altering skirts

Regardless of what size pattern you buy for your plus size/overweight child, there are always changes that need to be made. Sometimes a single change will do it, and other times there may be 2, 3, 4 changes necessary before the store bought pattern will actually fit the plus size child. We are starting a series of alterations to patterns that may be needed in order to get the fit you want for your plus size child.

The first clothing garment we will work on will be the skirt. Many of the overweight children have a large protruding stomach, so we’ll start with that issue.

LARGE ABDOMEN (stomach) – the skirt will be too short and will ride up in the front. Draw a horizontal line across the fullest part of the abdomen on the pattern as indicated. Cut the line beginning at the center front and cut to within 1/2″ from the side seam. Separate the pieces the necessary amount and tape in place, as shown. Redraw the center front line, as indicated with dashed lines, from the bottom to the top, keeping the original line straight. This correction will make the waist larger so you will have to make the “fullness” into a small amount of gathers, which would give a little extra fullness for the large tummy.

A. WAIST/HIP – check your child’s waist and hip measurements and compare them to the measurements on the pattern. If the amount of change is the same for both, make the necessary change at the center front and center back lines. draw in the new skirt lines as shown with dashed lines.

B. LARGE WAIST – To make just the waist larger, extend the front and back waist line each 1/4 of the total necessary amount. Draw in the new waist to hipline curve as shown with dashed lines.

These alterations to store bought patterns is an excerpt from the book “Altering Store Bought Patterns For Plus Size Children”. Additional pattern making classes (for boys and girls) and full size clothing patterns for plus size children can be seen at Sew With Sarah.com (pdf/downloadable patterns in “sewing patterns”) and PlusSizeChildren.com for patterns already printed and ready to mail out. If you have a lot of plus size children in your area, you might want to consider going into a business sewing for them – check our our Sewing For Plus Size Children As A Home Business manual.

Improper fit and unsightly wrinkles detract from the appearance of a skirt. Most adjustments are simple and it’s amazing how much better the skirt will hang.

When deciding on the length of a skirt, keep in mind the best length for YOUR figure and what you’ll feel comfortable wearing. The current fashionable length may not be the best for you.

Protruding hips make wrinkles on the sides of the skirt front and the grain of the fabric becomes uneven (figure 1). To correct, raise the front hipline edge of the skirt slightly and ease the extra fullness along the upper hip part of the side seam.

Figure 1

Narrow buttocks cause wrinkles on the back of the skirt (figure 2). To adjust, deepen the center back waistline curve as shown below.

Figure 2

High buttocks cause the back of the skirt to be raised, making side seams slant and the back hemline protrudes (figure 3). To alter the skirt pattern, raise the center back waistline slightly and draw in the new curve. Also, make the second back dart a little wider and add to the hipline edges of the skirt to allow for the extra width of the dart.

Figure 3

Too much of a curve along the hipline causes wrinkles along the sides of the skirt (figure 4), so the hipline should be altered slightly as shown in the following diagram.

Figure 4

In addition, protruding abdomens make the front of the skirt pull up and the hem move forward. To allow for a large abdomen, raise the center front waistline of the skirt as necessary and add extra width along the hipline.

Many times it seems like there are too many alterations to make to a pattern, that you wonder if it’s worth the trouble. Most times I’d say yes, take the time to do it right and get a good fit. If you are one of those that nothing seems to fit right, I would like to invite you to try your hand at making your own skirt pattern! You only need a few simple measurements and follow the step by step instructions and diagrams to get a perfect fitting skirt. We have skirt pattern making classes available for plus size women, average size women and petite women.

If you don’t have pattern paper to make your own patterns, my favorite is Pellon East Pattern 830. This pattern paper is non-woven, easy to write on and can even be machine washed and dried!

How To Alter Skirt Patterns For Plus Size/Overweight Children

How To Do Skirt Alterations