it over, and that’s that. I lined it with interfacing to keep it stiff.
Sadly the wrap disguises how nicely the skirt hugs the bum, so I guess you’ll have to take my word for it.
Completing the outfit are my fantastic Gibsons from American Duchess!
The resulting skirt is just wonderful to wear. It’s comfortable, but very flattering. It’s great with a loose fitting blouse and cardigan, or even a fitted knit top.
This is beautiful! Maybe I’ll have to start a new trend at my university–Edwardian full-length skirts instead of sweats! 🙂 Not sure if it’ll take off, but a girl can dream. As a side note, have you made up the S&S afternoon dress? I’ve always wanted the pattern!
Go for it! I look forward to the day when sweatpants with “HOT” emblazoned on the bottom are replaced by super-sexy gored Edwardian skirts 😉 And no, I haven’t gotten around to the S&S afternoon dress. I’ve started on the bodice, but I need to get the sizing sorted.
Love your creation. I’m a Downton Abbey fan and Murdoch Mysteries, more recently, and am fascinated by the women’s clothes. I’m a bit more “well rounded” in my old age, but you’ve started my thinking this a trend worth starting. I will be perusing my fabric stash and patterns this evening.
Awesome, enjoy your perusing, Jeanne! Let me know if you end up making one 🙂
This is beautiful!
Thanks, Anna! 😀
Thanks so much, Carol 🙂 And a big thanks for reading!
I Love it! could you post some no sew diys? #nosewingmachineswag
Thanks, Annie! No sew isn’t really my thing… I mean… I sew, so why would I… not…? I learned when I was about 6, and really got into it when I was 12, and I’m rather ambitious—you couldn’t really make this skirt without sewing. And I got my sewing machine on Kijiji for $150! It’s a beaut, vintage & made entirely out of metal, so it’ll last forever. I’d definitely recommend the used route 🙂 You don’t need anything with computer chips in it, that’ll just break and cost a fortune to repair. Go old school here, it’s worth it.
Hello. I am a new subscriber to your site. I love it! Thank you so much for sharing your great ideas. I LOVE the Edwardian fashions, and look forward to learning from you how to bring them to our everyday lives. 🙂
Welcome, Paula! Thanks so much for subscribing & reading 🙂 Just yesterday I was convincing a group of people that you can dress in Edwardian inspired fashions without looking like a total wacko… I think I got the message across lol 😛 That or they were entirely too polite to say anything to the contrary, haha.
Absolutely love this! I have always felt that I was born in the wrong decade, I so wish dressing like this was the “normal”, hopefully we can bring this back! This is the first time I have seen a Edwardian inspired look and I could totally see wearing it now in 2014! Any advice on how to make this type of skirt everyday wear? I can’t imagine how to put together an Edwardian style outfit together, like the shirt and how to transition into these skirts?
Thanks for all the information and being an inspiration!
Yay! It’s always awesome to “meet” another Edwardian fashion fan 🙂 I’ve found I love to wear outfits like this to more formal things, like the theatre, weddings, or out to a nice dinner. That’s acting as my “transition”. It’s a classic enough look that people don’t think it’s too strange in those settings, and you get a chance to feel more comfortable with it. I think you will likely feel more comfortable in an everyday setting if you pair the skirt with a more modern top & cardigan—the blouse I’ve chosen here is pretty Edwardian appropriate 😛 A more fitted top with a scarf will update look—browsing Pinterest for outfits based around maxi skirts will give you some ideas. Thanks for reading!
Marie, would you be willing to make that skirt for someone if they paid you?
I suppose we all have our price for things, so yes… but that price would be pretty darn high for me lol 😛 I think you’d be best to look at hiring a local seamstress who could actually measure you and bring you in for fittings and what not 🙂
actually, I was asking because I currently don’t have a sewing machine, but I got a message from my mother in law this morning, that she had located a sewing machine, in Good condition, for FREE! I’m so excited to start sewing again. 😀
YAY for a sewing machine! The used ones are usually best as well since vintage sewing machines are made so much better than the ones you can buy today. Metal parts instead of plastic beats fancy computer chip powered embroidery add-ons any day in my book. Enjoy your new machine! 😀 WHEEE!
This is the most beautiful skirt I have ever seen. It is so lovely
Thanks so much, Amanda!
I’m really looking forward to making a skirt like this for myself. It is most definitely more flattering and looks more comfortable than what is commercially available these days… I also really love how your wrap goes with it, and I love the drape of the wrap. Where did you find that? I enjoy your posts so much!
Thanks, Andrine! I do love this skirt 🙂 I should make another 😉 The wrap is the Bliss Wrap from Icebreaker, it’s one of my favourite wraps. They’ve been making it for a few years, and they switch up the colours every season.
Thank you so much, Marie. I’ll take a look for that wrap! And I’d love to see it when you make another version of the skirt. Cheers! 🙂
🙂
A wonderful skirt. I am going to make one right away. Thanks so much for the post. I felt exactly like you about today’s skirts.
Thanks, Amy! Happy making 🙂
What type of fabric did you use to make this? It looks like cotton. Did you line it?
Honestly, it was an unlabelled length of fabric from the discount section, and I purchased it so long ago that I haven’t the foggiest idea what it is. Woven, for sure, and definitely heavier than any sort of quilting cotton. It’s similar in weight to denim. And no, I didn’t line it, but I usually wear it with some crinolines and a slip.