Can a pleated plaid skirt be cut down to a smaller size and look good?

My wife bought a jacket from Land's End that she really likes and it fits her great but they didn't have the matching skirt in her size. I was wondering if I bought the skirt for her if she could take it to an alteration service and have it cut down to fit her since she is a lot smaller than the sizes that are available. She is a 0 or 2 petite and the available sizes are 14 regular or larger.

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has a difficult time finding professional clothing that fits herwell.

If this is feasible, what would be a reasonable amount I could expect to add to the cost of the skirt for alterations. It is on sale for $39 marked down from $78.

I appreciate your responses.

Reply to
pearson1662
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What a nice guy for being concerned enough to go hunt for answers!!!!! :)

Like others have said, that skirt...that big of a cut down... no way. I wouldn't even touch the straight skirt. (I am an alterationist.) With the skirt being a plaid, and a Stretch plaid on top of that, plus fully lined, with darts and a back vent......nope. (when I looked the smallest size they had in the straight skirt was a 10 that would still mean taking it in 5 or 6 sizes.) I'll be honest, it **could** be altered down to fit her, but it could **not** be altered down to fit her **and** look good enough to meet my standards. When I am done with an alteration, the only change I want to see in the garment is that the fit is better. I don't want to see where anything was moved, nipped, tucked, etc. That big of a jump in size on that skirt, you'd see the surgery scars.

Now, if you brought me the largest size to make a new skirt. That I could do. But, it would be pretty expensive. By the time I took the skirt *very carefully* apart (and stretch suitings don't usually come apart easily) preserving any buttons, zippers, etc. as well as the lining..... Then put it all back together. Scheduled a fitting with your wife to check the fit. Made any final alterations and finished it all up. We've now got a $200 skirt.

Now, if your wife showed up on my doorstep with pattern and materials for a skirt... That same skirt would cost around $100. Still not cheap, but way less work than the other route.

If you live in a major city, expect to pay more than that. I live in a very small city.

I'll tell you a really great place to look for professional type clothing for her....ready? Thrift stores. I kid you not. I'm between a 4 and a 6. It's hard to find my sizes too without paying through the nose. But what do women do when they can't fit in their skinny clothes any more??? They give them to the thrift store for their favorite charity. The skinny end of the racks are always the fullest when I go shopping. A lot of the resale/thrift stores will only take certain things too. Like designer labels, etc. Worth a look.

Or!! Learn to sew. You could be her tailor. We've got several guys on here that sew for their wives.

Sorry I couldn't tell you more encouraging news. You are a complete gem for going to that much trouble for a skirt for her.

Sharon

Reply to
Sharon Hays

But, but, but...the site says, about the straight skirt: "Skirt is unlined and has a back vent", so unless she's really fussy about matching the plaid (and most people who buy ready-to-wear plaids aren't even aware that plaids *can* be matched, let alone that they

*should be*), there would probably be plenty of fabric in the straight size 16 to be able to simply take the side-seams in enough to size down to a 2. The alterationist would not even have to take the thing apart, just cut new side seams, re-fit the waist, and re-hem. Or am I missing something???

Beverly

Reply to
BEI Design

I read "lined." See what happens when I read with little coffee?? lol I looked at the pictures more and zoomed in. I would still probably pass on it.

I still think it would have to come all the way apart. The back...who knows. If there are no darts back there it might be ok to just cut it in that far. But there are dart "issues" on the front. The darts look to be just inside where the new side seams would be. Since it's a stretch suiting, from others I've worked on in the past, that will most likely mean the front of the skirt would have to be "moved down" to below where the darts are. With the blends I've worked on like this in the past, there'd be no getting the old darts out. Even if they aren't cut open, I've never been able to get the old darts pressed out or the needle holes closed. Too, sometimes the fabric and the thread kind of bond together or something. There is literally no getting that thread out without snagging the you-know-what out of the fabric. I've seen that a lot in stretch suitings. (from how her fingers fall over that dart, I'm guessing the front darts are almost 3" in from the side seam, to go from a 16 to a 2, about 2" have to come off each side of the front and each side of the back. That's just cut not SA)

Also, I worry about this waistband. It's on the bias. When I've opened up waistbands like that on stretch suitings in the past, they come apart. I don't know what it is with the stretch suitings in this price range, but...... Lands End is a great brand, don't get me wrong. But from similar garments in that kind of price range, the fabric just isn't the "live for

100 years and be altered 20 times" kind.

Too, I'm very picky about what my finished product will be. I don't think, from looking at the pictures, and knowing what that kind of blend has acted like in the past, that I could alter that skirt and make it look like I would want it to look. Even if that finished look would be all right with my client, it wouldn't be all right with me. If I turn out something that looks less than my best, it keeps me awake at night no matter how pleased the client.

Sharon

Reply to
Sharon Hays

Nice excuse! Now go write "I will not post until AFTER morning coffee" one hundred times... ;-)

Sharon, don't get me wrong, I am *exceedingly demanding* about what leaves the door with *my* name on it. However, in this particular instance, the DH is looking for a way to get a matching skirt for a RTW jacket his wife already owns, and I think it *could* be done with the fabric from a straight skirt. An alternative would be to shop for complimentay fabric for a "from scratch" skirt.

And I think he's a gem to try to find a way, and I hope she appreciates him. ;-)

Beverly

Reply to
BEI Design

The fabric from a pleated skirt size 14 would allow a competent seamstress to take it apart and she could make her a skirt in the design she wants. ask a tailor.

Reply to
DianaU

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