Here's how to breathe easy by eliminating waistbands completely.
Materials:
skirt pattern and required fabric
twill tape
picot-edged grosgrain ribbon
grosgrain ribbon with a pinked edge or interfacing (picot-edged ribbon is preferred)
Steps:
- Measure your waist and add 2-1/2 inches to the measurement for ease.
- Complete the skirt according to the pattern up to the point of adding the waistband.
- Starting 3/8 inch from the top, sew an ease line by using a longer stitch.
- Starting right beside the zipper teeth, sew twill tape along the waistline seam under the ease line.
- Iron the ribbon or interfacing, stretching and curving the edge that is pinked or the picot edge as you iron. If you are working with interfacing, just tug at one edge as you iron. You might want to spritz the ribbon with water or interfacing as you iron for more give.
- Turn 2-1/2 inches of the end of the ribbon and fold it over to leave room for a buttonhole on the underlay of the zipper.
- With this extension going past the end of the garment, begin pinning the unstretched portion of the ribbon to the waist. Overlap the ribbon on top of the ease line. Sew it to the edge of the right side of the fabric.
- Fold the ribbon inside of the skirt, making sure no ribbon shows on the right side of the skirt. Press the waist.
- To keep the ribbon from turning up, sew it in the well of the seam on both sides. This technique is called "stitch in the ditch."
- Sew a buttonhole onto the extension and affix a button to the other side.
- For the finishing touch, you could add a tab at the back. Cut a three inch square of fabric and fold it right sides together.
- Sew the tab in either a square or curved shape.
- Trim any excess fabric and add interfacing.
- Turn the tab right side out.
- Sew a buttonhole into the tab.
- Pull some of the threads from the zipper and slide the tab into the opening.
- Topstitch the tab all the way through the ribbon.
- Sew a corresponding button onto the waist of the skirt.
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