As I went up in sizes, I basically wore my pants until they weren't any good to anyone. Now that I am finally loosing, I have been looking for easy ways to make my current clothes (jeans especially) last longer. I have found that if I snip the inside layer of the waistband just beside the button on one side and the button hole on the other (being careful not to snip the stitching at the top and bottom), I can slide 3/4" no-roll elastic from one end to the other. Then I have taken either a flat button or a ring, just larger than the waistband, and sewed one to the elastic on each end so it can't slip inside the waistband. As I get smaller, I tighten up the waistband and resew the button or ring to the new end.
I haven't gotten to the point yet where my big jeans are looking bad on me with the elastic, but they were all but falling off of me without it. I used a belt, but the excess fabric kept pushing out from under and looking terrible, but a belt over the gathered waistband looks much better.
Anyone else have any tips for making clothes last longer in between size changes?
That's a really good idea. I have pants that I feel are too big in the waist but fit well enough everywhere else. I can't stand belts but wear all my shirts un-tucked so hiding the 'gathers' won't be a problem.
My mom and I took in a bunch of our jeans a while ago. We just put them on inside out, pinned how tight we wanted them and sewed along that line. It worked for most pairs, but doesn't really work if you're going beyond a size or two.
Best thing about having a whole bunch of extra jeans was making stuff out of them. I have a nice handbag I made from an old pair of 20s I had and I made another out of a pair of 16s. I made a case for my fiance's kindle out of a too-big pair of sweatpants and part of a pair of jeans.
I've found a few online tutorials for making bras and panties from old clothes! I'm certainly going to look into those since I have a plethora of those lying around.
Repurposing clothes becomes a lot of fun. You can certainly alter them, but there comes a point when it's just not feasible anymore.
I've altered dress pants by cutting open the back seam/waistband or sometimes creating a back seam in the waistband, seperating the pant from the waistband, taking them in, cutting off the excess, sewing them back to each other and sewing everything back together. I have tried this approach to jeans once but it works better on the thinner fabric of dressier pants, even using a sewing machine. This method is a lot of work but you can't really tell they have been altered from the outside, and as Sontaikle said it only works if you are going down a few sizes.
Last edited by patchworkpenguin; 03-06-2012 at 01:17 PM.
My own "method" is a good tailor. I spent $200 on alterations for about 7 pieces of clothing and it was worth every penny.
F.
p.s. My mother was a children's clothes designer and used to sew our ski outfits! Needless to say, I did NOT inherit her talent. My sewing prowess stops at buttons.
I made a lot of my old jeans into jean skirts.. I added some embellishments to a few, and they look pretty good. They're starting to get too big in the waist and I took a pair of them in with my sewing machine (it's a LOT easier to take in a pair of jeans with a sewing machine if you have the denim needle) and I just re-seamed in the back, since "fat pants" always seems to have an odd amount of space between the back pockets.
I'm actually making some shorts today out of a pair that's just too big to look good as pants anymore. They look fine as shorts, though- even if I don't wear shorts that go above my knee.
I altered my jeans several times while I was losing. First alteration was to just sew down the side seams taking them in, waist band and all, to about the knee. Then I cut off the extra material and flattened the seam allowance of the waistband to each side and sewed them down to make them stay flat and therefore less bulky. Then they got too low in the crotch, so the next alteration was to sew up the inside leg seem from the knee up, across the crotch, and then back down to the other knee. I took 22W jeans and khakis in like this and the next size I actually bought was 18 regular. The waist gets too high after a bit because the bulge of your tummy and butt has gotten smaller, but it was in late winter and I never wear a shirt tucked in anyway.
I altered 5 pairs of slacks this way and it got me through the first 50 pounds and at least 3 sizes without having to buy new ones.
I also took knit shirts in by starting at the arm sleeve opening and sewing up to the armpit and then down to the hem.
I live in Brazil so alterations are pretty dirt cheap here. I've posted some that I've made myself (mostly taking in bra bands) and some that I've taken to a seamstress to do (but I explain how she did them). If you're interested you can see the links to them here (just scroll down to Alterations). I would do them myself but I don't have a sewing machine so no way am I going to hand stitch them!
ETA: I have a pair of jeans i need to get taken in soon. I've talked to my seamstress already and she said it wouldn't be a problem but I wonder if she has a special sewing machine that she'll do them with?
Last edited by runningfromfat; 03-07-2012 at 08:27 AM.
You know... I've been sewing all my life, I went to school for apparel design, and I do alterations for other people all the time. I haven't done any for myself even though I've got a big ol' mending pile just sitting there.
Runningfromfat, I prefer to use my industrial when I alter jeans but you can certainly sew denim on a regular home machine.
Easy alterations for clothes...
