Making the Ramona skirt sewing pattern and looking for some tips on how to get a great fit? Well, you're in exactly the right place. In this blog post, we're going to go through some of the most common fitting adjustments you might need for making a gorgeous, fitted skirt.
Ramona is pretty easy to fit, thanks to its four waist darts, centre back seam, and gently curved waistband - I know, we're spoiling you!
In this post we're going to cover:
- Making a toile and fitting as you sew
- Choosing your size
- Lengthening and shortening
- Combining sizes
- How to do a full bum adjustment on a skirt with darts
- How to do a sway back adjustment on a skirt with darts
What's a toile and should I make a one?
A "toile" (or a muslin) is an initial mock-up of a garment made in cheap or scrap fabric. You might make a toile if you want to check the fit of the pattern, or practise any techniques involved, like an invisible zip, on some sacrificial fabric before you sew the garment for real. If you want to delve deeper into the subject, check out Tilly's blog post which goes through everything you need to know about toiles.
For Ramona, however, making a toile isn't essential, unless you think you'll need to make significant changes such as a full butt adjustment (more on that below). The most important places to get the fit right are the waistband and the hips, and you can adjust these areas as you sew - yay!
You can tack (baste) and pin the skirt side seams together before you insert the zip, and take them in or let them out as necessary. Check to make sure the skirt feels comfortable whilst standing as well as sitting down. Bear in mind the waist will feel a little more snug once the waistband facing is attached, especially if your fabric is on the thicker side.
If you alter the skirt side seams, remember to adjust the waistband side seams too so they match the waistline of your skirt :)
How do I choose my sewing pattern size?
Ramona includes all 15 sizes in our range. Pattern sizes 1-6 (UK 6-16) and 7-15 (UK 18-34) have been drafted, fitted and graded separately to create a better fit. For this reason, you may notice the proportions change in the measurements chart and the shaping is slightly different on the pattern pieces – sizes 7-15 include slightly more room at the waist and hips, and a bit more space for a fuller booty.
Using a flexible tape measure, find the circumference of your:
- waist - where you bend at the side
- hips - the fullest part - it helps to turn to the side and look in a mirror to see where this is
Check the tape measure is sitting level with the floor - it can help to turn to the side and look in a mirror to check.
Circle your measurements on the ‘Body Measurements’ columns in the pattern instructions. If your measurement falls between sizes (for example, if your hip is 45in rather than 44in or 46in), it’s generally safer to go for the larger size - if it’s too big it’s easier to take the skirt in as you're sewing than to let it out if it’s too small.
If your measurements all fall into one size, then this is the size you'll cut. However, it's common for your measurements to fall into different sizes too. In fact, most people's do! You can create a bespoke fit for you by combining sizes. We'll come to that later, but first...
How do I lengthen or shorten the pattern?
Our patterns are drafted for a height of 165cm (5ft 5in), so if you're a little (or a lot) taller or shorter than this, have a particularly long or short torso or legs, or you want to alter the length of the skirt to suit your own personal style it's easy peasy to adjust the pattern pieces.
Check the measurement chart in the instruction booklet to see the finished waist to hem measurement for your size and chosen version.
We've included lengthen and shorten lines on the Ramona front skirt and back skirt pattern pieces, so you can adjust the skirt to your preferred length.
We have a blog post dedicated to explaining how to lengthen or shorten pattern pieces, which shows you step-by-step how to make this adjustment.
If you're lengthening or shortening the the pattern, remember to adjust both the front and back skirts, as well as the lining too if you're adding it!
How do I combine pattern sizes?
The Ramona skirt is designed to be close-fitting at the waist and hip. Waist and hip measurements fall into different sizes? No problemo! You can redraw the side seams to span multiple sizes to better fit your shape.
Check out our blog post which walks you through the steps of how to combine sizes on your pattern pieces. You'll need to redraw the side seams on the front skirt and back skirt, drawing a new seam line from 15mm (5/8in) down from the top of the waist seam to the hip notch. As the skirt pattern pieces have curved side seams you can use a pattern master or French curve to help get a nice smooth line.
Remember to cut the waistband pieces to match the size of the waist seam on your skirt pieces.
How do I do a full bum adjustment on a skirt with darts?
If ready-to-wear skirts tend to feel tight across your booty, with excess fabric pooling at your lower back, or the hem lifts at the back, and the side seams point towards the back rather than straight down to the floor, you might want to consider making a full bum adjustment.
Check out our blog post on how to do a full butt adjustment on a skirt with darts. It's packed full of step-by-step diagrams to show you how to do this adjustment, and I promise it's not as scary as it might sound!
How do I make a sway back adjustment on a skirt with darts?
If you have fabric pooling at the centre back waist, you may need to shorten the top of the centre back seam, i.e. do a sway back adjustment.
To do this, start by measuring down the centre back seam by the amount you want to reduce it by and mark it. Close the back waist dart, and draw a smooth line from the mark you made at the centre back seam to the top of the side seam. Then ‘true’ the dart afterwards so it’s the correct shape.
And that's it! Remember, don't get too hung up on fitting - no one is going to notice as much as you do, they'll be too busy picking their jaws up off the floor at the news you made that gorgeous skirt yourself!
Don't forget to tag us your finished makes and progress shots @TillyButtons with the hashtag #SewingRamona
