Easy way to remove 2-3 inches from waistband

Last month someone on a Facebook group for Pinup Girl Clothing asked for recommendations on where to get her skirt altered to fit a slightly smaller waist. I posted my method of altering my skirts, and received such a positive reaction, that I decided I should post it here as well. It isn't as refined as the typical method that involves completely removing the waistband, but it is much less work, and I don't think anyone would notice the difference.

I am not an expert sewer, nor do I particularly love sewing. The method I use is really simple, and I can do it by hand if I don't feel like changing the thread on my sewing machine. This will not work on skirts that have a zipper in the side seam. I have used this method to remove up to three inches from a waistband, however, it may work up to four inches.


Two easy steps:
1) Turn your skirt inside out
2) Sew a diagonal dotted line on the waistband at the side seams, as illustrated below, on both sides of the skirt.
(The end of the line should always end at the side seam)



The hardest part of the whole process is the simple math equation to determine how wide the area should be where the arrow is pointing. To do that, decide how much smaller you want the skirt to be, and divide it by four.

For example, if the area the arrow is pointing at is 0.5" (half an inch), that will remove 2" total from the waistband. If the area is 0.75" (three-fourths of an inch), it will remove 3" total from the waistband.