In spite of being bowled over by the Refashionista blog, I'm not a fan of doing alterations. I'd far rather make a garment from scratch than alter an existing one. But I did agree to turn an XXL dress into a Medium one. I'll give it a go, I said, I might learn something. "Just put some darts in the front and back", my friend said. Mmm, no. The pockets would be in the wrong place, the shoulder seams would be in the wrong place, it would be a mess.
I removed the sleeves and the pockets (much easier said than done!) and then laid the dress I'd used as a pattern for her other dresses on top:
Here's where reading Refashionista came in handy - as I took a deep breath with scissors in hand, I thought, if Jilly could do this, so can I. After cutting the excess off, I reattached the pockets and sleeves.
I should have taken a before picture. But you can see I cut a fair bit off:
If this is alright, I might be able to skip making dresses four and five, which will suit me because I still have many curtains to make.
My MIL had a neat trick, which I adopted. She would first baste/sew the altered line and then cut off the excess. Looking at the last picture, looks like you did the same? 💗
ReplyDeleteOf course this works only in certain circumstances.
No, I just pinned.
DeleteThat's a lot of fabric you've taken out, Jane. I used to take in alterations and my worst nightmare was men's trouser zips!!!
ReplyDeleteOh yes, please let no one ask me to replace trouser zips!
DeleteWell done! You are far more adventurous than I am! I will visit the blog, but I'm not sure I'll ever that the plunge and try alterations.
ReplyDeleteI used to love making my own clothes but when someone asked me to alter something I used to shudder. I hate alterations so you did good, lol
ReplyDeleteBriony
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Alterations are not easy, especially as you are having to go down in many sizes, I think I would given that one a miss, well done on having a go.
ReplyDelete