I made this as a casual skirt for wearing in the summer with T-shirts and zori (flip-flops). I wanted something loose and comfortable, so I made it with a little positive ease and only slightly flared. I also opted for a drawstring waist rather than elastic because, since this is a comfortable skirt, I wanted to be able to loosen the waist on my fat days.
This pattern/recipe is for my size, but there are instructions at the bottom for customizing for your own measurements.
To fit waist: 32”, hips: 43” (hips were measured about 7” down from top of waistband) with 1” positive ease
Unstretched measurements:
Waist: 36"
Hips: 44.4"
Hem: 46.2”
Yarn: Knit Picks Planetarium Comfy Worsted
Exact amount of yarn used: 284 grams = 619 yards
Needles:
US 6 for waistband
US 7 for skirt
US 5 for i-cord
Gauge:
4.5 sts and 6 rows per inch in stockinette stitch and US 7 needles
CO 144 sts in the round tubular cast on with US 6 needles.
k1p1 until 0.75” from cast on.
(k1, YO, k2tog, p1) 36 times (or until the end)
k1p1 until 1.5” from cast on.
Next round: Switch to US 7 needles and stockinette stitch and place markers every 18 sts (or, if your cast on was a different number, however many stitches to make 8 sections).
Increase round #1: (Make 1, stockinette stitch to marker, slip marker) 8 times (8 sts increased, 152 sts).
Repeat Increase round every 0.75” four times, then every 1.25” three times (208 sts, 46.2” circumference).
The 5th increase round (about 4.5” from cast on) should fall around your hip bone (give or take an inch).
The 7th increase round (around 7” from cast on) should fall around the widest part of your hips.
The 8th increase round (around 8.25” from cast on) is an extra increase to make the skirt bell out a little and be a bit roomier. You can skip this increase if you don’t want the extra shaping.
As an example, here are my actual numbers:
Increase round #1: 152 sts
St st for 0.75” (2.25” from cast on).
Increase round #2: 160 sts
St st for 0.75” (3” from cast on).
Increase round #3: 168 sts
St st for 0.75” (3.75” from cast on).
Increase round #4: 176 sts
St st for 0.75” (4.5” from cast on).
Increase round #5: 184 sts
St st for 1.25” (5.75” from cast on).
Increase round #6: 192 sts
St st for 1.25” (7” from cast on).
Increase round #7: 200 sts
St st for 1.25” (8.25” from cast on).
Increase round #8” 208 sts
St st until 18” from cast on.
Hem:
Garter stitch for 4 rounds (purl, knit, purl, knit).
(YO, k2tog) across.
Knit.
Garter stitch for 4 rounds (purl, knit, purl, knit), then bind off loosely.
Drawstring: CO 4 sts with US 5 needle, knit i-cord for 46”. After threading it through the eyelets, I strung a pony bead through the CO/BO yarn and then wove in the ends.
Customize sizing:
Disclaimer: I’m not a clothing designer, so these are just calculations for other sizes. I did not test knit any of these.
Take your hip measurement at the widest part of your hips. If you want positive or negative ease, add or subtract one or two inches from your hip measurement. My skirt had about 1” positive ease, so I added 1” to my hip measurements (43” + 1” = 44”).
Assuming your gauge is the same as mine (4.5 sts/in), multiply your hip measurement by 4.5. Then round up or down to a number divisible by 8. This is your Hip Stitch Number, let’s call it X.
Minus 56 from that number X, and that’s the number you cast on for the waist. Because of the tubular cast on and the eyelets, the waistband will stretch up to or maybe even past your hip measurement, and the drawstring will enable you to tie the waist several inches smaller. The waist of my skirt, calculated to fit a 32” waist, was actually about 36” unstretched and stretched all the way up to 46”.
For example, 36” hip measurement, plus 1” positive ease = 37”.
37” x 4.5 = 166.5. 168 is divisible by 8, so round up to 168 (this is your hip stitch number X).
Minus 56 = 112 sts.
Cast on 112 sts for waistband. If your waist is more than your hip measurement, it might still fit but it’ll have some snug negative ease through the upper hip area, and it will only loosen closer to the widest part of your hips.
Another way to customize, especially if the cast on at the waist is really off when compared to your actual waist measurement, is to eliminate or add more increase rounds after the ribbing for the waistband. If your waist is a lot smaller than the unstretched waist measurement when you cast on, you can cast on fewer stitches (in multiples of 8) and just do a few more increase rounds to get to your hip stitch number X. Or if your waist is a lot larger than the unstretched waist measurement when you cast on, then cast on more stitches (in multiples of 8) but do a few less increase rounds to get to your hip stitch number X.
Also, this pattern has the hipbone at 4.5” from the top of the waistband, and the widest part of the hips at 7” from the top of the waistband, but everyone’s pelvis is different. If your hipbone and/or the widest part of your hips is higher or lower than 4.5” or 7” from the top of your waistband, then increase or decrease the number of stockinette stitch rounds in between increase rounds.
If you like romance novels, please check out my list of free short stories, novellas, and novels available on my blog! I write Christian contemporary romance and romantic suspense as Camy Tang, and Christian Regency romance as Camille Elliot. Click here to knit the antique scarf pattern from my Regency romance novel, The Spinster's Christmas.
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