Pencil Skirt Adjustments

 Hello Readers. I started sewing about 25 years ago because everything always seemed too long on me. I am short y'all. Like real short. I am 5 feet tall. Not 5 and some inches, Just 5 feet. They don't usually make clothes for my height. Not off-the-rack, and not in my budget anyway. So, I started sewing to hem my own clothes. I sewed more and more over the years because it was so worth it. Alterations are expensive but they can make a huge difference in how clothes look.

What are we hemming today? Skirts.

This skirt was a fun summer print that I loved but was a bit big at the waist and of course, too long.

I made new side seams and took about an inch from each side. I shortened it and I was done. 

 

My new shorter skirt fits so much better. But wait there is more. 

 

I had a second skirt that needed the same treatment. It was too big around the waist and just a little too long.

 

 This skirt had Dachshunds all over it. I really can't resist wild, unique or colorful fabrics and I loved this skirt because of these little guys. 

 

It reminded me of my most loyal staff member, Assistant Creative Director Gordon. He can't sew but he's cute.

 

I cut it shorter and hemmed it and I took the waist in just a bit. 

 

I was so much happier with the fit of this skirt now. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 

 

 

 

 

Simple Resizing Ideas

 Hello Readers. Sometimes our clothes get too small. And maybe sometimes too big? Life happens. Stress, cookies, illness, age, it can all change our weight and shape. Today's post is about some simple resizing techniques that I have used and that always work for me.

Before and after.

This outfit needed some help. I was loving the neutrals but the fit of the clothes was all wrong. The sweater was mine and got too small like 5 years ago. Pandemic snacking changed everything. The corduroys were such a nice warm camel color. I got them from a clothes swap and was determined to make them work.

I got to work on the pants first. The easiest way to make them smaller was to turn them inside out, try them on, and mark where I wanted them to fit. I sewed along the side seam and made a new seam. I only needed an inch or so off each side to make them fit better. I also had to hem them because I am short.

The sweater was going to take a little more work. But it wouldn't be hard to make the sweater a little bigger so I can wear it again. I am going to cut it open on the sides and fill in the gap with a ribbon.

I used my scissors and cut the seam open. 

I used a zigzag stitch to sew over the lace and I made sure I was stitching along the edge of the sweater where I had cut it open. I left some extra ribbon at the end so I could fold it under for a nicely finished edge at the wrist.

Here is the finished sweater. The sweater is bigger because the ribbon added 2 inches to each sleeve and 4 inches to the body of the sweater. You could use wider ribbon to add more space to it. The length of the sweater is unchanged.

My whole outfit fits so much better This picture turned out a little weird but it showed the lace added to the sweater so well, I decided to use it.

 The best thing about these methods to change the size is that you could use the same idea for making the sweater smaller and making the pants larger. Using the side seam as the guide for sewing new seams or adding something into the seam is an easy way to go. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

 

***Year End Update- I love anything cashmere so I am still wearing this sweater all the time. It matches a lot and beige corduroy pants in winter are a go to item.

Altering Clothes while Wearing Them

 Hello Readers. Have you seen the videos of people cutting and altering their clothes while they are wearing them? I always thought it was a crazy idea so I decided to try it. I love crazy ideas. I wanted to see if it would work for me. 

Is this a good idea?

 

I was able to cut it and I tied it in the front. It doesn't look terrible at first glance but is this a good idea?

 

I really tried to cut it straight but you can see how ragged and uneven it is. 

 

I used my serger to make this more even and smooth. 

 

I ironed the edge and tuned it under twice. The stitching gave me something to hold onto but I really didn't want the stitching to show.

 

I stitched the edge with a straight stitch to make it nice and neat.

 

It is done! The edges are actually sewn and even. It looks nice. Can you alter clothes while wearing them? I would say, not well. 

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.
 *Year End Note From Chickie- I love this blush pink shirt. I won't try to cut clothes while I am wearing them ever again.

 

 

 

 

Making Tight Clothes Bigger and Bigger

Hello Readers. Do you have any clothes that have grown too tight? Is it just me? Life happens, aging happens, clothes get too tight. Read on to see how I made clothes "grow" to fit me.

This dress was soft and stretchy so I could technically get it on my body. You can see how tight the dress is on my dress form, and this dress form is a little smaller than I am.
 I couldn't wear it this tight.

 

 I decided to cut the bottom of this dress off and make a shirt. I cut along the seam and saved the lower part of the dress for later.

 I cut along the side seams to open the shirt. I cut the seams from the bottom, all the way up to the ends of the arms. I wanted the shirt completely open on the sides to insert extra fabric and make it bigger.

I also cut this black shirt up for material. I cut strips of the black fabric to put into the sides of my striped shirt and make the shirt wider. I thought 2 of these black strips, 1 on each side, would make the shirt big enough.
 (I was wrong. I underestimated, but that's OK. Read on.)

 The side pieces looked great but the shirt was still a little tighter than I wanted. I should have made the black pieces bigger.

I could have taken the side pieces out and put in larger pieces. That would have been a lot more work. I decided to add a strip of black fabric down the middle of the back of this shirt. It added about 2 inches. That was just right.

Remember that piece of dress I cut off? I added some of it to the bottom as a waistband. I used the part with the hem already on it. It made the new shirt look more finished. And I really liked the contrast of horizontal and vertical stripes.

I kept the shirt long enough to tuck in but I also like it out so all the stripes show. I wore this to a kids birthday party last weekend. It was perfect. (Until I dropped red sauce on myself when I was pigging out on home-made spring rolls. Oops!)

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year end update- This shirt became an instant favorite. I am still loving it.

Fall Colors; Easy Alterations

Hello Readers. Are you ready for Fall weather? I really like the changing colors of the leaves. Today's post is about embracing the colors of fall. It's also about finding clothes I liked and making them work for me. These are easy alterations for a sewing beginner to do.

This red and gold shirt was simple in style but the colors were warm and deep. It was perfect for this time of year. My mom handed-it-down to me. (Thanks Mom!) It was just a little big and the neck was a little revealing. It just needed a little help to fit me.

The shirt needed a simple size adjustment. I used the side seams as a guide to make new side seams. I made the new seams about an inch inside the old seams. It was an easy way to change the size of the shirt without changing the shape or style of the shirt. Keep your new seam along the old seam and it is hard to mess up.

These pants were a great golden color. They had lots of pockets that actually worked and that's unusual in woman's pants. I hate pockets that are not real pockets. I have stuff to carry.

These pants are also a little too big. And a little too long. I wanted to take the sides in but there is a big pocket on the side of one leg. I would need to move that pocket out of my way if I was going to take the pants in on the sides.
(I could take the pants in on the inside of the legs but that wouldn't make the hips and waist any smaller. That wouldn't work here.)

    

I used a seam ripper and took the pocket off the leg and then did my sewing. I took the sides in and made the legs a little shorter. There were zippers at the bottom of each leg. I just removed them with the extra fabric. I didn't need ankle zippers. Again, following the existing seams will keep your new seams on track.

Once the sides were finished I reattached the pocket over my new side seam. There old stitch marks were still visible and easy to use as a guide for getting the pocket back in the right place.

I liked the new outfit. It was perfect for early fall. Alterations don't need to be scary. Try it.

Thanks for reading this post, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year end update- This wasn't the most exciting outfit but I wear it to work a lot.

Removing Ruffles and Ripping Seams

Hello Readers. I love hand-me-downs more than I can say. You just never know what you will get. I got a lovely blouse and skirt that were a lot of fun to refashion.

Well, maybe you can see what first stood out to me about this blouse. It fit great, but there was a little something that I wasn't sure worked for me. I don't like things around my neck, and this blouse seems a little overwhelming with this neck ruffle situation.

I felt a little bit like I was choking but don't get me wrong this was a great blouse! Who doesn't love J. Crew? And these soft fall colors are gorgeous.

My first thought was to remove the neck ruffle. I investigated inside the shirt and I could see where the ruffle was attached to the shirt. The seam ripper is pointing to the seam in the photo below. I just picked out the stitches and took the ruffle away. It was easy and didn't damage the shirt at all.

 

 Well, I took most of the neck ruffle away. This little ruffle turned out to be attached separately, it was like a collar. It was longer in the back of the neck and fell over. The front was standing straight up and I thought it should be more uniform. Either stand or fall flat, one or the other.

    

I used my machine to stitch it down and I really liked how doing that opened up the neckline. It will stay in place nicely now that it is sewn down.

I saw the colors in the blouse and thought I had a good match for this skirt. I have had this skirt in the refashion stash for ages. I couldn't figure out what to do with it. I didn't like the tiers of ruffled fabric very much and it wasn't very flattering on me. What could I do to change it?

Again I turned to my seam ripper. Could I remove the lowest tier of fabric? That would shorten the skirt to a more flattering length. I found the seam that connected tiers of the skirt together and removed the stitches. It was easy and didn't damage the skirt. The skirt was finished and hemmed at each tier so I didn't need to do anything else to it.

Here was my less ruffled outfit. It still had some pretty ruffles. The ruffled skirt really complemented the blouse's ruffled collar. It was very feminine and pretty. I couldn't wait to wear it.

AND THEN IT GOT COLD AND RAINY....

I really liked this outfit the way it was but the weather turned much cooler suddenly. I was going to freeze in this outfit if I wore it. I really needed a second layer. I had this light weight white sweater but I thought the white was too much contrast against the muted fall colors of the outfit. 

So I got out some dye.

    

This white sweater wasn't 100% cotton so it needed dye for synthetic fabric. I didn't have any dye for synthetics that would match, so I used what I had. I threw the sweater in the washing machine with this brown dye and hoped it would be strong enough leave some brown color on the sweater.

 This was what I got. I actually really liked the color, it wasn't a dark brown like on the bottle. The dye couldn't get that dark on this synthetic material, but I think the lighter brown worked well here.

     

I still haven't even been able to wear this!

Thanks for reading this post, now go make something fun for yourself.

*Year end update- I love this whole outfit. The skirt and blouse are personal favorites.