Thread: Lost weight - skirt falling off - HELP!

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I'm supposed to videotape myself for a long distance critique, so I suited up and did a little practice in costume...lo and behold, my skirt began to slip down my hips and rear!

I don't have a sewing machine, but I can thread a needle and sew on a button, so I was hoping I can fix this myself.

The skirt is metallic lycra with a beaded waistline. The elastic is in one strip that appears to be loosely tacked to the back area of the waist. That's the only place there is any elastic.

Any ideas?

Originally Posted by Jungleflowers

...The elastic is in one strip that appears to be loosely tacked to the back area of the waist. That's the only place there is any elastic.

I will try to post a photo later if I can. In the mean time, any ideas?

it sounds as if this elastic is in a "thread casing."
I'd suggest adding more thread casing elastic - going around the whole skirt. Maybe shortening the existing elastic as well.

Depending on how much you are tightening the skirt, shortening the existing elastic should do the trick. Also, look at the side seams. Is there enough un embellished fabric to take a small dart?

{{{HUGS}}}

This sounds silly but what has worked for me is cutting the thick lycra leggings (like Danskin at Walmart) and wearing 2 pairs of them underneath my skirt along with regular underwear - it works!

Originally Posted by tahiradancer

Depending on how much you are tightening the skirt, shortening the existing elastic should do the trick. Also, look at the side seams. Is there enough un embellished fabric to take a small dart?

{{{HUGS}}}

Other than something you throw at a target, what is a dart?

Also, there is beading all the way around the waistband.

I thought about running a thinner piece of elastic between the current elastic and the fabric of the skirt, tightening it an inch or so, then tacking the ends of the new elastic to the old elastic. That way it could be adjustable and I'm not monkeying with the construction of the skirt at all. Would that work?

A dart is kind of like seam that doesn't go all the way down, and it doesn't need to be two different pieces of fabric. Think of a triangle pointing downward.

Toying with the elastic casing, or adding more around the entire waist might help, like Samira suggested.

Originally Posted by Karnak

A dart is kind of like seam that doesn't go all the way down, and it doesn't need to be two different pieces of fabric. Think of a triangle pointing downward.

Toying with the elastic casing, or adding more around the entire waist might help, like Samira suggested.

Adding elastic to the rest of the waist makes sense. Any hints on sewing it on evenly?

Easy fix, done it a million times...

Just cut the elastic loose on one end (cut the thread holding it on one end, not the thread casing or the elastic itself), then cut the elastic a few inches shorter and sew it back onto the same spot you removed it from... this will tighten the skirt up for you and shouldn't take more than 20 min (give or take depending on your hand sewing speed).

Originally Posted by Lesedi

Easy fix, done it a million times...

Just cut the elastic loose on one end (cut the thread holding it on one end, not the thread casing or the elastic itself), then cut the elastic a few inches shorter and sew it back onto the same spot you removed it from... this will tighten the skirt up for you and shouldn't take more than 20 min (give or take depending on your hand sewing speed).

I see what you're saying... but won't that tighten the elastic unevenly since it is sewn down? It's not loose in that thread casing- each of those diagonal stiches actually connects it to the skirt. (See photo in original post.) So if I pull it tighter from the end, I'm only bunching up the skirt in that one spot, I think.

If the elastic is not floating in the casing, but sewn in at the top and bottom, then, yes, just pulling one end tighter will not gather evenly. Taking half as much from each end will produce two smaller uneven spots on opposite sides of the hips, which might be preferable to one bigger one. If you don't want to take the elastic/thread casing apart and redo it, the next simplest thing is to run a second, slightly narrower piece of elastic through the thread casing, which will gather more evenly. Depending on how much you need to take it in, this may be somewhat pucker-y, since the new piece of elastic will be gathering up the original one and elastic tends to get bulgy when it is gathered.

If you want to keep this costume and expect to be at your new weight for a long time, the best choice is to redo the original elastic, not kludge up a workaround. If you don't want to do the sewing yourself, this should be a minor alteration for a seamstress.

Originally Posted by Jungleflowers

I see what you're saying... but won't that tighten the elastic unevenly since it is sewn down? It's not loose in that thread casing- each of those diagonal stiches actually connects it to the skirt. (See photo in original post.) So if I pull it tighter from the end, I'm only bunching up the skirt in that one spot, I think.

Check to make sure that the thread casing is not going through the elastic... it could just be going under it judging by the picture.

If the thread is going through the elastic though, this is also an easy fix, but takes a little longer.

Cut out the whole thread casing and elastic. Cut the elastic (or new elastic) down to the length you want it to be. Sew it down on one side, then work on your own thread casing and tack down the other side when you've finished. Make sure that you knot the thread before and after the thread casing (or use a different string), so that altering the elastic is easier in the future.

Here's another suggestion, this has worked for me with numeroush heavy skirts that slide down, and no muffin top!

Get a pair of lycra boy shorts or dance trunks that fit securely. I use something like this in nude that I get at Target, by Gilligan & O'Malley, they're very secure:
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html...t_adv_XSG10001

Put on the boyshorts. Put on your skirt over them. Pin the front, back and both sides wherever the top of the boyshorts meets the skirt. (this probably ISN'T the top of the skirt waistband, so do put them on to see where they should sit).

Then tack each of those four spots with a needle and thread (simple as sewing on four buttons).

This method holds my skirts up with no problem and NO muffintop. Tightening the elastic enough to hold up heavy beadwork gives me serious muffintop!

I usually wear a thong under the boyshorts and don't worry about washing them with every wearing, but it's not hard to snip them loose and wash or replace them, either.

Good news! I took another look at the thread casing- and the elastic is NOT sewn down! It just looked like it was. So I'm thinking that all I have to do is release one end of the elastic, pull it a little tighter, and then sew the end back down.

Hopefully I can handle that.,r:;