Alterations to skirt

GroinSexyPavement

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, but as it's about 'making do and mending' to avoid buying more clothes hope it's ok here..

I've got this pencil skirt that fits me around the waist and hips but is saggy on the bum and around the legs. So what I want to do is take in the side seams a couple of inches on either side. The skirt isn't lined. Is this something I'd be ok attempting as a novice? If so, um, how exactly do I go about it??

And can anyone recommend a good starter sewing machine that won't break the bank?

Thank you!

MsHoarder

If there are side seams, just pin them so that you make "darts" in the sides where the seams are at bum height, then sew in a straight line over the top. This will give a curve away from the seam, starting at the hip. To take off 2 inches you need each dart to be 1/2 inch deep. Use a thread colour that matches the skirt so that it doesn't show.

If it just has a back seam and the zip is in the middle, then unless you want to introduce side darts the zip will need moving, ie taking out and putting back in with less fabric either side, which is more difficult to explain in text and possibly not easy for a novice.

You probably want to try it on after pinning this first, and checking it will still go on.

meritaten

as above! pin it - try it on inside out so that you will KNOW you have it right. then tack it with some different colour thread - not TOO big a stitch - then try it on the right way round. when you are satisfied then stitch with a straight stitch starting about an inch with the original seam. check the fit and then unpick the original seam and trim with pinking shears. press flat.
sorry, I cant recommend a sewing machine as I use an old singer which has been in the family for about a hundred years (you have to turn the handle on it - not even a treadle model!)

GroinSexyPavement

Thanks both! Will let you know how it goes...

caitybabes

Ooh I have a very similar issue... need to sew up my pencil skirt at the sides because it's about a whole size too big. Hope yours goes well

tanith

If your skirt has a waistband its a bit more complicated than as explained . Hope yours turns out ok..

Ida_Notion

Don't forget to take the hem down first before you alter your seams, otherwise the hem will not sit right at the sides. You'll have to take it up again when you're done. Also, when you're trying on your skirt after tacking it (before sewing it properly), make sure you try sitting down in it as this is where people often come unstuck, thinking that as long as they can walk in something then it fits. I was a dressmaker for six years, but it was a long time ago and so I could not recommend a particular machine today, but in my experience the ones that do just a few stitches (e.g straight, zig-zag and maybe buttonholes) are a lot more robust than the ones that offer zillions of stitch patterns for not much more money.