You may have noticed that the mermaid dress has a more dramatic variation in front to back skirt length to the mermaid skirt.
There were a few reasons for this:
- Better for 'play'.
- More fabric conservative.
- I like the look better as you don't see so much of the underside of the fabric.
There is absolutely no reason why you can't make the variance on the skirt more dramatic though. I mean who am I to argue if you want to use more fabric right?! HA!!
All you need to do is cut the skirt a little longer and the move the waist position forward so the front skirt still sits in the correct position.
This is a quick guide on the easiest way to make some adjustments to your pattern pieces.
- Print out your mermaid skirt pattern pieces. Measure the back skirt and front skirt for your 'normal' size and make a note.
- If you have your model handy, measure from between waist and hip down to ankle bone. This will give you a rough guide to the maximum length you could make the back skirt.
- Compare the difference between the normal back skirt length from the pattern piece to the length where you would like it to sit on your model and note.
- There is a bit under 5cm (2") difference in length between skirt sizes.
Example for size 7:
If you would like it to be 5cm (2") longer at the back, you would cut size 8 skirt hem.
If you would like it to be 10cm (4") longer at the back, you would cut size 9 skirt hem.
If you would like it to be 15cm (6") longer at the back, you would cut size 10 skirt hem. - Cut out the skirt waist as you normally would from your pattern piece then stick a piece of paper over the top to fill the gap.
- Use the front skirt length you noted in step one to measure from the front skirt hem to mark waist position. Use your waist cut out from step 5, to reposition the skirt waist.
Below is an example of making a size 7 skirt 10cm longer at the back.
Click this image to download your FREE mermaid skirt pattern.
