Ill. 54. Alteration on a Gored Skirt Pattern for a Round Abdomen
Ill. 55. Altering a Gored Skirt to Fit Prominent Hips
straight line with the back edge below the hip. (Ill. 54.) The back edge must never become hollow or concave. (Ill. 54.)
FOR PROMINENT HIPS take the gore pattern in which the front edge comes over the fullest part of the hips. Pin the pattern together and try it on the figure, to be sure which gore this is.
A simple alteration is made in this gore such as is made for a round abdomen. Take up a dart-shaped plait ¼ of an inch deep at the back edge of the gore, letting it slope to nothing at the hip. (Ill. 55.) If necessary in a skirt of many gores, the next gore toward the back can be altered in the same way. But the shape of the back gore should never be changed in altering the skirt pattern to fit the prominent hip. These principles can be applied to any gored skirt pattern.
ALTERING A CIRCULAR SKIRT FOR A PROMINENT ABDOMEN. If a woman has a slightly rounded or a decidedly prominent abdomen an alteration is necessary to give her extra length at the top. If this alteration is not made in cutting, the skirt will draw up in front and stand out in an ugly manner.
The amount of the alteration will depend on the prominence of the abdomen. It may be necessary to add from ½ an inch to 1½ inch to the skirt at the center-front, letting this allowance slope to nothing at the hip. (Ill. 56.) If the abdomen is decidedly prominent it is better to lay the skirt pattern on muslin first, mark the outline of the edge of the pattern with chalk or bastings and leave sufficient material beyond the outline to raise the waistline as much as necessary. It should fall in a straight line from the fullest part of the abdomen to the bottom. In extreme cases it may be necessary to put a dart at the center-front, but usually a slight easing into the belt of the skirt at the front will be sufficient.
Ill. 56. Altering a Circular Skirt Pattern to Fit a Prominent Abdomen
In extending the top of the skirt you make the waistline smaller, so if the waistline was the correct size for you in the first place it will be necessary to increase the size of the new waistline to keep it to the original size of the pattern.
If only a small increase is needed, the skirt can be lifted a little at the back, which will increase the waist size. For a decidedly prominent abdomen slash the top of the muslin at three places to the hipline (Ill. 57.), lay the pattern on the muslin and mark the new outline on the top, separating the slashes sufficiently to make the new waistline the right size. (Ill. 57.) This will take a little width out of the lower edge of the skirt, for you will find it necessary to lay plaits in the pattern in order to make it lie flat on the material.
