As I was unsure about the ungathered centre strip on the Yoke Skirt from the Night and Day Dress (Charm Patterns), whether I would wear it like that in everyday life, no matter how beautiful this look is, I adjusted it a bit (pattern hack) – as you can see in the sketch below. If I had sewn this dress for a special occasion, it would have been something completely different….
actual —-> desired
To find out how much fabric I need for this I made the following:
You can certainly do this by rule of thumb, but I really wanted to get the same amount of ruffle as on the back skirt and without risk.
Measure with tape measure
Measure the top edge of the skirt + the bottom edge of the yoke to the centre strip + the width of the centre strip.
Values (rough example):
A. top edge of the skirt = ca. 57,5cm | approx 22,6 inch
B. bottom edge of the yoke (without centre strip) = ca. 14cm | approx 5,5 inch
C. centre strip = ca. 11cm | approx 4,3 inch
The seam allowance (SA) for this pattern is 1,5cm | 5/8 inch, subtract this from A. 2x, from B. 1x and from C. 1x each. (B. + C. are cut on fold, so there is only one seam allowance each).
result:
A = 57,5cm | 22,6 inch – 3cm | 1,25 inch SA = 54,5cm | 21,4 inch
B = 14cm | 5,5 inch – 1,5 cm | 5/8 inch SA = 12,5cm | 4,9 inch
C = 11cm | 4,3 inch – 1,5 cm | 5/8 inch SA = 9,5cm | 3,7 inch
Calculation
We now know that 54.5cm | 22,6 inch skirt is gathered to 12.5cm | 4,9 inch (yoke), now we want to know how much skirt is needed for the 9.5cm | 3,7 inch (yoke) to gather.
For this we now use the good old Rule of Three::
and it is calculated as follows:
9,5 x 54,5 : 12,5 = 41,5cm (rounded) | 3,7 x 21,4 : 4,9 = 16,2 inch (rounded) Width of the skirt part for the now no longer existing centre strip, the centre strip is shortened as shown in the illustration.
This corresponds to a total width of the front (half) skirt of 54,5cm | 21,4 inch + 41,5cm | 16,2 inch + 3cm | 1,25 inch SA= 99cm | 38,9 inch . Now change the front skirt pattern accordingly -> Note: Make the upper line of the skirt run more parallel to the lower line, as the yoke in the middle is now also rather straight.
And this is what my altered skirt looks like now:
By the way HERE you can find my sewing pattern review of the Night and Day Dress by Charm Patterns! With lots of information about the pattern and also about my version of this dress!