Parts of a Skirt – Waistband, Darts, Zipper, Vent, Hem

All 10 parts on the diagram

Show the list

Straight skirt 6

Waistband A waistband is a strip of material that goes round the waist. On this skirt one end laps over the other and buttons.
Dart Darts are folds sewn to a point. They shape flat cloth so the skirt fits in at the waist.
Zipper The zipper opens the skirt so it can be pulled on. Here it is set into the center back seam and ends at the waistband.
Side seam A side seam joins the front of the skirt to the back. There is one down each side.
Vent (kick pleat) A vertical slit rising from the hem, for ease of movement. A short pleat in the same place is a kick pleat.
Hem The edge of the cloth is folded up and sewn here. That stops it unraveling and sets the length of the skirt.

Three other skirts 4

Yoke A shaped piece that fits round the hips. It supports the looser part of the skirt that hangs from it.
Knife pleats Knife pleats are pleats turned to one side. A knife-pleated skirt hangs straight off the hips.
Gathers The cloth is drawn up into small folds. A full skirt has its fullness gathered into the waistband.
Godet An extra piece of cloth, shaped like a slice of a circle. It is set into a skirt to make it flare. The wider its bottom edge, the more flare it adds.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it: Wikipedia, text only: Skirt (darts, gores, pleats, the waistband, fullness gathered into the waistband, the hem), Waistband, Dart (sewing), Hem, Yoke (clothing), Vent (tailoring), Pleat (knife, box and kick pleats), Godet (sewing); Nicole Smith, Skirt-a-Day Sewing (Storey, 2013), https://archive.org/details/skirtadaysewingc0000smit (waistband with overlap, side seams, center back seam, darts, zipper, vent or kick pleat, hem, yoke, knife and box pleats, gathers, godets); Sewing Secrets from the Fashion Industry, https://archive.org/details/sewingsecretsfro0000unse (side seam, waistband); and Bragonier and Fisher, What's What: A Visual Glossary of the Physical World (1981), https://archive.org/details/whatswhatvisualg00brag (skirt: waistband, center-front seam, slit, hem, gathering or shirring). The three books were read through archive.org's full-text search. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; no maker's pattern, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

Skirt anatomy starts at the waistband and ends at the hem. Between them, darts, pleats, gathers or godets give the skirt its shape. The first drawing is a straight skirt from the back; the second has three more.

Read the full guide

One straight skirt, then three more

Numbers 1 to 6 are on the straight skirt, seen from the back: the waistband, a dart, the zipper, a side seam, the vent and the hem. Open the second drawing for 7 to 10. The first skirt there has a yoke with knife pleats below it, the second is gathered into its waistband, and the third has godets set into the hem.

Darts, pleats and gathers all do one job: they fit a wide piece of cloth to a smaller waist.
A vent is a slit; a kick pleat is a short pleat in the same place.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a skirt called?

A waistband at the top, a hem at the bottom and side seams joining front to back. Darts, pleats or gathers shape it, and a zipper opens it. Some skirts add a yoke, a vent or godets.

What is the slit at the back of a skirt called?

A vent: a vertical slit rising from the hem, to allow for ease of movement. A kick pleat is a short pleat at the bottom of the back of a skirt that does the same job.

What is a yoke on a skirt?

A shaped piece that fits round the hips, below the waistband. The looser part of the skirt, such as pleats or gathers, hangs from it.

What is a godet?

An extra piece of cloth, shaped like a slice of a circle, set into a skirt or dress. It makes the hem flare.