Tips for whipping up a last-minute skirt that actually looks polished

I made a circle skirt for my anniversary dinner last fall in a wine-colored crepe, and the overnight hang saved me. I'd cut it around 4 in the afternoon, draped it over my bedroom door, and by morning the bias had dropped almost a full inch on one side. If I'd hemmed it that night I would have been chasing that wavy edge for the life of the skirt. My husband actually complimented it unprompted, which never happens, so maybe the finishing really is what reads as 'real clothes' to people. One thing I do a little differently is the waistband. I use a wide elastic casing instead of a fitted band with interfacing, mostly because I sew after the kids are in bed and my patience runs out by step nine. With the crepe it still looked crisp, prolly because the fabric itself has some body. On a flimsier poly satin I'd agree the interfacing matters, my first attempt years ago bunched like a paper bag. Also seconding the press cloth advice from hard experiance. I once got a shine mark down the front panel of a charcoal twill skirt trying to skip it, and no amount of steaming brought it back. Now I keep an old pillowcase cut up just for pressing dark fabrics. And I wear the 'interesting' pieces anyway, my seersucker wrap dress gets more compliments than anything I own that came from a store.

One thing that helped me with circle skirts was stay-stitching the waist edge right after cutting, before I did anything else, because the bias starts relaxing the second the fabric comes off the table and a stretched waistline throws the whole radius off. I also cut in a single layer instead of folded, wich lets me check the grainline properly, since a fold that drifts even half an inch gives you a spiral hem that looks fine flat but twists once it's on a body. Do any of you clip the seam allowance around the curves when you attach the waistband, or is that only necessery on the tighter radii?

The hem marking trick nobody teaches you is to do it wearing the shoes you'll actually pair with it. I've finished probably 30 of these over the years for customers and my own closet, and I always put the skirt on, have my husband walk around me with a yardstick set to the finished length, and pin as he goes. Chalk lines and measuring from the waist always drift on a bias edge. Take it off, let it hang a couple hours, then true up the pins before you cut. Saves so much grief.

Update: tried the stay-stitching tip on the waist edge and it made such a difference, no more wonky radius. Now I want to attempt the yardstick hem trick but I live alone and my cat is a terrible assistant. Has anyone done this solo? Pinning a level hem on yourself seems impossible.