Grading the Edwardian Walking Skirt
In this guide, we’ll look at how to grade between sizes on the Edwardian Walking Skirt pattern. This pattern is included in the Time Capsule Wardrobe book and is also available as a standalone PDF pattern. You should choose your size based on your waist measurement, but if this falls between two sizes of the size chart, I recommend grading the pattern to create a custom size for your measurements.
In addition to the instructions for grading the PDF & printed pattern (13 sizes), this post has now been updated to include instructions for grading the gridded pattern from the book (3 sizes). These instructions can also be used if you would like to create a size that is bigger or smaller than those included in the PDF pattern.
The size chart for the pattern is included below, this corresponds to the actual body dimensions that the pattern has been designed for. Choose the closest size based on your waist measurement, then grade the pattern as necessary using these instructions. For example, if your waist is 106cm you should start with size J (104cm) and grade up. If your measurement is directly between 2 sizes, I recommend starting with the larger size.
The Finished Garment Measurements chart below can also be used to check how the garment will fit you, this includes ease and extra fullness for pleats (for example, the hip measurement includes lots of extra ease due to the pleats). The waist on this skirt is tightly fitting due to the pleats at the back – if your skirt is larger than your waist, the weight of the pleats will pull down the back of the skirt.
This guide includes 2 different sets of instructions depending on which version of the pattern you're using. If you're using PDF or printed version of the pattern with 13 sizes, I recommend adjusting the size through the pleats at the back of the skirt. If you're using the gridded pattern in the Time Capsule Wardrobe book, skip to the end of the post for guidance on adjusting the skirt panels instead. The techniques chapter of the book also includes some additional tips for grading the gridded patterns on page 11.
The gridded pattern instructions can also be used if you would like to create a size that is bigger or smaller than those included in the PDF pattern.
PDF or Printed Pattern - Adjusting the Pleats
The PDF and printed versions of the Edwardian Walking Skirt pattern contain 13 sizes. The largest difference between sizes is 6cm, so the most you will need to adjust your pattern is 3cm (once you pass the halfway mark, you are closer to the next size).
Since this is a relatively small difference, I recommend adjusting the size through the pleats at the back of the skirt. Using this method, you will need to grade the waistband pattern but you will not need to adjust the actual skirt panels.
Adjusting the Waistband
Before you can start adjusting your pattern, you'll need to figure out which size you're starting with and how much you need to adjust it. Using the size chart at the start of the post, choose the size closest to your waist measurement. Make note of the difference between your waist measurement and the size of the pattern. For example, if you have an 80cm waist you would start with size E and grade up the pattern, this would be a 2cm increase.
Cut out the waistband pattern in your starting size. Make note of the notches on the pattern. We'll be adjusting the waistband near the outer edges, between the single notches and the double notches (marked in red below). This is the portion of the pattern that corresponds with the pleated section of the skirt.
Cut the waistband pattern directly between the notches on both sides.
Take the difference between your waist and the pattern, and divide it in half. Adjust both halves of the pattern by this amount. If your waist is bigger than the pattern, you should spread apart your pieces by this amount. If your waist is smaller than the pattern, you should overlap your pieces by this amount.
Spread or overlap the pattern pieces evenly, so that the cut edges are parallel to eachother and the top/bottom of the waistband pattern are aligned.
Continuing with the example above, if you need to increase your pattern by 2cm, then you would spread apart each side of the pattern by 1cm (giving you a 2cm total adjustment).
Tape together the pieces of your waistband pattern. If you spread the pieces apart, add a piece of paper underneath to fill the gap.
Sewing and Pleating
Follow the pattern instructions as usual until your skirt panels are all joined together (step 5 of the assembly section). Finish the seam allowances on your vertical seams, then pleat the back of the skirt as marked on your original size and pin the pleats in place. Following the original pleat markings will give you a good starting point, rather than needing to start from scratch.
Pin the waistband to the skirt, right sides together, matching up the notches on the waistband with the skirt as described in the instructions. The pleated section at the back of the skirt will be either too tight or too loose for the waistband, depending on whether your waist was bigger or smaller than the pattern.
Adjust the pleats one by one until the pleated section of the skirt fits onto the waistband. If you increased the size of the pattern, you'll need to loosen each pleat slightly. If you decreased the size of the pattern, you'll need to tighten each pleat slightly. Make sure the pleats look evenly spaced from the outside of the skirt. Once the waistband is pinned smoothly all the way around the skirt, you can sew the waistband to skirt and follow the remaining instructions as usual.
Gridded Pattern - Adjusting the Skirt Panels
If you're using the gridded book pattern (which contains 3 sizes) you'll likely be dealing with a larger adjustment, so I recommend grading each skirt panel to evenly distribute the changes around the body. This will ensure your seams still sit in the correct spots (i.e. side seam at the side of the body) and that the skirt hangs correctly over your hips.
You can also use this method if you'd like to make the PDF pattern larger or smaller than the included size range, or if you'd prefer to distribute your adjustments evenly across all skirt panels.
Adjusting the Skirt Panels
Before you can start adjusting your pattern, you'll need to figure out which size you're starting with and how much you need to adjust it. The gridded book patterns correspond with sizes C, G, and K in the full size range (chart at the top of this post), these have waist measurements of 68, 88, and 110cm. Choose the size closest to your waist measurement and scale it up to full size following the instructions on page 8 of the book.
Make note of the difference between your waist measurement and the size of the pattern. For example, if you have an 80cm waist you would start with the pink size (size G - 88cm) and then grade down the pattern. This would be a decrease of 8cm.
Choose one of the skirt panels to start with, and fold it in half lengthwise, matching up the corners of the hem and the straight side edges.
Cut the pattern piece lengthwise along the folded line.
Take the difference between your waist and the pattern, and divide it by 8 (we want to spread the difference across all skirt panels – 4 panels on each side of the body). Adjust the halves of your skirt panel by this amount. If your waist is bigger than the pattern, you should spread apart your pieces by this amount. If your waist is smaller than the pattern, you should overlap your pieces by this amount.
Spread or overlap the pattern pieces evenly, so that the cut edges are parallel to eachother and the waist edge and hem of the pattern are aligned.
Continuing with the example above, if you need to decrease your pattern by 8cm total, then you would overlap the halves of this pattern piece by 1cm.
Tape together the halves of your pattern piece. If you spread the pieces apart, add a piece of paper underneath to fill the gap. Neaten the waist and hem edges if needed.
Repeat the same process for the remaining 3 skirt panels, adjusting them all by the same amount.
Adjusting the Waistband
If you’ve adjusted the skirt pattern pieces, you’ll also need to adjust your waistband pattern to match. Start by scaling up the gridded pattern in your starting size (the same size you started with for your skirt panels). We’ll be adjusting the waistband in 4 different spots to ensure the notches on the waistband still match up with the skirt.
First, we’ll be adjusting the waistband near the outer edges, between the single notches and the double notches (marked in red below). This is the portion of the pattern that corresponds with the pleated section at the back of the skirt.
Cut the waistband pattern directly between the notches on both sides.
Take the difference between your waist and the pattern, and divide it by 8. Adjust both sides of the pattern by this amount, spreading apart if you need to make the pattern bigger, or overlapping if you need to make the pattern smaller.
This is the same amount that you adjusted the individual skirt panels. Continuing our example with an 8cm total adjustment, you would overlap each side of the pattern by 1cm.
Next, we’ll be adjusting the middle of the waistband, between the central notch and the two outermost single notches. These portions of the pattern corresponds with the front, side front, and side back skirt panels.
Cut the waistband pattern directly between the notches on both sides.
Adjust each side of the pattern by three times your usual adjustment. For example, if your total adjustment is 8cm, and you’ve adjusted each individual skirt panel by 1cm, then you should adjust these sections by 3cm each. This is because each cut section represents 3 skirt panels.
Tape together the pieces of your waistband pattern. If you spread the pieces apart, add a piece of paper underneath to fill the gap.
Double check your waistband pattern to make sure you’ve ended up with the correct size. The distance between the two double notches should be equal to your waist size. (The overall length of the pattern piece will be longer than your waist measurement due to the placket and seam allowance)
Sewing and Pleating
Follow the pattern instructions as usual until your skirt panels are all joined together. You’ll need to pleat the back section of the skirt yourself, since the pleat markings on the original pattern won’t be the correct size. I recommend pinning the waistband to the skirt first (matching up the notches as described in the instructions), so that you can use the waistband length as a guide to pleat the back section to the correct width. Try to space the pleats evenly and use the same amount of fabric in each pleat. I suggest creating 5 pleats on each side for waist sizes 58-75 cm, 6 pleats on each side for waist size 75-100cm, and 7 pleats on each side for waist sizes 100-122cm.
Once the back of the skirt is pleated and the waistband is pinned smoothly all the way around the skirt, you can sew the waistband to the skirt and follow the remaining instructions as usual.