How to Resize and Shorten a Skirt

Tools and materials:

• Safety pins
• Sewing machine
• Ruler
• Fabric marker
• Large skirt
• Fabric clips

Adjust the waist

I’ve started by turning the skirt inside out, and I’m also wearing it back to front so that I will know where to create the darts. I took safety pins, and along the pre-existing dart lines, I took in and pinned the same amount of material on each side to create my new desired dimensions. 

Adjust the length

To adjust the length of the skirt, I pulled it up and turned it right side out to see how short I wanted it to be. Once I decided on the new length, I pinned it with safety pins. Where the safety pins are will serve as a mark to show you where to cut and sew.

Sew the waistline

Starting with the darts, draw with a fabric marker where you need to sew. Once you've sewn your darts, iron them down on the inside. You will have a bump of fabric from where you've taken the skirt in, fold this down and then sew it down the middle so that it stays nice and flat.

Sew the bottom

To adjust the length, you'll want to leave a seam allowance of 1 inch at the bottom of the skirt for when you hem it. So fold the fabric up by an inch, cut the fabric, and then iron it. Sew it by topstitching, and then you're done.

Tip:

Clip the hem with fabric clips to keep it in place while sewing.

Check out the finished product! I love the way that the skirt looks; it gives me a flattering hourglass shape. The hemming looks like a professional did it, and if it's easy enough for me to do, you can for sure do it as well! You can style the skirt with whatever shoes you like, I tried it on with sneakers, boots, and flats, and it looks great with all of them!