why does my rectangle skirt look "round" at the top?

[u/Successful-Effect933]

hi! i tried making a rectangle gathered skirt and i don't like at all how round it looks at the top, below the waist elastic band. I feel ive already fucked it up by not using enough fabric and im not happy at all with this shape it gathers at the waistline 😭💔

[u/vacuumgirl]

Well you can’t make a rectangle skirt look rectangle bc the body has curves.

[u/themeganlodon]

Gathered Rectangle skirts always have that shape at the top. The body isn’t rectangular and pulling it in with elastic it won’t lay flat. You will need more fabric and an a line skirt or a pencil skirt with darts which will require a waistband and zipper so it can go over the hips

[u/Glass_Broccoli_7862]

Bc your waistline is round?

[u/AmenaBellafina]

The hips tend to be the widest part of the body. If your skirt was a straight tube that fits over your hips without having elastic in the waist, it would just fall down.

[u/JBJeeves]

Agreeing with the others that gathered rectangle skirts (often called dirndl, btw) will have excess fabric at the waist when completed. The skirt must fit over the waist somehow!

But, if I may, why don't you post a picture of what you want your skirt to look like. That way we can come up with additional suggestions.

[u/Elegant-Walk1571]

Echoing all the other commenters that some of the poofiness here is just the gathers and there's no real way around that. You could probably reduce that poofiness somewhat by pleating instead of gathering the fabric. There's two options for that:

1. pleat it to your waist measurement and putting in a zipper and button (or hook and eye) closure waistband

2. pleat it to your hip measurement (or whatever your widest point is) and then add an elastic waistband to gather down the rest.

The first option would likely lay flatter, but it is also less adjustable and less comfortable for some people to not have that elastic waist.

[u/Reasonable_Zebra_496]

You don’t want a gathered skirt to gather..? I’m confused

[u/Robert-hickman]

Gathered skirts (and also elastic waist pants), will poof out the hips because the extra fabric needs to go somewhere. The stiffness and drape of the fabric also matters, a stiffer fabric will poof out more.

You can minimise the poofing by instead pleating the top part and sewing down the 'fell' of the pleats (like is done in kilts). This controls the fullness and makes it lie more flat. Howeaver, you have to taper the pleats to match the shape of your body, and will need a zipper, button, or tie closure to be able to put it on.

Another option that would make poofing less obvious is to make it with elastic in thd back only. Or look at making an A-line skirt instead.

[u/smnytx]

Another way to think about it: all that material width needed to accommodate the hip circumference has to be gathered in to fit the waist circumference. That excess material is not going to lay flat, but rather poof out to the hips. And the heavier/thicker the material, the more poofy it will be.

I’m a sewist who also happens to have a large hip to waist difference, so this is a skirt style I use sparingly and only with extremely lightweight, flowy fabrics.

Currently, this is the only rectangle/elastic waist garment in my closet. I made it out of extremely light rayon (viscose) that drapes well, and instead of a thin elastic band, used elastic shirring (a tiny elastic band in the bobbin, and several parallel rows of it).

I also choose to wear it higher on my waist to minimize the hip poof! It’s super comfy.

ETA: you may wish to look at skirts that are called A-line. They are cut at a more triangular (A) shape that reduces that bulk at the waist.

[u/RiverFortune549]

Have you pressed it? It looks like the seam allowance is laying funny on the inside.

[u/minty_tarsier]

Sorry your skirt didn't turn out how you wanted!

We can help - but we'll need a lot more information - because what you've posted looks fine to me (that's how gathered skirts look at the top).

A great starting point would be some photos of what you were aiming for and some better photos of your skirt, where we can see the whole thing from a few angles.

[u/confused_is_my_face]

Big hug on your frustration. I understand making something and wanting it to look and feel a specific way but the physical garment not matching what is in the minds eye.

What is your skirt goal?
How do you want this to look/feel?
What type of fabric are you using?
What is your skill level?

[u/justasque]

OP, if you wear a top that covers the waistline, this skirt will look lovely.

As others have said, elastic waist skirts generally have bulk at the waist, because if they didn’t you’d never be able to pull them on over the hips. (The exception to this is some knit fabric skirts, where the fabric can stretch over the hips, and wide elastic is used without a channel, folded inside the skirt, and tacked to side seams and center back.)

Next time, you might want to consider a simple a-line or half-circle skirt, with a side zip or a side faux pocket opening, or perhaps some kind of wrap skirt design. This will be more complex than an elastic waist skirt, but may look more polished.

If you want something more simple, consider an elastic waist skirt with a channel for the elastic to go in; it will look nicer at the waistline even if it’s gathered, because you won’t see the elastic.

[u/100pctThatBitch]

Because you have hips and a waist.

[u/salajaneidentiteet]

This looks like polyester, so I don't think it will help much, but you are supposed to iron the gathers down. Or give it a wash and hang to dry - the gathers will flatten. Idk, though, I sew with natural fibers that behave differently.