Hem a Skirt at the Waist- A Tutorial :)

Helllu Pussycats!

This post today is another clothing alteration that I thought
might be useful to some of you.
You see, I am always having to alter my clothes because
I am short. Not just kinda short....I am quite short.
For arguments sake let's say I am 5 foot tall.
That is my story and I am sticking to it :)

I have always been sort of tiny...not slight or slim but short
and small. I didn't get the super cute, pixie genes.
I got the "short-kinda stocky-big thighs-thanx to my Ukrainian heritage" genes ;)
I often forget that I am short until I see my reflection in a window.
I am like: "Oh yeh, I am not 5 9"..damn!"  Hahahaha!

I also forget that I am short until I go shopping for clothing and
then it becomes painfully obvious. Gaaaaa!
Everything needs to be hemmed and shortened.
I often lose so much detail on sleeves and hems b/c I have
to cut everything off. So annoying :(

Skirts can be especially troublesome if there is some lovely trim
around the hem. I have a little trick I use if I can, to salvage the hem.
I "hem" the skirt from the waist :)
It is easy to do and usually doesn't take too long.


I found this pretty cotton skirt at the GoodWill and knew it would be a good
candidate to hem from the waist.
I pulled it up to where I wanted the hem to sit, turned the
waist over and pinned it down.


#1. I measured down from the top of the skirt how much I need to cut off.
I don't need to add seam allowance to the top b/c I am going to use seam
binding to finish off the waist.

#2. I am not going to keep the belt loops b/c I won't wear anything tucked
into this skirt. Make sure you mark evenly around the front and the back.

#3. At this point I carefully removed the zipper.
 This skirt is lined so I pinned the outer skirt to the lining and then basted
around about 1/4" from the edge. Then cut on your marked line to
remove the excess at the top.


#4- #6. At this point you will need to open up the center back to make room for another zipper.
*** At this point try the skirt on again and make sure that it fits as
snug around your waist as you like. You may find it a bit loose b/c we cut
down close to the hipline. If you need to take the waist in a bit, you can
 do this at the center back. Fold under the excess at the back, press and
 trim leaving 1/2" seam allowance. See here if you need more help w this.

You will need an 8" skirt zipper so make sure you have an 8" opening from
the very top of the skirt down. Backstitch at the bottom of the opening to the keep
the seam from pulling open on you. Next, line up the lining and the outer skirt at the
center back and stitch the two layers together about an 1/8" in from the edge.
Give it a good press to try and iron out old stitch marks.


#7 & #8. Next you will add seam binding tape to the raw edge. It just folds over the
edge which is why you didn't need to add seam allowance at the top.

#9. Leave about 1/2" edge at the center back on each side to be folded
under when you put the zipper in.


 #10. Pin your zipper in making sure that your edges meet nicely in the middle
and that the top edges are even as well.
Again, you can check here if you need more info on this zipper application.

#11. Give it a good press.

#12. Ta da!!! You are done! :)


You can see in the first pic that the skirt sits nicely where I like it. You can also see
that I need to wear undies that sit higher and not create a line under my belly button :)

The second photo shows the skirts now falls just above my ankles...perfect!
I didn't lose any of the lovely frill or detail at them hem. Hurrah!! :)

This is easy and doable for beginners. Just remember to go slow
and always double check before you cut.
If you make a mistake, don't fret...I still make mistakes all the time!
If you have any questions about this technique please
feel free to ask.

Take Care!!
luv Weezi xo



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