Sewing Name of this type of skirt/logistics question?

I would have said pleated skirt, I am not sure it would have another name?

 

That wide pleat is called a box pleat.
box pleat by SteamWitch, on Flickr

 

pleated tennis skirt. Dollightful on youtube actually made a very similar skirt in This Video. She used thicker, denser cloth than I would use for this kind of thing. I've never had any cotton but white be transparent so working with higher quality material in a color might do you fine- maybe yellow cloth, then fabric-paint on the black striping? (make fabric paint by mixing textile medium into craft acrylic paint) Then the top part I'd make as a separate bodice, maybe with the same yellow cloth and painted on acrylic-paint black. They'd then look like a one piece dress when put together.

 

A “school uniform style” skirt, which is what the picture looks like, is just a skirt with what are called box pleats. Knife pleats would work too. The dress I guess would be an a-line dress with a square neck, and pleats in the skirt. Alternatively, like you said you could do separates and just do a pleated skirt with a belt and a sleeveless top tucked in.

 

I know one name for that type of pleat is a kick pleat! They're often on young girls' school uniforms and tennis skirts since they keep a less poofy silhouette but still allow a big range of motion. It looks like that'll definitely have to be two pieces (bodice and skirt), but luckily you have a belt to hide it!

As far as getting the stripe to match up....fabric paint may be your best bet. I'm not sure where you might find fabric in that exact size of stripe unless you get it custom printed! Marking off the stripes with painters' tape or masking tape to keep them crisp and just painting over the final dress will probably get it close to how you want it. I would definitely recommend making a mockup first to test it, though. (Which, as irritating and time consuming as it is, does actually help, lol.)

There are also many types of cotton fabrics! I would look into maybe more of a twill type of fabric to get a thicker, uniform style of clothing. Although the thickness does depend on what scale your doll is- thicker fabrics won't work great on smaller dolls since they get bulky quickly. If you're a new sewist, I'd recommend heading into a local fabric store if you have one and just feeling all the types of fabrics. I also recommend Sew Step By Step as a good book to check out (especially if your local library has it!) since it has a great primer on types of fabrics, thicknesses, how they drape, etc. I checked that book out so many times, a family member just bought it for me for Christmas, lol!

Another way to bulk up a fabric like quilt cotton, which is more easily accessible and cheaper, is to just double it up/use it as both exterior and lining fabric. Look up the "bagging method" of lining, or just lining methods for sleeveless dresses, and you'll find dozens of tutorial videos and articles! Again, your mileage may vary on this method depending on scale since it's easy to build up bulk quickly.

Also rather than trying to manage all that while drafting your own pattern, I'd recommend this site for doll patterns. They're usually simple, full of directions, and easy to follow. Plus, the shop owner is super super nice and is happy to answer questions about her patterns.

Sorry for the essay lol, but I've been right where you are and thought I'd offer some of my experiences! Happy sewing!

 

I don't think twill is generally doll scale, especially down at 1/4 scale. You would get a crisp thick appearance with regular cotton quilting fabric.
My concern for the color blocking with the pleats is that it will disturb their ability to lay properly if it's pieced together from different fabrics. So, like others have said, I would look into another way to get the colors right.

Good luck with making your character!

 

Haha it's so true what you said about the lightweight fabrics @idrisfynn

In addition to thrift fabrics (check scarves too) if you are in a big city where they might have big import stores they can have something better (or just... Cool stuff). I love the warehouse stores that have Indian and southeast Asian import fabrics and am always sad there is not one close enough to me currently.

 

Definitely listen to them, they have a lot more experience than me! Twill is just the first heavyweight cotton I could think of, but you're right, it would be too heavy. Also seconded on thrift stores- I make a lot of skirts and dresses for myself out of cotton bed sheets I find there.

 

Regular quilting cottons you can buy in the USA will hold the pleats really well because they are a dense cotton as mentioned.

Maybe I'm mistaken about twill and it comes in a lighter weight too. I just know the quilting cottons I often buy here are already so thick and when I've had apparel twill fabric it was even thicker so the regular cotton becomes like a doll scale version of twill

 

I would call that style of dress a jumper. I know jumper is used in a lot of different ways but if you search “uniform jumper” in the United States that is one of the styles you will find.
https://www.amazon.com/Lands-End-Uniform-Custom-Jumper/dp/B0B2SJ7N6R

 

If you were wanting to get the "folds at the hem, smooth at the waist" look, that would be a circle skirt (half or quarter for less fullness). Getting the color-block placement would also be a lot easier with a circle as opposed to a pleated skirt.

If you wanted to avoid piecing together different colored fabrics, you can get vertical/horizontal striped fabric and rotate the pattern pieces to match the stripes diagonally before cutting out. If you can't find black and yellow, buy black and white striped fabric and dye it yellow.

To get a really nice doll-scale drape with circle skirts, use knit/stretch fabrics instead of woven fabric.

 

If you can't find fabric in the colors you want for the skirt, you can actually have some printed in the pattern you want. Spoonflower allows you to upload a design and have it printed on a variety of fabrics. They even had a cotton lawn (a thinner cotton) option last time I looked and other options (including knit fabrics if you want a skirt with more drape). You can also order samples from them to test how heavy the fabric is before making a purchase.