Broomstick Skirts: Introduction

I live in New Mexico, which is Broomstick Skirt Central. After all, this is a style based on Native American clothing of the Southwest. It was also adapted decades ago as an integral part of the Santa Fe Look that was later appropriated by Ralph Lauren. The broomstick skirt is a style that comes and goes in the rest of the world, but it lives here all the time.

Apparently, they're back again so it's time for me to spill some of my experience with this style. I'll be doing this as a series because I've gathered a lot of information over the years and I don't think it's necessary to go on and on with one single post.

I did scan some examples of broomstick skirts I've collected over the years and sprinkled them throughout this post, and I'll continue to do so through the series. Perhaps they'll serve as inspirations for your projects. Note: I've cleaned up and reposted the scans, so they look a little nicer now.

Scan courtesy of Nordstrom

Scan courtesy of Nordstrom

Scan courtesy of Nordstrom

Most people think of broomstick skirts as tiered, like the examples in this post, but they don't have to be. Broomstick actually refers to the technique of pleating, not the type of skirt. Actually, I think those tiered ones can be unflattering to many people, making them look heavy.

That being said, I'd recommend this pattern. It's the Ultimate Broomstick Skirt by LJ Designs. And here's Lyla Messinger, the designer, wearing it:



I like this pattern because the tiers are fairly close to the body through the waist and hip areas, and increase in circumference in the lower tiers. I know there are a lot of tiered skirt patterns out there in sewing land and on the internet. You could even work up your version of this skirt on your own. But this is a good one if you want to buy a pattern.

However, my favorite style of broomstick skirt is a gored skirt developed by my friend Leslie several years ago. She's given me permission to provide the instructions, but essentially it's a gored skirt made of many narrow panels and customized to your measurements. Since the instructions are kind of lengthy, I'm going to go over this in a separate post. Don't hold your breath, but there might even be a tutorial!

As I mentioned earlier, the pleating technique is what makes this style. I don't hold with instructions that tell you to twist the skirt until it rolls up on itself and let it dry. Doing so will give you a skirt with a pattern of wrinkles, but the look is different. Call me a purist, but to me it's not a broomstick skirt unless you starch it, roll it onto an actual broomstick, and let it dry into dozens of tiny vertical pleats. I even went to Home Depot and bought real broomsticks to dry mine on! I'll also do a post about that.

I've made a bunch of broomstick skirts over the years, both tiered and gored. I've made them from cotton in the past, but I've come to the conclusion that it's not the ideal fabric, especially the usual weight sold in the big box fabric stores. True, cotton is a natural fiber and it takes the pleats well, but cotton can be stiff, and that stiffness can add visual weight to the wearer. So I prefer rayon. Even when starched, rayon has a nicer drape that's more flattering.

Scan courtesy of Nordstrom

So there you have it for now. I'll follow up with posts on how to draft a gored skirt to broomstick and how to do the pleating. Let me know if you have any other questions on this subject, and I'll add them to the series.