I started decorating in 1999, never had any trouble with my sides bulging. I stopped decorating for a while because of a house fire, new baby. Recently started back and have been having trouble with my sides bulging when stacking layers. I tried doming further inward to see if that would make a difference but it did not. I think I may be taking off too much icing from the sides when I'm trying to smooth the cake. Any suggestions?

Are you giving your cakes enough time to rest after they cool or are you using them right after they cool? Rest is not the right word either. I think I want settle. If you use your cake too soon after it comes out of the oven it does not have a chance to settle.
If you put a filling in it, did you use a dam?
Mary

Thanks for posting. I do make a dam. I trired moving in inward but still had bulging, I thought I was leaving enough time for them to settle, but apparently not. I found in another section of the forum that someone posted a similar problem. One of the suggestions was to put a heavy pan on the cake after it was filled for appx 20 minutes or so to help it settle. Also, I use to use a simply sugar, water, flavoring glaze, which I have been skipping unless its a wedding cake. Maybe that could be part of the problem. Do you glaze your cake or crumb coat before applying final coat.

This was helpful for me....

http://www.cakeboss.com/PreventBulging.aspx

Thank you all for replying. It was very helpful. I think its a combination between too much filling and not letting it settle long enough.