Free calculator · gathered & ruffle tiers
Plan a 2, 3 or 4 tier skirt in minutes. Set the top width, tier heights and gathering ratio — get every tier's cut width, how many strips to cut across your fabric and the total yardage.
| Tier | Total width | Strips × size to cut | Gathers onto |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 40" | 1 × 41" by 8" | waist / elastic |
| 2 | 60" | 2 × 31" by 9" | 40" |
| 3 | 90" | 3 × 31" by 10 1⁄2" | 60" |
Strip widths include side seam allowances; heights include seam and hem allowances.
Gathering ratio
The ratio is how much wider each tier is than the one above it. All three cards are the same 3-tier skirt — 40" top, 7/8/9" tiers, 45" fabric — only the ratio changes.
Gentle ripples that hang close to the body. Best for drapey cotton lawn, rayon and voile, and the easiest to gather evenly.
Open 1.5×The prairie-skirt look most patterns use. Clearly gathered, still easy to wear, works in quilting cotton and linen.
Open 2×Petticoat and costume volume. Use light fabric — tulle, chiffon, batiste — or the seams get bulky and heavy.
Open 2.5×How it works
For an elastic waist, take your hip plus a little ease. For a fitted yoke or waistband, use that length × the ratio.
Pick 2, 3 or 4 tiers, a finished height for each and a gathering ratio between 1.5× and 2.5×.
The table lists every tier's cut height, width and how many selvage-to-selvage strips to join.
Join each tier into a loop, gather it to the width of the tier above and stitch with the seam allowance shown.
Use cases
Each row opens the calculator with these exact settings, so you only adjust your own measurements.
Boho maxi
Long and swishy without being heavy: a 42" elastic top, tiers of 8, 9, 10 and 11" at 1.5× on 45" fabric. Finished length 38", hem 141 3⁄4", 10 strips — buy 3 1/8 yd.
Cut widths 42" → 63" → 94 1⁄2" → 141 3⁄4". Graduated heights make the lower tiers look balanced; the deepest tier carries the hem.
Kids
A 28" top with short 4, 5 and 6" tiers at 1.75× gives a 15" skirt with plenty of twirl. It needs just 5 strips and 1 yd of 45" cotton.
Add 1–2" to the bottom tier and turn up a deeper hem — let it down next year instead of sewing a new skirt.
Cosplay & petticoat
Four tiers at 2× from a 30" top builds real volume under a costume skirt: 18" long with a 240" hem. On 60" tulle that is 11 strips and 1 7/8 yd.
Repeat the two lowest tiers as a second layer for even more lift — the calculator's table gives you their widths directly.
Worked example
Worked example
Result
Same skirt in centimetres (100 cm top, 18/20/23 cm tiers, 115 cm fabric): 1.2 m (1 3/8 yd). A 2-tier version of the inch skirt needs only 3/4 yd.
The math
Every tier is a straight rectangle, so there is no curve to draft — the only decisions are how wide each loop is and how many fabric widths it takes. Widths grow geometrically, which is why the bottom tier dominates the yardage.
Tier 1 = 40". Tier 2 = 40" × 1.5 = 60". Tier 3 = 60" × 1.5 = 90". With 1/2" seams and a 1" hem the cut heights are 8", 9", 10 1⁄2". On 45" fabric each strip holds 44" after side seams, so the tiers take 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 strips and 57 1⁄2" of fabric, rounded up to 1 5/8 yd.
Tips
Run two parallel gathering stitches inside the seam allowance and pull the bobbin threads together — fewer snapped threads, straighter gathers.
Pin the gathered tier to the one above at quarters (or eighths) so the fullness spreads evenly around the skirt.
Lower tiers look best slightly deeper than upper ones. Equal tiers can make a skirt look top-heavy.
Pleats instead of gathers: try the pleat calculator. For flare with no gathers, the circle skirt calculator.
Start with the top tier width (hip plus ease for elastic). Each tier below is the one above × the gathering ratio. Add seam allowances to every tier height and the hem to the last, then divide each width by your usable fabric width to get the number of strips.
1.5× gives a soft, light gather; 2× is the classic ruffled look; 2.5× is very full and best for light fabrics such as tulle or chiffon.
With a 40" top, 7/8/9" tiers and 45" fabric: 1 5/8 yd at 1.5×, 2 yd at 2× and 2 3/4 yd at 2.5×.
They can be, but graduating them — each tier a little deeper than the one above — usually looks more balanced. Set each tier height separately in the calculator.
Usually selvage to selvage, across the grain, joining as many strips as the calculator lists. For very long tiers in a border print, cut along the length instead.
At least your hip plus 2–4" of ease so it pulls on comfortably. For a fitted waistband, multiply the waistband length by your ratio.
Enter the top width, tier heights and ratio — get every cut width, the strip count and yardage in seconds.
