I love skirts, but my rounded posterior causes my skirts to hang at least 1" to 2" shorter in the back than the front. How can I make my skirt hang evenly all around? Trish H.,
Centreville, VA
You need more length in the back than front. To accomplish this when constructing a skirt, put it on and determine a new waist seamline before adding the waistband.
Tie a piece of 1/4"-wide elastic around your waist. Wearing the shoes you'll wear with the skirt, stand in front of a mirror and pull the skirt waist up in the front until the lower edge is an equal distance from the floor all the way around the skirt (2).
Mark along the elastic lower edge for the new waist seamline. Trim the fabric above the line to a 5/8" seam allowance. Sew the waistband to the skirt and hem the lower edge.
Ready-to-wear skirts can be rehemmed with the help of a friend.
Release the stitching from the previous hem, taking note of the hem allowance width and how the hem was sewn (machine or hand stitched).
Have a friend measure and mark a new hemline. Start in the back where the skirt is the shortest and measure the same distance from the floor to mark the new hemline all around the skirt.
Trim the excess in the front so the hem allowance is the same width all around and re-hem the skirt.
If the fabric is plaid or has an obvious horizontal pattern, re-hemming the lower edge won't work because the pattern won't be parallel to the lower edge. It would be better to take up the extra in the waistline as previously described.
Release the waistband stitching, determine the new waistline as described above and then reattach the waistband.
You may need to wear an over-blouse to cover the waistline to camouflage any fabric pattern irregularities there.
If the skirt pattern has an elastic casing instead of a waistband, it's better to determine the new waistline seam and then add a casing to the skirt upper edge rather than just turning the fabric to form a casing.
Determine the new waist seamline and trim off the excess 5/8" above the line.
From matching fabric, cut a 3 1/2"-wide casing strip the length of the skirt upper edge plus 1 1/4".
With right sides together, sew together the short ends with a 5/8" seam, leaving
a 1 1/8" opening to insert the elastic (3).
Fold the casing in half with the wrong sides together and raw edges even; baste the raw edges together.
With the casing opening at the skirt center back and the finished side facing the skirt right side, sew the casing to the skirt with a 5/8" seam. Finish the raw edges.
Cut 1"-wide elastic to your waist measurement. Insert it in the casing and adjust so it's comfortable, then sew the ends together. Hand stitch the opening closed.
Sewing Q&A
