Tutorial - resizing a vintage skirt.

After finding a pile of lovely skirts at an estate sale, and when getting home and discovering that they are all about 24 inches around... I headed for the craft room! I only needed to add a few inches to make this fit at the waist, and since they're pleated there is plenty of extra to go around.

I carefully cut the stitching back on a few pleats until the skirt was the correct width. I decided no to iron down the pleats, since leaving them gave the illusion that the skirt was still pleated all the way around.

I used a piece of wool felt in nearly the same color to fill the gap. These skirts have a sizable hand turned hem, so if I wanted a perfect match I could steal some strips from the bottom and tack the new edge down.

I top-stitched it all in place, and made a new button hole for the existing button. I never even had the touch the zipper in all this, I just made sure that when buttoned the sides still line up.

And now I have a trio of cute vintage pleated wool skirts! My mother remarked that they are exactly what she would have worn to High School (back when girls were not allowed to wear pants, can you believe that!)



On this red and blue plaid there had been a long overlap on the closure, so once I unfolded it a bit it didn't want to sit closed, I just added a zipper to it. I even went dancing in this skirt, it spins like a dream and the waistband is sturdy enough for that kind of excitement.

You don't have the make the changes where the skirt closes. This skirt had a cute little strap closure, so I opened the waistband in the same manner on the far side from the closure. It is always best of change the sizes of garments on the side so the drape of the front and back aren't changed too much.

So never be afraid to grab a good deal just because you can't try it on, there are lots of things to do with that clothing if it doesn't fit quite right!