Quote Originally Posted by Balaamsass51 View Post
Wouldn't the amount of fabric needed also have to take into account the total length of the skirt? Surely the longer the more material needed regardless of all this discussion about how to pleat it?
This fabric is supposed to be 31.5" (0.8 meters) wide. I believe that the House of Edgar Mediumweight Old & Rare Clan & District Tartans are all finished with a true selvedge and therefore I won't need to lose any length to a hem. To maximize the length while having a more feminine 1" waistband, I could use a ribbon to finish the inside of the waistband. This is often done in women's skirts when made with heavy or precious fabrics. If I did this, I could have the skirt be 29.5" long which is mid-calf on 5'7" me.

Here is a picture of the inside of a women's wool skirt with this technique:

petersham-waistband.jpg

Because the ribbon is thinner than the wool and does not need to be folded to hide raw edges, you reduce bulk.

You can use ribbon to do all of the facing and therefore avoid the visible waistband seam or binding altogether and have a 31" skirt in this fabric. That would look like this at the waist (though perhaps all of the pleats would make this a bad option):

Enlight233_large.JPG

If I wanted a skirt longer than 31" and were stuck with this fabric, it would be a nightmare! I would have to piece together many lengths and the grain would be flipped from lengthwise going around the body to crosswise going around the body (which is more usual in dress-making, actually). I think one would just find a double-wide fabric instead! Then you could make a floor-length skirt in the usual way.