There are plenty of tutorials on how to take something in to a smaller size, but sometimes the garment you are starting with is actually too small. There aren’t as many options in this case. Most involve adding extra panels of contrasting fabric, which can be fairly obvious. I know of a few ways to do this that are a bit more subtle, but what you can do depends on the style of skirt you have. Today I will show you how to make a too small skirt larger if it already has pleats or gathers.
I will admit that this one is a bit obvious when you think about it. The problem is that I rarely look as garments this way! I found this gorgeous wool skirt at a thrift store though, and was so sad when it didn’t fit! I have been really wanting a wool skirt in just this length for winter and as I was calculating in my head how much just buying that length of wool fabric and making it myself would cost, it occurred to me that the skirt in my hand was exactly that.
What are gathered or pleated skirts except fabric yardage with a waistband?
Could I have the warm and toasty winter skirt of my dreams for under $10 after all???
When I got it home, the first step was to remove the waistband. (Ok, it was the second step. Wash anything you buy before you start sewing with it obviously. Don’t be a gremlin at this stage.)
In this particular skirt the pleats were sewn down, so a seam ripper and a few murder mysteries were necessary.
A WORD OF CAUTION: some pleats can become permanent in a garment! Test as best as you can to see if you will be able to smooth them out. If not, you aren’t necessarily out of luck. Fiddle with the pleats to see if you can re-pleat it in a way that is wider than the original pattern.
If you are using a gathered skirt, you might even want to just cut the waistband off if you have enough length to your fabric. Most gathered skirts encase those stitches inside of the waistband, so you could be left with your rectangles as easily as that!
After this step, you have a 3/4 made skirt! Two rectangles that are sewn together with finished seams and a nice hem. All it needs is to be gathered or pleated to your new width, and any kind of waistband that you want attached.
(Bonus, if the original skirt didn’t come with pockets, now would be a great time to attach them!)
One last thing to keep in mind, is where this waistband is going to come from. Since we are starting with a skirt with a too small waist, chances are that you won’t be able to use the existing one. I would suggest choosing a skirt that is a few inches longer than you want and then just cutting a new one from the top of the skirt. (That is what I did here.)
That’s all there is to it! Have you got any likely candidates in your wardrobe to try this out yourself with?
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