Women's Slit Skirt

Cut a deliberate opening up from the hem of a closed skirt and you have a slit skirt. It can sit at the side, at the front or at the center back. Height is the whole design decision. An opening ending below the knee is practical, one reaching mid thigh is an evening choice. The same skirt reads completely differently at each.

Openings appear where a skirt is narrow, because a narrow hem shortens your stride. Measure your own step and you will find a straight midi with a 12 inch hem opening gives you half of it back. Edges need a facing, a strip of fabric turned to the inside and stitched down, or the slit ripples and curls instead of hanging in a line. At the top of the opening there should be a bar tack, a short block of dense stitching that stops the seam continuing to split. This is the single most common failure in the style.

A wrap skirt also opens at the front, but its opening is an overlap with no fixed top, so it can keep widening. A slit stops where the stitching stops. The pencil skirt uses a vent, a short overlapping opening at the back cut purely so you can walk rather than to be seen. An A-line needs no slit, since the flare already gives you room. Pleated skirts solve the same problem with folds instead of a gap.

Long, narrow skirts need one, and tall wearers need it most, since a restricted stride hits them hardest. Formal events carry a high one well. Sitting changes everything: a slit that reads modest standing climbs several inches when you cross your legs. For a day of meetings or a windy commute, a front or high side slit is the wrong choice. A back slit gives the stride without the display.

Sit down in it, then stand and take a full stride. Where the top of the opening lands seated is the number that matters, and it will be higher than you expect. Study the finish inside: a faced edge feels firm between your fingers, while a folded and topstitched edge in a thin fabric curls within a season. Repair a popped bar tack immediately, since a slit that starts running up a seam takes the skirt with it. Press the edges flat and hang the skirt so the opening is not folded over a bar.