Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I have been asked to help adjust a dance recital dress for a toddler. She is three years old and the size 6 dress ordered for her was the largest size available. It is too small particularly in the torso and sleeves. The skirt I think will be OK.
Here is what it looks like. The top is pink satin with a Peter Pan collar. It buttons in the back to the waist. It has short puffy sleeves with elastic edging. The skirt sits at the natural waist and has multilayers of underskirts. The main outer layer is cotton. I measured the child in the dress and we need additional inches across the back and in the sleeves.
I would love to make these adjustments without too much cutting. I was thinking I may be able to add a piece of satin (maybe with some spandex?) to the back between the buttons and the buttonholes and then open the seams of the puffy sleeves and add some extra fabric to enlarge the area around the arm and armpit. Or maybe opening the sides of the top and inserting stretchy fabric all the way from the sleeve to the waist and leaving the back area as is; that is, leaving the buttons alone. Any other ideas out there? Thank you so much for any help!
By Joanieb from NY
I don't see how a size 6 dress can be too small for a three year old. My daughters and grandkids were all large for their ages, but never had that problem. In fact my Mother always said all four of her kids were large for their age, but never to the point that a size 6 dress would be too small for a three year old.
Also aren't all of the dancer's dresses supposed to be identical. Any alterations that you make will have to be done so that they aren't noticeable.
Obviously a factory error in the sizing, and it happens more often than people think.
You're on the right track, I think; you could probably get away with creating an extension panel with buttonholes in the width you need across the back. Button the panel to the existing buttons, and seam it to the other side.
You'll have to work it in at the waistline no matter what you do-you may have to unpick the waist and reattach it to the newly expanded bodice.
Would 'cutting in' large panels under the arms all the way down the entire garment work to add enough in the sleeves and back? (I did this to enlarge a gorgeous wool and cashmere charity shop overcoat two sizes too small-worked a treat and looked perfect)
Good luck, post pics if you can of the altered garment so we can learn from what you did, please?
I need help altering clothes due to weight loss. Any suggestions to help would be appreciated.
By Karen from Winona, WV
The most obvious way of altering clothing is to take in the side seams. Put on the garment inside out & then pin the cloth to the desired fit, you then sew along the pins on a sewing machine (although I have done it by hand occasionally). My mother took in all of her old knit slacks that way when she lost weight. (If you want to take in more at the front, say, you might have to take off the waistband.) You can also make any darts larger.
Here's an easy way to put some elastic in pants that are just a little too big that you aren't ready to give away yet. On the inside only of the back waistband cut a slit over near each side seam. Thread elastic (about 1 inch wide works fine) through along the back with a big safety pin. Use smaller safety pins to anchor the elastic at each end.
I put the pins on the outside since I never tuck in any of my tops, but you can put the pins on the inside if you tuck in your tops. Also, I use old suspender elastic sometimes. My husband gave me a bunch of them when he retired and quit dressing up in suits.
This site has some fantastic tutorials for sewing. Their "refashioning & upcycling" section has some great instructions for re-sizing clothes.
www.allfreesewing.com/
As I get older my waistline expands and I find that my skirts get tighter! I don't want to throw them away, does anyone know of a way to make them larger by "taking them up" at the waistband, and make them elasticated instead of button and zip?
If you haven't grown too much you can loop a rubberband through the button hole and then back through itself and secure the button with the rubberband. Don't know what to do about the zippers, though.
I read a letter from a woman who sews clothing for many of her (long-distance) relatives. She says that instead of finishing the waistbands of these garments, she sews a buttonhole on the inside of the waistband, pulls both ends of the elastic through it, and secures it with a safety pin. This way her relatives simply try the garment on and sew one line of stitching or just re-pin where they need it! I would leave a little extra elastic on the inside. The buttonhole can be used to add new elastic as needed without cutting your seams. As for your zipper, why not sew it closed using a ladder-stitch by hand or a zig-zag by machine. How about making it into a pocket or adding applique?
I recently purchased a couple of really nice t-shirts, only to find they are too large. Nice problem, huh? I want to alter them to fit me better. The shoulders are much too wide as well, so will need to do something about that. Does anyone have directions for altering t-shirts that are too large? I have been sewing for years. Thank you.
I'm a seamstress (by trade, originally) and I don't have any "pattern" per se, but short of completely opening up the entire shirt and re-cutting and re-sewing, I've simply sewn new allowances where I need the closer fitting. I've done them as a baste-in 1st, checked the fit, made any adjustments necessary and then sewn them in permanent, afterwards cutting off the excess "old" seam allowance.
Use an old sweatshirt to repurpose into a jacket. Here is a great design for how to turn a sweatshirt into a jacket.
This page is about shortening men's shirt sleeves. Altering the length of sleeves can add extended wear and save you money.
Some clothing can be repurposed into other articles of clothing with a little alteration. Here is a neat idea about how to turn a blouse and skirt into a dress.
Sweaters can be used in a variety of recycled crafts. This page has ideas for making new and creative crafts using sweaters as material.
This is a page about altering pants into capris. Give an older or unused pair of long pants a new lease on fashion life by cutting them down into capris.
This is a page about recycled summer tops. By reworking some of your other clothing, such as long sleeved shirts, you can make some really cute tops for summer.
This is a page about making shorts out of pants. Bring new life to a worn out or out of style pair of pants by making them into shorts.
