It is a rare cheerleading skirt that doesn't need to be altered. With all the skirt length rules for competition, most skirts have to be hemmed to a very specific length. Sending a cheerleading skirt out to be altered can be very expensive and also time-consuming -- you often have to wait a week to get the skirt back. Learning to alter your own cheerleading skirt will not only save you money, it will save time as well.
Rip the seams of the waist and upper part of the pleating with a seam ripper. It is easier to alter the skirt from the waist, instead of altering all the pleats at the bottom of the skirt.
Remove the waistband and lay the skirt down on a flat work surface.
Using straight pins, pin the skirt at the desired length. It is best to try the skirt on first and determine how many inches you will be taking off the bottom of the skirt. If it is 2 inches, pin the upper part of each pleat that meets at the waistband up by 2 inches.
Go back and sew the upper part of the pleats that have been pinned back onto the waistband of the skirt.
The sewing can be done by hand with a simple stitch, or a sewing machine can be used. Try the skirt on to be sure it is the proper length.