Sewing School: Alterations

Today we're going to take a look at 2 basic functions for "making it last" -- Taking In and Letting Out.

First, Taking In.
How many times have you found yourself with a shirt that you really liked, but it was a bit baggy?  Well, there is a very simple fix for that.  (This same trick works with pants and skirts as well.)


Try on the garment (in this case a wonderful, cozy sweater  that just needed a little more shape) and decide how much it needs to come in at the sides.

Turn it inside out and mark.

Sew.  I took mine in by 1" at each side.

 You can see the new seam line 1" to the inside of the old.  In this case the underarm and arm needed to come in also, so I just continued the seam all the way past the elbow and then tapered it back to the original seam.  Most of the time, if a shirt is baggy, it needs to come in under the arm as well as along the side.  With skirts, you can often just take in the side seams along the waist and hips, and then taper back to the original line.  Just make sure you keep both sides the same.

Trim the excess fabric away.

Overcast the raw edge.

Wear and enjoy!

Letting out can be accomplished also very simply, by adding a fabric panel along the side seams.  Once again, this can be done on any kind of top - woven or knit, as well as pants or skirts.

Start by deciding how much extra room you need.  My shirt needed another inch at the sides.

Turn the garment inside out and trim off the side seams.  (If you're cutting jeans, watch out for the grommet you often find at the corners of the pockets!  Trying to cut through that will ruin a good pair of scissors.)

Cut a strip of fabric that is 1/2" wider that the amount you needed to add, and 2" longer than the side seam.

Pin and sew the strip to one cut edge, right sides together.  Open it up and pin it to the other cut edge, right sides together, being sure to keep the hems in line with each other across the new strip.

 
Overcast the edges.

Make a rolled hem at each end by fold the raw edge over, then folding it over again to match the rest of the hem, completely covering any raw edges.  Topstitch it in place.

Press and wear!

Keep in mind that oftentimes adding a contrasting fabric is better than trying to match the fabric - even with a perfect match, it can make it look like you just needed a little extra room.  (This may be harder to pull off with boy's clothes - try a canvas or corduroy) With the contrast, it looks like a deliberate part of the design!  And you don't have to keep knits with knits - a small strip of a woven material works just fine in a t-shirt.