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Drafting a Skirt or Pant with Waist Yoke

A waist yoke adds interest to the top of a skirt or pant, while maintaining the proper fit - and, without darts!

The darts are cleverly disguised in the yoke seam, so the whole effect is clean and smooth - dart lines, in addition to the yoke seam, would look messy, but this yoke eliminates the clutter!

Before you create these dress, skirt or blouse styles, you'll need a well-fitting dress block. You can create one from a commercial pattern, fitting the block to your measurements and shape.

If you'd prefer to draft a block from your own measurements, Craftsy has courses in Patternmaking Basics: the Bodice Sloper and Patternmaking Basics: the Skirt Sloper

sketch of woman wearing blue slim skirt with rounded waist yoke


Your skirt and pant blocks have darts at the waist, for shape and fit. 

But you may want a look that's a bit more sleek and smooth.

Adding a yoke to the waist allows you to move the dart to the yoke seam, giving a smooth waistline and a decorative touch at the same time.


Drafting the Rounded Yoke 

In this example, I'm showing you a simple rounded yoke, which encircles the waist almost like a very wide waist band. I'm using the skirt pattern, but it's equally appropriate for a pant. 

As always, start with a tracing of your skirt or block pattern!


To draft your skirt yoke, start by drawing a line from the side seam to the center front (or back), just below the point of the darts.

You can make your yoke a little higher or lower, but dart height is the easiest, most direct approach. I've shown the line about 3" below the waist at the side seam, and about 4" below the waist at the center front. It can have a bit of curve, but not too much - the next steps will take care of that!

Cut along this line to separate the upper and lower parts of the skirt.

sketch of step 1 in drafting a rounded waist yoke for a skirt or pant

Then - just close the darts!

Closing the waist darts forces the dart into the "seam" between the upper and lower skirt.

The bottom edge will be a bit "bumpy", with a series of straight edges from one side to the other. Just smooth that out and draw a nice curve at the bottom edge of the yoke.

sketch showing how to finish rounded yoke pattern for pant or skirt

And you have a waist yoke for your skirt!

Your skirt will fit exactly the same way it did when you fit your dress block, but without the darts.

You can keep the yoke subtle by just seaming it to the skirt without "fanfare", or you can play it up with stitching (contrast stitching on a denim version will look jeans-like).

You can even cut the yoke in a contrast fabric - think faux leather for the yoke, with faux suede, corduroy, or even wool for the skirt itself.

You have lots of options!

Drafting a V-Shaped Yoke


A V-shaped yoke has a single point that meets the center front (or center back) seam. 

The point simply adds a bit more interest than the rounded yoke. 

The bottom edge of the yoke looks best with just a hint of curve from the side seam to the point, mimicking the curve of the hips. 

sketch of woman wearing purple pants with V shaped yoke
sketch of step 1 in drafting single point waist yoke


Like the rounded yoke, you'll start by drawing a line from the side seam to the center front. 

In this case, the line will drop to the hip line at center front, and it is NOT squared to the CF line.  That creates the front point. 

You can make the yoke smaller (shorter) than what I've shown, but I don't recommend making it larger, especially for a pant.  You don't want the point to be hidden in the crotch! 

Finishing the yoke is the same as the rounded version. 

Cut the yoke away from the pant or skirt pattern, close the darts, and smooth the bottom edge. 

You now have a pointed yoke for your skirt or pant, and the waist darts are hidden in the yoke seam!

sketch of finishing the pattern for single point waist yoke

Yoke with Double Points

sketch of woman wearing jeans skirt with double pointed waist yoke



The skirt at left has a waist yoke with 2 points in the front (which can be mimicked in the back as well).

There's a lot more going on with this skirt, which I will briefly discuss later.  For now, we'll concentrate on the double pointed waist yoke. 


By now, I think you know what to do:

 - Draw your lines for the shape of the yoke. 

I've drawn the first point to match the point of the center-most dart. Then it curves up again to the center front. The height at the sides and the center front should be equal, about 3" (4" at most). 

 - Cut along the line, close the darts, and smooth the bottom edge.
sketch of drafting the double pointed waist yoke.

In the illustration, there are 2 darts, and the one closest to center front is bisected by the red dashed line.  The remaining bit of the dart in the skirt/pant should be no more than 1/4" wide, so it can easily be eased into the yoke seam. 

As for the other details on the skirt illustration:

This is a jeans-style skirt.  Jeans have a pointed yoke at the back, with a waistband.  That is the inspiration for the double-pointed yoke and waistband shown above. Using both waist treatments together is part of what makes this a "jeans" style. 

The skirt has 8 gores, or panels.  This gives it swing and flare without adding fullness at the waist. It is also the inspiration for the double pointed yoke, rather than the single pointed V shaped yoke.  The points meet the seams of the gores.  Always draft the yoke first, then bisect the remaining skirt panels to create the gores.  Believe me, your life will be a lot easier if you do the yoke first!

It also has a button placket at the front.  A placket for a skirt like this is simply a band set to each side of the front opening (much like a vertical waistband), with the buttons and buttonholes. 


This page shows how to draft a skirt pattern using your skirt block. Remember to finish your skirt with hems and seam allowances!

What's the Next Step?

The next step is finishing your pattern, then cutting and sewing your skirt!

You can add a yoke to a full skirt or pleated skirt, too, so take a look at those options.

More Skirts

More Pant Styles

sketch of woman wearing blue flared sailor pants
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