Ask the readers: How do you deal with weight fluctuations?

Knits. Lots of knits. They’re so very forgiving.

When I was loosing weight, but still wanted to sew, I made a few circle skirts that are adjustable with a ribbon fed through the waistband. The ends come out through buttonholes on the inside of the waistband where I simply tie a bow.
I love wearing flowy skirts, so this was the perfect solution for me.

I don’t really wear very fitted clothing, I much prefer dresses that have some sort of elasticized waistband because they are more comfortable to wear. There are a lot of ways to incorporate that into a dress without it looking cheap and tacky.

I kind of hate knits and love structured clothing so here are some tips I’ve picked up as I’ve struggled with genetics- the Indian spare tire- and medical issues that make my belly bloat and come back in almost at random.

I highly support the comment above about underlining rather than lining and sewing the entire front to the entire back to allow for easy adjustments.

I tend to fluctuate the most around my belly- boo for gluten issues here too- I’ve also found that high waisted trousers, side zips and dresses that are all in one piece- no waist seam- are really helpful. The common feature is that the fabric acts as a structuring element around the unpredictable part of my body and all allow for a belt if things get loose.

Thanks for posting this question- I’ve been thinking over the same issue!

Like the asker, my weight fluctuates more than “normal” through the month. The difference is always in my belly so I tend to look for patterns that will allow for more freedom in that area (Paige’s suggestion of daily measurements would help one determine for themselves if not as obvious as mine). This is one reason I love Colette’s Laurel – I’ve made two of them so that the back and rear fit well and the front is just loose enough to allow room for my fluctuations. Another that I love is Made-By-Rae’s Washi dress/tunic, the design of which is perfect for my erratic waistline.

I agree with Lisa G too – make sure that you measure yourself accurately before you make anything. I will add that you should certainly make things at ALL of your various weights through the month. That way you will always have something that fits well regardless of where your weight is at the time. While I typically don’t want my weight to dictate what I wear, I know that feeling good and comfortable in my clothing is most important. Constantly tugging here or cinching in there is not what I consider comfortable.

I didn’t make a lot of clothes when I was heavier–I wanted to, but as a beginning sewer I hadn’t learned things like the stupid ease that’s put into Big 3 patterns. So, I would make something for myself and it would be too big, I’d get frustrated and throw it in a corner. I did make myself costumes and an 18th century working-class wardrobe, but that doesn’t help here (excepting that, women’s clothing in the 1700s was designed to accommodate body changes like pregnancy).

But, I think I can still help. To get an idea of my own physical changes, I’ll gladly put my weight fluctuations since 2007. From late 2004 to August 2007, I went from 140 to 172. In the spring 2008, I was around 158, jumping back up to 170 that fall after getting an office job. By summer 2009, I was 155 and able to maintain that until that fall (when some jealous women I worked with made me feel guilty–like I had an eating disorder). By Christmas, I was back to 172. Two weeks after my wedding, I gained 6 more pounds from wedding cake (178). I lost some weight after training for derby, and it went like this: Oct 2010-178, Feb 2011-174, June 2011–167, very muscular legs and butt, but still flabby in the waist. I got injured that month, could not skate for a while. I hovered around 167-9 for several months, started working to lose weight in January, lost all 30 lbs by June of last year. Now 140 again, and have been able to maintain it. Size 14 at my largest, now a size 6.

Most of the clothes I wore over this period are gone, except for a few items that I was able to wear this entire time. I have a knit dress that I love and have had for 6 years and a long wrap skirt my mother gave me for my 26th birthday (2007). A big factor–does your weight change mostly in your lower half? I’d get around this by making dresses fitted bodices that rest an inch above the natural waist (or higher, if you can get away with empire) with full skirts to accommodate your fluctuating middle. Maybe even some fabrics with a small amount of stretch could work, too.

I guess the best thing to know is where your measurements change the most, and to work around that.

A few months ago I made a dress that has elastic in the waist. Just last night, I opened up a portion of the casing to reduce the amount of elastic that was there. It was a simple fix and easy to adjust the elastic so that the overall fit of the dress is better and flattering. This is a knit dress. I also fluctuate a lot in my belly – I use lots of belts and mostly sew with knits. I also found that the Laurel dress is great for hiding this area. I just have to adjust the back (my back is too narrow for the pattern) for a better fit.

I was just thinking about this the other day. I tend to fluctuate anywhere from a RTW 6 to a 10 or even 12, though I tend to stay within the middle of that range most of the time: an 8 to 10. It can be really hard to get myself to sew fitted things when I’m near the top of the range or when I’m actively trying to be healthier and lose weight…I should really take a tip from Lynne and just sew my garments with generous seam allowances!

I’m not at my biggest now, but almost, and I’m starting to work out again and eat better. As such, my hope is that I’ll lose weight, which means anything fabulous I sew now may not fit me later. My strategy at the moment is to sew casual, every day items which help with my goals at the moment. I’m planning to make some active wear, start dabbling in undergarments, and make casual clothing with knits, or woven clothing that is adjustable.

Oh, I so share this problem. I also lose weight in wildly different proportions, so my shoulders are a size six/eight, and my midsection is, er, not.

I use big, fat seam allowances (I go as as large as 1.5″). They are a lifesaver. Also, I notice my favorite Anthropologie dresses all have shirred panels. I am not a huge knit fan, so this is perfect. I actually just made a Hazel dress with a shirred back and the fit is easily better than any garment I’ve made in the past year. Seriously. I cut out a few patterns yesterday and am plotting shirred bits for all of them. (Well, except the Clovers.)

I mostly make dresses, so belts and cardigans hide a multitude of sins (fitting and otherwise).

I actually have several wider solid belts from the Gap. If I do knits, I’m really careful about the quality as some can make you have a prominent muffin top or as my 8 year old commented – “now I know why old ladies wear bras, your boobies are saggy!” So, really good foundation garments – bras in a few sizes. I have some looser tunic tops out of voile and batiste. They don’t hang so loose that I look pregnant but the fabric has a bit of swirl and looks casually chic! I tend to sew outfits I love and add some elastic (often hidden) into the gathers at the waist. Remember you can always take in, but it’s really hard to add any on. Belts, scarves and a slightly looser but fitted silhouette are very forgiving and adjustable.

Some clothes to fit the lower weight and some to fit the higher. A wrap skirt. A really high-quality taffeta (not nylon tricot – yuck) slip or camisole – believe it or not, this is for the “high weight” days, to smooth out the little puffinesses under knit tops especially.

I’ve never made the exact same garment in 2 sizes, but I only had to deal with this for a short time in college (combination of hormones and the ever-infamous cafeteria food, I suspect – high-sodium salad dressings, anyone?)

I love shirring for blouses. I put a fitted/structured front, and shirring on either the back or in a side seam panel. I haven’t been able to do the deep math to figure out how much extra fabric to add before shirring, so I usually do the shirring on an oversize piece of fabric, then cut out the pattern piece. It does waste a lot of fabric, so if anyone wants to help with the math, please let me know!
As for bottoms, I drafted a lovely more-than-circle skirt with a yoke and an elasticized waist so it’s almost infinitely adjustable. The pattern is a simple math equation that I’ve written into an excel spreadsheet (if anyone’s interested, I can post it here). They are flattering for any body type, and can be worn with almost any top. They make me feel pretty and girlish when I wear them. (I often have to stop myself from twirling to flare out the skirt! lol)

Something no know one tells you when you are younger is that your hips get bigger around 30 – even if you don’t have any babies. It happened to me and I thought I had gained a lot of weight, even though I work out regularly. I turned thirty and boom – all of my pants stopped fitting me. I was depressesed until I accepted that our bodies never really stop changing – I just had to go out and buy new pants. And now that I can sew, I’ll be making some, too.

As mentioned, knits are great. I still have a lot of my knit tops from the last 10 years or so.

I have just recently lost 6 kilos over about 2 months. In that time I have been continually sewing and I can still wear everything I’ve made. I guess when I’m larger, I’m kind of ignoring the amount of ease needed in a garment so the dresses fit me a little tight around the middle. Now that I’ve lost a few centimetres around my waist and hips, it seems that the dresses fit me as they were originally intended. It’s kind of nice to have the feeling of the waist moving around mine, rather than hugging it and feeling too tight. If I knew I was going to flutuate so much each month I would just make a few items in different sizes and dress according to how my body was feeling.

I have this problem too. But I found a great strategy. Recently I made a fitted bias skirt out of sheer organza, with a bias underskirt in a darker color. The waist is elastic. The organza is a novelty fabric with stripes and mink dots sprinkled in, in lovely colors – a unique, beautiful fabric. Usually I prefer fitted waistbands. But I found the fabric and cut made the shirt very special, perfect for the pattern, and the elastic waist was an enhancement, because I can wear it on days when I feel bloated, but the skirt still looks very special and one of a kind.

I really enjoyed reading all the comments and suggestions here — thank you! I have made too big skirts / dresses, and then too tight when I de-bloated/ or lost weight, and felt very frustrated — now I simply have more choice for different days. I like the suggestion of elastic panels, which I thought about adding or using, but after reading the ideas here, I think I will actually do this, rather than just think about it. I also like stretch cotton, and cutting items on the bias, as well as belting with and elastic belt that has a regular buckle.

Just the other day, I found an unfinished summer dress where the top was too tight at the bust, and the cotton batiste too delicate for another zipper (the zipper I inserted was flawed — I should have checked… sigh…!). I found some extra fabric and will add a shirred panel at the back (though my machine hates shirring, despite all the tips and tricks I tried — maybe I will just just elastic pieces panneled in…). Anyway, I like the ideas for making elastic pretty, and the use of ribbons — it certainly makes me feel better, and more inspired and enthusiastic about sewing. Now, I better finish that Laurel…!

Hi there, I’ve found this to be true for me in certain ways. I find that I have a winter and summer wardrobe that are quite different in size. Here are a few strategies I’ve found to work for me. 1: find a pattern that isn’t too fitted like Colette’s new laurel. It is very easy to make once you’ve gone through the pattern and you will enjoy making all kinds of variations. 2: Instead of cutting the pattern, I would suggest tracing out a few sizes of the pattern. 3: I’ve also found that finding a simple a-line or pencil skirt (I think Colette has one) is a great way to create variation in the wardrobe. Skirts are relatively quick to make and require minimal yardage. 4: fabric can be expensive so I found some great local thrift stores to find fabric. It’s always fun and you can find some really cool stuff. 5: two other Colette patterns you might want to consider are the Crepe and Macaroon. The crepe is a wrap dress do could work well with size variation. The macaroon is fitted at the top but the empire waist, front pleats and pockets are both forgiving and flattering. I think it’s great you are honoring the rhythm of your body and finding a creative way to stay comfortable and stylish. Happy sewing!

Spanx.

I love fitted waists so my suggestion would be on circle skirts cutting the waist on the bias and having some ease in the seam. Use the skirt style hook and eye and adjust that when necessary.

I also read a tip for fitted dresses to use a grosgrain stay tape with aforementioned hook and eye. Then adjust the hook and eye as necessary. This of course presumes that you would sew for when you are usually fluffier.

Unfortunately I made a few things I love when I was at my smallest size but even though I wasn’t thin I felt better with 5-8 extra lbs which means I can no longer wear those. Fortunately though with running and new habits, I tend to fluctuate no more than an inch so the hook and eye solution would work for me.

The belt – the humble belt! It gets me out of so many sticky outfit situations and is so versatile! I have several different belts and all can change the look of an outfit as easily as it put on! I realise not everyone likes a belted waist but I find this option is great when sewing with cotton because you can never get it really super fitted or it would tear the seams when strained so the belt just brings the waist in nicely.

Empire dresses and tops are helpful. Also, I was amazed when offered to wear something from a friend of mine from India. Her clothes were made with very large seam allowances, approximately an inch or more in some places for the ability to let out seams. There are pinch points like armholes that can’t be changed, but it gave me a new appreciation for how clothes could be pushed across multiple sizes. Have also appreciated wrap dresses and drawstring pants and shorts.

Huzzah for this post! I’ve also had medical-related weight fluctuations over the past two years (unbeknownst to me, an overactive thyroid was keeping me slim, despite a large appetite … Then along comes diagnosis and medication, getting rid of the ridiculously high metabolism, but not the appetite, lol!), so I really appreciate all these comments!

To echo some previous suggestions – I’ve made some dresses with shirring (one easy summer dress with a fully shirred bodice, the other is a sleeveless retro pattern I’ve changed to add shirred panels under each arm). Gertie has a good tutorial, which you can change up when you get more confident with sewing: http://www.blogforbettersewing.com/2011/06/making-shirred-back-dress-part-one.html

Thank you so much to those who have suggested sewing the full front, then the back, before doing the side seams – what a brilliantly simple idea! Will be doing this in future!

Someone else mentioned shapewear, which can help if you just need a little adjustment … I have a bit of a cheat’s option in case you don’t want to shell out that much money (sometimes that stuff can be expensive!) or find shapewear uncomfortable … Tights (pantyhose in the US, I think?). Might sound silly, but tights do suck you in a bit, and if you wear the band actually on your waist, they can take that in a fair amount, depending on your ‘squash factor’, which could really help if you’ve got a flared skirt or dress with a fitted waist that is a little tight.

I’m not sure if anyone else has mentioned this yet (haven’t had a chance to read ALL the comments yet!), but skirts with exposed wide elastic waistbands were ‘in’ a few years ago and can look very stylish, so they’re a great option and very easy to make.

So I have a similar problem of never sewing because I always believe I’m about to lose weight . . . and I actually have a dress that literally ripped at the waist after only a month or two because I kept wearing it despite some GI bloating! I know this post is a bit old and maybe no one will ever see my comment, but here’s the main observation I have gleaned from this experience: Don’t put a seam literally on the natural waist! It is one of the greatest points of expansion and contraction on your body, especially in short-term fluctuations.

When fitted waistdresses were last in fashion, it was much more common to wear control garments, which nowadays I think most of us only break out on special occasions or don’t even own because we are used to clothes which “exalt” the natural body. If the fitting in the waist area is done with vertical darts or princess seams, and if you have more ease at the belly than the lower back, the natural give of the fabric will do a lot for you. These can also give the appearance of being more fitted than they actually are, think of a woman’s shirt, for example, right now I’m wearing one I bought at age 15 and it’s doing fine 8 years later. For figure flattery, the most important aspects of fit are through the shoulders, and the amount of ease at the waist is actually a lot less important.

I know I’m jumping in to an old discussion, and also that my comments are not as concretely helpful as some of the stuff above; I am actually a fashion student so I have been applying these principles to designs from scratch that aren’t actually allowed to fit me, which is pretty different from modifying commercial patterns to fit your own specific body. So here’s a quick list of Colette dresses which I think have a “fitted” look through the torso without having a seam around the natural waist or relying on a belt:
Rooibos
Oolong
Ceylon
Cinnamon
Parfait
Licorice (from the book)

Generally if you can’t figure out where the seams on a garment fall from looking at the photos, the line flats should be able to help, unless for some reason the garment is only shown with a belt (looking at you, Licorice) . . . also for elasticized waist treatments and knit patterns this is less pressing, but personally I find drop waists and princess seams to be more flattering on a wide range of uncompressed bodies! You’re NOT going to achieve the New Look without a corset, but that’s ok–very few women really can.

This comment is getting way too long and incoherent, but one final thought: If a dress includes boning or is otherwise a bit stiff through the ENTIRE torso–waist seam (natural or low) to at least the empire line–it can hold in your belly for at least a few inches, acting as its own control garment. Just a single layer of cotton is not going to nip you in at the waist but some judicious garment engineering can work wonders.

I have what I call “Fat dresses”. I maid them out of knit fabrics, high waist with a gathered skirt. I have IBS and I will swell up. I love my dresses. They are so comfortable. I wear knit pants also but prefer the dresses. It is not always comfortable to wear anything around the waist.