[Jsal]

Does anyone know how to alter a polyester pleated uniform skirt in order to make it look more slimming for a full figured middle school girl? My daughter has to wear a hideous old fashioned plaid pleated skirt and I’m looking for ideas on how to make it more flattering for her. She isn’t very tall and has a thicker waist.

[Sarvi]

What option are available to you? Is it a uniform (only one way it can look) or a dress code (could be straight or pleated, or choice of a few school colors)? If it is a uniform, can you alter the length of the skirt? If a dress code, do you have options for perhaps different colorways? My kid’s school allows a few different options even within the uniform (pinafore vs skirt & blouse, for example). My experience is that narrow kids tend to be narrow more similarly, while broader kids are broad in all different shapes. Could you try on a few options in her regular clothes that are similar in cut to her uniform to help get a sense of what most flatters her specific shape? I know uniforms can be so expensive. It might be a cost-saving way of figuring out which direction to go.

[Jsal]

Sarvi, thank you for your reply! It’s a one choice only uniform. I will hem it to just above the knee. The pleats pop out at the waist and hips which unfortunately adds more width. It’s a good suggestion to see if I can get another style in the same fabric-I will ask the school. I was wondering if stitching down the top half of the pleats would flatten it out a little.

[Nicole]

Could you ‘sneak’ one in. The Music Class skirt uses very little fabric and although it is not the correct school skirt, no one had commented on my girls wearing it.

As it has a flat front and back it would be more flattering then a fully pleated skirt.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/motherof5/14202690646/in/set-72157640861975973

[with love Heidi]

Could you sew the pleats down? This would prevent them sticking out and give a more flattering line.

[kgiff]

Sewing the pleats another inch or two could help — is it a kilt style or traditional skirt. I can sympathize and was stuck in plaid pleated skirts for 6 years. If it’s a kilt you can adjust the buttons a bit to help with fitting. We all rolled our waistbands as well which seemed to change the fit some.

[Tamara]

How does the blouse go? Does it have to be tucked in? I think that if you sewed the pleats down a little way and were able to wear the blouse over the top then it wouldn’t look any different to the “civilian’s eye” and you could get away with it.

I remember the pleated skirt and having to hang on to it for dear life walking down our wind tunnel corridors in winter – awful in more than just that way, so I too can sympathise.

[Jsal]

Thank you all for the wonderful advice! I didn’t trust myself to do it, so I took it to a tailor. They hemmed the skirt to a flattering height and stitched down the pleats for the first few inches from the waistline. It was a lot of work = $, but worth it because it looks so much better. Now that I have an example, maybe I can do others on my own. Although hemming pleated skirts is no fun!! 🙂 I’d add a picture, but I don’t know how to do that here…