but unfortunately, necessary.
A friend/co-worker was complaining last week that she had to give a few of her clothes away as they did not fit properly anymore. I agreed. I must have three or four pairs of pants that are now too big. She scolded me, “… after all, you sew your own clothes … you can fix them” she declared.
oops! I am shamed!
So I dredged through my closet and my drawers and found what doesn’t fit anymore and yes there are four pairs of pants that needed to be taken in, another pair with a broken zipper and another that needs hemming still (I guess that one is in the UFO category actually!)
So what did I do this last weekend … I did the alterations on my pants. BOORRRING!
I did learn one thing though.
When I previously made these brown pants here, I attached the waist band according to the pattern instructions. Pants finished first, then the complete waistband attached.
So to do the alterations – take my waist and hips in 1/2 inch on each side – I had to remove the waist band first to expose the side seam,
take in the side seam and the waistband 1/2 inch,
and re-attach the waistband.
It was a bit of a process but it worked out just fine. I continued on with the same procedure with my blue plants.
My black pants were different though, surprisingly. Apparently when I first sewed them up I attached the front of the waistband to the front of the pants and the back of the waistband to the back of the pants and then sewed all the way up the side seams right through to the edge of the waistband. I don’t have the faintest idea WHY I did it that way, but it was a lot easier to make needed alterations afterwards.
I unstitched the waistband from the inside of the pants so I could access the long side seam,
See … the side seam runs all the way up into the waistband, so I just stitched in the extra 1/2 inch all the way through the hips and waistline,
and reattached the waistband.
I think I might try to remember to attach my waistband front to the pants front and the waistband back to the pants back in the future. It sure makes for quick alterations! What do you think?
I’m happy I only have a few alterations to make. I think Ali over at aka thimberlina has a whole wardrobe to alter! Actually, I think she has been working hard altering her health first, and as a result her wardrobe! Good for you Ali!
So be honest now – CONFESS – is your pile of repairs and alterations higher than your fabric stash?
Happy sewing!