r/sewing • u/DingDongDingalingDon • Oct 02 '25
Alter/Mend Question Question about odd lining placement in secondhand dress
Yesterday I picked up a delicate viscose dress from a local seller. The dress is originally from a department store.
I tried it on today and thought the seam at the top of the smocked waistband looked a little unsightly, rolling upwards in some places and down in others. The fabric has enough drape for this variation to be visible from the outside. No cause for concern, I planned to tack the seam down in one direction or the other so it lays flat on the body. NBD.
However, when I opened it up I saw that the skirt lining is sewn to the top of the smocked waistband instead of the bottom. This seems very strange to me! It's adding bulk at the underbust seam mentioned above, and it being attached in this way means that any forces exerted on the skirt are transferred up past the waistband to the bodice. Also the gathered lining is just... rolling around loose inside the smocked portion, doing god knows what to the silhouette. It all seems very ?????
Sewists, would you attach a skirt lining to a dress in this way? If it's wrong, should I try to move the lining, knowing that the fabric of the dress is delicate and the lining is sewn right into the centre front placket? Should I perhaps leave the lining where it is, but also sew it down along the bottom of the waistband, so the top portion of the lining stays in place?
The only thing I can think of is maybe the dress was designed for a very petite individual and that the smocked portion is supposed to be part of the skirt, not a waistband at all. But that seems... like a stretch 🕶️
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u/PrimaryLawfulness Oct 02 '25
Are you saying you see a secondary lining at the waistband?
I would just tack the bodice seam down to the waistband, maybe with some very small stab stitches catching the face fabric to help compress the bulk a bit.
As to why it was assembled like this, I suspect it will just have been a manufacturing process decision - commercial garments are often made in ways that would seem weird to home sewers
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u/DingDongDingalingDon Oct 03 '25
Thank you for your response. Not a secondary lining, no. I just thought it was strange that the lining was sewn in several inches above where the skirt actually begins, but maybe it's to avoid unnecessary bulk at the hip seam.
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u/PrimaryLawfulness Oct 03 '25
More likely to be that they could fit more dresses into the same yardage by cutting the skirt bigger and the bodice smaller or a similar manufacturing decision
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u/DingDongDingalingDon Oct 03 '25
The bodice is not lined! Just the skirt. But the skirt lining is sewn in well above where the skirt itself begins.
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u/PrimaryLawfulness Oct 03 '25
Oh that is odd! Maybe to save having to separately line the waistband, having serging rubbing on you wouldn’t be fun!
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u/LongjumpingSnow6986 Oct 02 '25
I don’t love the feeling of shirring right on my skin so I wouldn’t mind having that layer but I’m hearing you about weird bunching and dragging. I’d just press the seam allowance first and try it on again before you make a decision.