Thread: Ruching spin-off: Ruching? Skirt slits...

I was looking for that word: maybe it is ruching?
Here is a picture of a Raqia Hassan costume. Is it very difficult to do the slit like that? I mean from the slit, lift the fabric so you get the crinkled or draped look? How do you calculate the extra fabric needed?

Yes, that is ruching or gathering.

Ok, thank you. How do I do it? I guess I have to do the skirt first because after all I want to gather the whole thing, but in a way I have to see that it will also have an effect of taking in. Is there a rule of thumb?

I need 40 inches on my widest place which is my behind not my hips, further up I need around 36 inches, the skirt needs to be around 40 inches long. I don't want the skirt to be so narrow that one leg will be out all the time.

My experimental approach would be to do the skirt around ten percent wider than I would do and not cut the down end yet, then gather the thing and then try to make a straight cut on the floor end.

But I'm afeard it won't really work that way...
My material would be either just shiny lycra (softer so I can gather more material) or even metallic lycra (which gathers less).

I haven't made a skirt quite like this before, but I was wondering the same thing. I reckon you could make it slightly higher than you need at the gathering point, and also longer at the hem. You will probably need to even up the hem again afterwards.
The one in the pic is not super-gathered, to get that effect you won't need to ruche it a lot. Also it dips a little at the gathered part.
Alternatively you could do a co-responding gathered section at the back to even it up.

Maybe it is about doing an A-line skirt that turns out to be a mermaid-skirt. I mean like while it will be rather loose around the buttcheeks before ruching, by ruching it will be tighter there?

I think the minimal gathering (no gathering on the back) works fine if the fabric is metallic, you get to see a lot of the effect.

I wonder what sort of sewing pattern I'd need to do a skirt like that. It can't be all that difficult!

I thought about this on my way in to work this morning. If I only wanted ruching in the front, I'd look at something like the image attached.

Center back would be cut on a fold, and be the desired finished length plus 3 or 4 inches for finishing. The curve for the top of the skirt would not be a circle, more of an oval. The area where the ruching and slit would be would be cut at the desired finished length PLUS the desired ruching length PLUS 3 or 4 inches for finishing.

In my case, I finish skirts at 38". So, the center back pattern piece would be 41". I'd want about 6" of finished ruching, so the slit portion would be 6" + 38" + 3" = 47".

In theory, it works, I think.

NOTE: The image shows "1/2 the desired length of ruching". It should be the full finished length desired.

Originally Posted by Zeevah

I thought about this on my way in to work this morning. If I only wanted ruching in the front, I'd look at something like the image attached.

Center back would be cut on a fold, and be the desired finished length plus 3 or 4 inches for finishing. The curve for the top of the skirt would not be a circle, more of an oval. The area where the ruching and slit would be would be cut at the desired finished length PLUS the desired ruching length PLUS 3 or 4 inches for finishing.

In my case, I finish skirts at 38". So, the center back pattern piece would be 41". I'd want about 6" of finished ruching, so the slit portion would be 6" + 38" + 3" = 47".

In theory, it works, I think.

NOTE: The image shows "1/2 the desired length of ruching". It should be the full finished length desired.

I think I didn't understand too well...
Actually, even though the skirt looks great, like many modern costumes it looks like a "quick" costume.
Of how many pieces does a skirt like this consist?
There has got to be two pieces in the back with a slit and the zip. The front: is it one piece? I believe you don't even need to hem metallic lycra, do you? Maybe the slit is - well just a cut...?

Honestly, if I were doing it with lycra, I'd just do it in one piece and either cut a slit in the center back for a zipper, or use elastic at the waist. I was thinking of it as basically a 1/4 or 1/3 circle skirt with the increase in length for the ruching.