Instructions

1. Cut out and mark the skirt according to your pattern’s instructions. Remember to finish the seam allowances of your skirt, using the method of your choice.
2. Stitch the center back seam in two yoke back sections from the lower edge to the large marked circle, right sides together. (The remaining yoke backs will be used for facings.)

Adding the Zipper

3. To install the zipper in the back of the yoke, turn in 1⁄2" (1.3 cm) on the right opening edge; press.
4. Turn in the left opening edge along the seamline and press. Place the closed zipper under the right opening edge, placing the zipper stop at the circle and the zipper teeth close to the pressed edge.
5. Pin the end of the zipper tape to the skirt. Using a zipper foot, baste the zipper to the skirt and then stitch close to the edge; contrasting basting thread is easier to remove in a dark fabric like this (see photo).
    
   
6. Lap the left opening edge over the right opening edge, matching seamlines. Baste and then stitch in place, pivoting below the notch.
7. Trim the excess length from the zipper.
8. Stitch the yoke front to the yoke back at the side seams, right sides together. (The remaining yoke front will be used for the facing.)
9. Stitch the front to the back at the side seams, right sides together, matching the notches. Stitch together the skirt front and skirt back lining sections as you did the skirt.

Stitching the Hem

10. Turn under a 2" (5 cm) hem at the lower edge of the lining. Press. Baste close to the fold. Baste 1⁄4" (6 mm) from the raw edge and press under. Pull the basting thread at the raw edge and ease to fit (see photos below).
     
    
     
    
11. Hem in place by hand. The bottom edge is the widest part of the skirt, so it needs to be eased a teeny bit to fit when it’s hemmed. If you turned up a hem without easing it, it would have unsightly folds, so easing allows the hem to lie flat.

Adding the Ruffle

12. Stitch the ruffle sections together at the short edges, right sides together. Add a second row of stitching in the seam allowance. Press the seams to one side.
13. Gather the ruffle along the stitching line between the side seams (see photo). Pin the ruffle to the right side of the lining, placing the line of gathering stitches on the placement line, matching centers and side seams. Adjust the gathers.
     
    
14. Stitch along the line of gathering stitches (see photo). After you’ve finished stitching, fold the ruffle in half along the line of stitching.
     
    
15. Pin the right side of the lining to the wrong side of the skirt at the upper edge, matching notches, centers, and side seams. Baste.

Adding the Yoke

16. Pin the yoke to the skirt, right sides together, matching notches, centers, and side seams, keeping the zipper free. Stitch (see photo). Clip the seam at the edges of the zipper tape. Trim the seam. Press the seam allowances toward the yoke and press down the end of the zipper.
     
    
17. Stitch the yoke back and the yoke front facing sections together at the side seams, right sides together. Press under 5⁄8" (1.6 cm) at the lower and the back opening edges, folding in the fullness at the corners and easing in the fullness at the lower edge (see photo).
     
    
18. Pin the facing to the yoke at the upper edge, right sides together, matching notches, side seams, and back opening edges. Stitch. Trim the seam allowances. Understitch the facing: Press it away from the skirt, pressing the seam toward the facing. With the facing side up, stitch close to the seam through the facing and the seam allowances.
19. Turn the facing to the inside, turning under and slipstitching the edges to the zipper tape and over the seam (see photo).
     
    
20. Turn under a 1-1⁄4" (3.2 cm) hem at the lower edge of the skirt. Hem as you did the lining in steps 10 and 11, easing the hem to fit.