Sew Your Waistband Backwards! It Just Makes Sense!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
by Marian Lewis
©2005 Marian Lewis – All Rights Reserved
1st Step To Sewing Success
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
My common sense mind causes me to wonder about certain waistbands.
Why do so many waistbands have elastic only in the back and a straight band in the front?
I think the answer to that question is that the marketing people want garments to look good on the hangers in the stores. They don't really care if they fit us. They only care that we buy them.
Think about that!
Now think about how many people you know who have flat tummies.
For so many women, (and yes, you guys, too) especially older seniors, these flat front garments are simply not practical and certainly not attractive.
With our flat behinds and round tummies, the back poufs out at the back waist and droops below our bottoms and the front pulls up and is tight across our bulging bellies.
This creates all sorts of ugly wrinkles and makes us look heavier than we actually are. It is uncomfortable, too.
Even little tykes have this type of band in many of their garments. They have the same problem with their baby bellies.
And, the young flat ab crowd would NEVER wear these garments.
Who are they for?
Who do they fit?
Who thought of this band anyway? It really doesn't work for a whole lot of folks.
It just makes sense to me that we need to reverse the band and fullness to have the back band straight and the front elasticized.
Or, as I suggested to my dear mother-in-law and lots of other lady friends, just wear your pants backwards. It is amazing how well that works. No one really knows the difference on a plain pair of pants or a skirt.
However, it is a challenge and looks a little weird if you try to put your hands into your pockets on a ready-to-wear garment.
Now, just visualize that!
Oh well, then, the only way to solve the problem is to sew your pants and skirts yourself.
You have my permission to change the sewing patterns to suit your body. It really is OK.
Always remember that YOU are the designer. You can do this!
When you make your basic pants or skirt, make the back smaller and the front wider.
Doesn't that make sense?
You have the bulging belly and thighs in the front. Right?
That means more fabric in the front.
You have a flat droopy bottom in the back. Right?
That means less fabric in the back.
You cannot have an evenly distributed garment on an unevenly distributed body.
It just doesn't work!
Stitch skinny back darts. If you are flat, you don't need fat darts.
Make a flat band in the back to eliminate that pouffed look at the waistline.
You might want to take off a little at the back inner leg seam to bring in the seat a bit closer to your body. Less bottom requires less fabric.
And, you might want to add a little height at the top of the center front tummy to give you more length to go over your belly. More belly requires more fabric.
That might still add up to the same crotch length front to back as the original pattern, but the fabric would be where you need it and not where you don't.
Make an elastic band in the front with no darts to spread the ease all across the belly. It is more comfy, too. It can grow with you when you eat or swell up at the end of the day.
Aha! That leaves room for dessert!
Of course, you might not have to change anything in the pattern if the pants work when you put them on backwards. Just relabel the pattern pieces and sew the pockets to the old back (new
front). Who is going to know?
Try it! You just might like it!
It just makes sense!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Marian Lewis is a sewing instructor, author and creator of an amazing new fitting method for hard-to-fit sewing folks who want great fitting skirts and pants. In her ebook, she teaches step-by-step common sense techniques how to find out WHAT you really need, WHERE you really need it and HOW to apply that to a commercial sewing pattern.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Discover Fitting Secrets To Achieve Sewing Success
Click Here =>
"Common Sense Fitting Method For Hard-To-Fit Sewing Folks Who Want Great Fitting Skirts And Pants"
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
**Attn: Ezine editors / Site owners **
Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine, blog, autoresponder, or on your site so long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include our resource box as listed above. Feel free to substitute your affiliate link in place of our link in the resource box.
Affiliate details are available here:
"1st Step To Sewing Success" Affiliate Program
See more about sewing
Keywords: sewing, sewing tips, sewing techniques, sewing projects, how to sew, sew
Feed Shark
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Link
by Marian Lewis
©2005 Marian Lewis – All Rights Reserved
1st Step To Sewing Success
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
My common sense mind causes me to wonder about certain waistbands.
Why do so many waistbands have elastic only in the back and a straight band in the front?
I think the answer to that question is that the marketing people want garments to look good on the hangers in the stores. They don't really care if they fit us. They only care that we buy them.
Think about that!
Now think about how many people you know who have flat tummies.
For so many women, (and yes, you guys, too) especially older seniors, these flat front garments are simply not practical and certainly not attractive.
With our flat behinds and round tummies, the back poufs out at the back waist and droops below our bottoms and the front pulls up and is tight across our bulging bellies.
This creates all sorts of ugly wrinkles and makes us look heavier than we actually are. It is uncomfortable, too.
Even little tykes have this type of band in many of their garments. They have the same problem with their baby bellies.
And, the young flat ab crowd would NEVER wear these garments.
Who are they for?
Who do they fit?
Who thought of this band anyway? It really doesn't work for a whole lot of folks.
It just makes sense to me that we need to reverse the band and fullness to have the back band straight and the front elasticized.
Or, as I suggested to my dear mother-in-law and lots of other lady friends, just wear your pants backwards. It is amazing how well that works. No one really knows the difference on a plain pair of pants or a skirt.
However, it is a challenge and looks a little weird if you try to put your hands into your pockets on a ready-to-wear garment.
Now, just visualize that!
Oh well, then, the only way to solve the problem is to sew your pants and skirts yourself.
You have my permission to change the sewing patterns to suit your body. It really is OK.
Always remember that YOU are the designer. You can do this!
When you make your basic pants or skirt, make the back smaller and the front wider.
Doesn't that make sense?
You have the bulging belly and thighs in the front. Right?
That means more fabric in the front.
You have a flat droopy bottom in the back. Right?
That means less fabric in the back.
You cannot have an evenly distributed garment on an unevenly distributed body.
It just doesn't work!
Stitch skinny back darts. If you are flat, you don't need fat darts.
Make a flat band in the back to eliminate that pouffed look at the waistline.
You might want to take off a little at the back inner leg seam to bring in the seat a bit closer to your body. Less bottom requires less fabric.
And, you might want to add a little height at the top of the center front tummy to give you more length to go over your belly. More belly requires more fabric.
That might still add up to the same crotch length front to back as the original pattern, but the fabric would be where you need it and not where you don't.
Make an elastic band in the front with no darts to spread the ease all across the belly. It is more comfy, too. It can grow with you when you eat or swell up at the end of the day.
Aha! That leaves room for dessert!
Of course, you might not have to change anything in the pattern if the pants work when you put them on backwards. Just relabel the pattern pieces and sew the pockets to the old back (new
front). Who is going to know?
Try it! You just might like it!
It just makes sense!
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Marian Lewis is a sewing instructor, author and creator of an amazing new fitting method for hard-to-fit sewing folks who want great fitting skirts and pants. In her ebook, she teaches step-by-step common sense techniques how to find out WHAT you really need, WHERE you really need it and HOW to apply that to a commercial sewing pattern.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Discover Fitting Secrets To Achieve Sewing Success
Click Here =>
"Common Sense Fitting Method For Hard-To-Fit Sewing Folks Who Want Great Fitting Skirts And Pants"
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
**Attn: Ezine editors / Site owners **
Feel free to reprint this article in its entirety in your ezine, blog, autoresponder, or on your site so long as you leave all links in place, do not modify the content and include our resource box as listed above. Feel free to substitute your affiliate link in place of our link in the resource box.
Affiliate details are available here:
"1st Step To Sewing Success" Affiliate Program
See more about sewing
Keywords: sewing, sewing tips, sewing techniques, sewing projects, how to sew, sew
Feed Shark
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Link
posted by Marian at 9:45 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home