To create a women's skirt, it is not necessary to have fundamental knowledge of cutting and sewing technology, but only desire, accuracy and a little patience. The elements of the skirt cut are collected in a clear sequence, but the question often arises - how to sew a zipper and process the top of the skirt with a belt. The article provides step-by-step instructions for these operations in different versions.
Necessary tools and materials
To work you will need a regular sewing kit:
- skirt cut details;
- sewing threads in the color of the fabric and contrasting (for basting);
- needles, a set of sewing pins;
- scissors, a peg for turning out corners;
- tailor's chalk, marker;
- straight-stitch sewing machine, overlock;
- special machine foot for sewing in a concealed zipper;
- iron.
Skirt with regular and hidden zipper, step-by-step processing of the fastener
For processing fasteners in skirts, zippers, buttons, hooks, and Velcro are used. The most common and convenient fastener for waist products is a zipper. An experienced seamstress can handle this operation without problems, but a beginner should take into account some nuances.
Skirt with a regular zipper
Sewing a belt to a skirt with a regular zipper is not difficult. Before this technological operation, you need to stitch all the vertical seams, overcast the edges, stitch the darts (reliefs, undercuts) and sew in the zipper itself.
A regular zipper (metal, plastic, separable or non-separable) is most often used for skirts made of thick fabrics such as denim, thick suiting fabrics, large knitwear, leather, and suede.
The entire process of sewing in a zipper is divided into several simple operations:
- Determine the sewing location. The zipper is placed in the back seam of the skirt or in one of the side seams (for left-handed and right-handed people this may differ).
- Stitch the side or back seam to the place where the zipper is sewn in, secure it.
- Iron the seam allowances on both sides (photo 1).
- Baste the zipper to one side of the seam, using the links and metal fastening as a guide (photo 2).
- Machine sew one side of the zipper from the front side, making neat fastenings at the beginning and end of the seam (photo 3).
- Pin both sides of the seam end-to-end and baste the second side of the zipper to the skirt panel with the zipper closed (photo 4).
- Machine stitch the second side of the zipper to the skirt, making a neat 90° turn at the end of the fastener and securing it along both edges of the seam (photo 5).
- Check the quality of the zipper by moving the slider to “open” and “close” several times.
- Remove the basting stitches and lightly iron the fastener closed.
For ease of sewing in the zipper, you can use a special sewing machine foot or a foot with a minimum width. In this case, the foot will not overlap the zipper links and the finishing seam will be even and beautiful.
Skirt with hidden zip fastening
Sewing a belt to a skirt with a concealed zipper is as easy as with a regular zipper. However, the process of sewing in a concealed zipper is a little more complicated, as this sewing operation requires special care and good machine skills.
A concealed zipper is used in women's clothing made from thin fabrics and where the visual presence of a fastener as such is undesirable.
Before sewing a concealed fastener into a skirt, you need to install a special foot on the machine and test its operation on a sample.
Technology of processing a hidden zipper, step by step:
- Sew all the vertical seams of the skirt, process the edges, sew the darts – iron everything.
- Determine the location of the hidden zipper. Make a control mark on the wrong side of the skirt at the highest point of the seam (this is the location of the end of the zipper) and several marks on the right side of the skirt along the fold of the seam (this is the place where the right and left sides of the zipper are sewn) (photo 1).
- Make several control marks on the seam allowance and on the zipper itself, to ensure that the skirt seam aligns precisely when the zipper is closed (photo 2).
- Align all the marks on the skirt and the zipper, secure them with pins or hand basting (photo 3).
- Sew one part of the zipper one by one, then the other, so that the stitching seam exactly matches the fold lines of the skirt seam (photos 4 and 5).
- Close the zipper, make fastenings at its end on both sides with a bend to the overcast seam.
- Check the accuracy of the match of all control marks on the inside and outside of the skirt (photos 6 and 7).
- Check the processed fastener once again for “open”, “close” and carefully iron it from the front side.
Experienced seamstresses sew a hidden zipper into an open seam, having first marked the points where the seam will meet on the front and back sides of the skirt.
Skirt belt (cutting, processing, sewing)
Sewing a belt to a skirt with a regular or hidden zipper - there is no difference in this operation, but it is of great importance what type of processing of the upper edge of the skirt is planned initially. The skirt can be sewn with a belt attached, with an elastic band, with a tie belt, with a Velcro belt, a combined belt or without a belt at all.
Methods of processing the upper edge of the skirt:
| Processing method | Appearance |
| With a straight waistband |  |
| One-piece belt |  |
| With a sewn-on belt with elastic inside |  |
| With a belt made of wide elastic tape |  |
| With facing |  |
To trim and process a straight waistband you will need:
- trimming the main fabric of the skirt;
- adhesive, non-woven or fabric interlining fabric;
- measuring tape;
- tailor's chalk;
- scissors;
- square;
- iron;
- straight stitch sewing machine;
- overlock.
The operation of cutting, processing and sewing on a belt step by step…
- Mark the belt detail on the fabric:
D (length) = Ot (waist circumference) + 2.0 cm (allowance at the ends) + 3.0 cm (width of the tail for the fastener).
H (height) = Shp (desired belt width) + 2.0 cm (for seam processing).
Note! The belt can consist of 2 pieces along the length or 2 pieces along the width. Therefore, when cutting out a composite belt, the width of the seam allowances for the joining seams should be taken into account.
- Mark a fold line on the belt piece. It should divide the belt into two halves of equal width (see photo).
- Cut out the belt piece(s).
- Place the adhesive (1) or non-woven (2) lining along the fold line of the waistband, then glue it with an iron or sew it on with a machine along the perforation line.
- Overcast the waistband cut from the lining side (underbelt) using an overlock (processing method “A”).
- Baste the processed belt to the top edge of the skirt so that there is an allowance for processing (1.0 cm) on one end, and an allowance for processing (1.0 cm) on the other side, plus the width of the tail for the fastener (3.0 cm).
Note to the operation! The tail of the fastener can be facing the face or on the inside of the belt. To fix the belt on the waist, use a button, hook, Velcro or the loose ends of the belt "to tie".
- Sew the waistband to the skirt along the basting line (seam 1, photo “A”). Remove the temporary basting.
- Fold the belt with the right side inward along the fold line, matching the ends of the belt in width. Stitch them with an allowance of 1.0 cm on both sides, forming a neat tail for the fastener and matching its lower edge with the line of stitching the belt.
- Cut all the inner corners of the belt at a distance of 0.2-0.3 cm from the seam.
- Turn the belt right side out and straighten the corners with a peg.
- Baste the inner overcast edge of the waistband to the skirt, then stitch it lower by 0.1-0.2 cm from the first seam (seam 2, photo “A”).
- Iron the finished fitted belt.
Options for processing the attached belt:
- belt with a hidden seam attached to the inside of the skirt (seam 2, photo "B");
- a fitted belt with a decorative stitch along the entire perimeter (seam 2, photo “B”).
Skirt with elastic waistband
Sewing a belt to a skirt (with or without a zipper) is even easier with an elastic band inside. Firstly, it is not practical to sew a zipper into such skirts, since the elastic band already provides the necessary freedom when putting on and taking off the skirt. Secondly, such a skirt does not have waist darts, which saves time on sewing. Thirdly, the belt on the skirt, for ease of processing, can be made in one piece, which greatly simplifies the sewing process, saves time and fabric (slightly).
A belt with an elastic band can be sewn:
- with one or more narrow ribbons in several rows;
- with one wide elastic band with stitching (or without it) in the middle;
- with a wide elastic band on a separate section of the waistband (at the back or on the sides);
- with elastic thread (for light fabrics);
- without a fabric belt at all (with a decorative wide elastic band).
The peculiarity of sewing an elastic waistband is the absence of a fastener (in most cases), the assembly of the fabric of the waistband part into a closed circle and the absence of lining material. All other processing of the elastic waistband is similar to the technology of processing a straight sewn-on waistband.
With smell
The top edge of a wrap skirt can be finished in any of the ways described above - with a sewn-on belt, a facing, an elastic band or a one-piece belt.
The wrap of such skirts can be functional, with a working fastener, or it can serve only as an imitation. In the latter case, the processing of the upper edge of the wrap skirt is no different from the processing of the belt according to any of the above options.
When the wrap of the skirt is an active fastener, the waistband is processed taking into account the model. For example, with a sewn-on waistband that turns into a tie, with a waistband with buttons, hooks or Velcro, with a facing and a high waist, with a waistband on an elastic band...
Half-sun skirt, sun skirt
Such skirts, depending on the length and season, always remain in fashion and are loved by women. The beautiful shape with falling folds and an accent on the belt emphasizes the waist, advantageously hides figure defects and lengthens the legs.
You can sew a belt to a skirt with a zipper for the models “Half-Sun”, “Sun”, “Bell”, “Trapeze”, “Balloon”, “Flare” or “Tatyanka” using the method of sewing a straight attached belt or an elastic belt.
Sewing skirts of this design does not cause difficulties even for beginners. The peculiarity of processing the upper edge of the skirt is the preparation of the skirt itself for sewing on the belt. The fact is that the waist seam of the skirt has a semicircle shape by design and in the cut form the cut is very stretchable. Therefore, immediately after cutting, the upper edge of the skirt should be fixed with a regular machine seam.
Pencil skirt
The favorite model of a straight pencil skirt with a high waist requires additional construction of the belt directly based on the drawing of the straight skirt, as well as construction of the details of its facings. The pencil skirt can be sewn with or without lining, with a regular or hidden zipper - the technology of processing the upper edge does not change in all cases.
Technological order of processing the top seam of a high-waisted pencil skirt:
- Make a belt pattern on the basic pattern of a straight skirt (see diagram below).
- Transfer the belt details onto tracing paper, connect the edges of the darts and, having smoothly joined the sharp corners, make the facing details of the back and front panels of the skirt on paper.
- Cut out the skirt and facing details on the fabric.
- Process all vertical seams of the product, overcast the edges.
- Process the back fold (or slit), sew in a zipper (regular or concealed) and stitch the darts.
- Sew the side seams of the facings.
- Iron all seams carefully from the wrong side.
- The waistband facing details should be duplicated with an adhesive interlining or interlining fabric.
- Overcast the bottom edge of the facing using an overlock machine (if the skirt has a lining, you can skip this operation).
- Baste or pin the facing to the top edge of the skirt, aligning the side seams and the fold points of the pieces.
- Machine stitch the facing along the top edge.
- Pin the side edges of the facing to the side edges of the skirt and stitch them, carefully straightening the zipper links.
- Cut the sharp corners of the belt at a distance of 0.2-0.3 cm from the seam.
- Turn the belt facing right side out and straighten the corners with a peg.
- Sweep the top edge of the skirt with a 0.1 cm piping from the facing side and iron the waistband along the entire length.
- Secure the bottom edge of the facing to the side seam allowances of the skirt with blind stitches.
- Check the zipper to see if it is "open" and "closed".
Tips and tricks
In the process of sewing a skirt or individual technological operations, a number of annoying mistakes can be made, which will ultimately affect the appearance of the product and its fit on the figure.
Some useful tips and recommendations before you get started:
- When buying fabric for a skirt, it is necessary to take into account the material consumption for small details of the cut, including the belt. For example, for a sewn-on belt, at least 10.0 cm should be added to the total fabric consumption (provided that when cutting, the belt will not fit across the width in the inter-pattern drop).
- It will be much easier if you first duplicate the strip of fabric you plan to make for the belt, and then mark all the dimensions on it and cut it out.
- A concealed zipper should be sewn in the open position, and a regular zipper should be sewn in the closed position.
- When sewing in a concealed zipper on a machine with a regular foot, the zipper links need to be turned back and oriented along the vein on the zipper as a control line.
- If you fail to sew in a concealed zipper in one go, it is better to remove the failed seam and start over. Otherwise, you may not get the already sewn-in part of the zipper into the right position, and this will be noticeable on the front side.
- The "Sun" skirt can be sewn without seams, and for the zipper, make a slit, finishing it with a facing made of thin fabric (for experienced craftswomen).
Once you sew a skirt and work out the technology of processing the zipper and processing the upper edge “on yourself”, you will never forget it. Sewing a belt to a skirt with any zipper is not at all difficult, but it all requires a little experience. A skirt is the most popular item of a woman’s wardrobe and, if desired, even a woman inexperienced in sewing can certainly cope with it.
Author: Severyanochka
Video about sewing a belt to a skirt
How to sew a belt to a skirt with a hidden zipper:
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