Friday 6 January 2012

Waistband help

Hello there !

I found the very first item I ever made the other day - it was a denim dress.

The bodice did not fit at all, but the skirt part fits like a dream and I have wanted a dark denim pencil skirt for some time. As such I decided to ditch the bodice and keep the skirt. So out came the trusty old seam ripper and I separated the 2 halves.

Now I have the problem that I want to add a waistband and a zipper to make the skirt a proper skirt. I don't want facings or bias binding - I want a real waistband. I cant trace a waistband from the original pattern as I have lost it - oops.

Does anyone know any good tutorials for creating a waistband or have any tips to draft one and attach it ? I would be eternally grateful !

Its not beyond the realm of imagination that I could have 2, yes 2! finished garments tomorrow (waistband permitting).

In other news it's only flipping Friday ! I hope you all have a good one,

K xxx

7 comments:

  1. Coletterie provided a tutorial really recently:

    http://www.coletterie.com/books/tutorial-how-to-add-a-waistband-to-the-meringue-skirt

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  2. Hey Chris :-) Thanks so much for the link. I looked at this one before but I am not sure I can use it as I don't have the original pattern pieces, boo ! Do you think I could do it by just tracing the skirt and adding seam allowance ? I wonder if I should just go head and try anyway, that's part of the beauty of sewing eh ? Thanks again for your comment, I really appreciated it x

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  3. Hi Kirsty. Sorry, I hadn't taken on board you not having the pattern!

    I'm old enough to remember waistbands when they really were waistbands - some of my earliest projects in the 80s were literally a rectangle of fabric gathered onto a straight band that was waist-sized, and that was that. Would that sort of style suit you - you'd just cut out a band long enough to go round your waist with a bit of an overlap for a button/fastening, and twice the width you'd want it, so you can double it over, plus seam allowances. It kind of depends if you want it to sit high on the waist, or a little lower, more yoke-style, if that makes sense?

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  4. This is the sort of thing I mean:

    http://www.independentliving.org/fashionfreaks/skirts/nssi4.html

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  5. That's exactly what I mean ! Thanks so much. I will try the rectangle tomorrow. Love the generosity of people sharing knowledge. :-)) Thanks again, really x

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  6. Hi there,

    I made a gathered skirt a while back from the tutorial on Gertie's blog. There is a great waistband instruction on there-easy peasy.

    Pt. 1
    http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2009/08/sew-full-gathered-skirt-part-one-make.html

    Pt. 2
    http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2009/08/make-this-skirt-part-two-of-gathered.html

    Two garments in one day?!? I'm working out of town til early February, so I have to live vicariously through all the sewing blogs, so I can't wait to see your finished projects!

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  7. Thanks Jill - these are also great links !! x

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