This skirt is a variation of the Putting of the Pleats skirt (available at http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/putting-on-the-pl...). For this version, I used Craftsy’s Cloudborn Highland Worsted yarn at 6 stitches per inch for a firm, but drapy, fabric. Designed to have about 2” (5 cm) negative ease around the waist and hips, this skirt stretches as necessary for a slimming fit. Four darts shape the hips, then purl stitches are added in “gores” between stockinette-stitch “pleats” to provide flare in the lower skirt. Twisted knit stitches are worked at each edge of each pleat to sharpen the boundaries between pleats and gores. The simple bind-off produces slight scallops around the lower edge.
Notes
• This skirt is designed to be worn with about 2” (5 cm) negative ease around the high hip; choose a size 2” (5 cm) smaller than your actual high hip circumference.
• The waist circumference is fine-tuned by the circumference of the elastic that’s added to the waistband.
• The skirt has fourteen “pleat” panels, each consisting of 15 (16, 17, 18, 19) sts. Purl stitches are inserted between the panels; the flare at the lower edge is created by progressively increasing the number of purl stitches.
• The stitches on each side of the “pleat” panels are worked through the back loop (tbl) to maintain crisp edges at the transitions between the knit and purl stitches.
• The skirt length can be adjusted by working more or fewer inches after the last pleat increase round. You may need more yarn if you plan to make a longer skirt.