taking in a pleated skirt

Hello kind sewing folks!

I have two cute longer pleated skirts i would like to take in, but i
am wondering if this is a very difficult endeavor. Do you have to
remove the skirting from the waistband to do this? One is just a bit
too big in general, so i might be able to do it up the back where
there isn't much of a pleat, but the other needs to be taken in on the
sides where the pockets are as it was made to accomodate someone with
wider hips but the same waist. That one looks like it might be a bit
of a bear!

Thanks for any help...and if no one wants to tackle this, then thanks
all the same!

Casey

Casey Kane wrote:
Hello kind sewing folks!

I have two cute longer pleated skirts i would like to take in, but i
am wondering if this is a very difficult endeavor. Do you have to
remove the skirting from the waistband to do this? One is just a bit
too big in general, so i might be able to do it up the back where
there isn't much of a pleat, but the other needs to be taken in on the
sides where the pockets are as it was made to accomodate someone with
wider hips but the same waist. That one looks like it might be a bit
of a bear!

Thanks for any help...and if no one wants to tackle this, then thanks
all the same!

Casey

Casey, it's often quite effective just to run a length of elastic
through the back waistband of a pleated skirt. This gives a slight
gather, often enough to make the waist fit, but doesn't affect the
overall 'hang' of the garment.

With regard to the 'wide' skirt you have, it's a bit hard to advise
without knowing how the skirt was constructed in the first place. There
are some very knowledgeable folk here who can probably help you much
better with alterations than I can...

Anyway, maybe the waistband trick might be useful to you? ;-D

--
Trish {|:-} Newcastle, NSW, Australia

Trish Brown wrote in message ...
Casey Kane wrote:
Hello kind sewing folks!

I have two cute longer pleated skirts i would like to take in, but i
am wondering if this is a very difficult endeavor. Do you have to
remove the skirting from the waistband to do this? One is just a bit
too big in general, so i might be able to do it up the back where
there isn't much of a pleat, but the other needs to be taken in on the
sides where the pockets are as it was made to accomodate someone with
wider hips but the same waist. That one looks like it might be a bit
of a bear!

Thanks for any help...and if no one wants to tackle this, then thanks
all the same!

Casey

Casey, it's often quite effective just to run a length of elastic
through the back waistband of a pleated skirt. This gives a slight
gather, often enough to make the waist fit, but doesn't affect the
overall 'hang' of the garment.

With regard to the 'wide' skirt you have, it's a bit hard to advise
without knowing how the skirt was constructed in the first place. There
are some very knowledgeable folk here who can probably help you much
better with alterations than I can...

Anyway, maybe the waistband trick might be useful to you? ;-D


thanks for the advice, not a bad idea at all! I got both of them at
thrift stores so i gues the worst that can happen is a sad crime
against clothing but not much of a financial loss. They aren't totally
hard finds either,and i can't wear them the way they are so...

taking in a pleated skirt

(Casey=A0Kane)
snip I have two cute longer pleated skirts i would like to take in,
but i am wondering if this is a very difficult endeavor. Do you have to
remove the skirting from the waistband to do this? One is just a bit too
big in general, so i might be able to do it up the back where there
isn't much of a pleat,...
---
Sounds like a good plan of attack for this skirt. Depending upon
how the skirt is made, and your shape, you might do one of two things:
Release the waistband a few inches on both sides of the zip, then, to
keep the symmetry, add a small pleat on both sides of the zip, taking in
as needed. Shorten the w/band to fit.
Or, remove the zip, then cut out most of the excess fabric, re-setting
the zip into the new seam.
---
but the other needs to be taken in on the sides where the pockets are
as it was made to accomodate someone with wider hips but the same waist.
That one looks like it might be a bit of a bear!
Casey
---
I'm having trouble picturing this one, too, so it's difficult to
offer advice.
Does this skirt have stitched-down pleats? Pockets in this pleated
skirt? If the waist fits, you can taper the skirt, but you will likely
lose the pockets.
Pin-fit the excess fullness, then transfer the pin markings to the
wrong side of the fabric. (I use a clay tailor's chalk for this.)
You'll begin the side hip taper just as you would begin a dart, with
a similar taper at the top of the alteration, blending with the original
seam at the top,just below the waistband, so there won't be a bubble of
fabric there. The alteration doesn't always have to be carried into the
hemline. Again, this depends upon the cut of the garment, and the shape
of the figure beneath HTH.
Cea