• Home
  • Sewing
    • Patterns
    • Materials
    • Organization
    • Supplies
  • Fashion Sewing
    • Dresses
    • Jackets & Coats
    • Pants & Shorts
    • Tops & Blouses
    • Accessories
  • Home Decor Sewing
    • Curtains
    • Pillows
    • Bedding
    • Novelty
    • Holiday Sewing Projects
  • Hand Sewing
    • Hand Embroidery
    • Crochet
    • Knitting
  • Sewing Techniques
    • Wovens
    • Knits
    • Quilting
    • Sewing Tips & Tricks
    • Specialty Fabrics
    • Sewing Skills
Logo
  • Patterns
  • Materials
  • Organization
  • Supplies
You are here: Home / Projects and How To's / Great Clothes Alteration I 6 Common Parts Need To Alter

Great Clothes Alteration I 6 Common Parts Need To Alter

women shows her weight loss | How To Alter Clothes That Are Big I Sewing Tips For Beginners | Featured

May 25, 2022 By Sewing.com 9 Comments

The Clothes Alteration does save you money but it also gives you more clothing options! Knowing how to alter clothes is important for every sewer.

RELATED: The Best Sewing Machine For Beginners Guide

Clothes Alteration  Can Make Dress Perfectly Fit

1. Neckline

designer measuring long sleeve shirt | Great Clothes Alteration

Altering necklines or collars can be confusing due to the different fabrics and stitches used, but practice makes perfect. Nobody wants an unintended loose neckline! Common tricks to alter a big neckline include using the gathering technique, binding, or correcting the garment from the shoulder.

2. Armholes

significant project classy blue shirt | Great Clothes Alteration

Loose armholes can make or break clothing which can also accidentally break your arms. It could also create undesirable creases across the chest.

Perfect armholes will give you the confidence to let loose and enjoy! So how to do it?

There are three common ways to fix loose armholes:

  • First, add a dart from the bust apex of the dress by pinching the fold on the wrong side of the fabric, then sew the fold.
  • Second, add a band or binding by easing any extra fabric into the armhole.
  • Third, add decorative lingerie elastic and sew it around the armhole.

3. Long Sleeves

woman sewing designer mannequin shirt | Great Clothes Alteration

Even if loose sleeves seem to be in right now with the recent cold season, it could also be quite inconvenient. A great long-sleeved dress I didn’t buy comes to mind because it’s too long and loose for me.

Avoid that situation by learning how to alter your own! The most common trick to refer to loose sleeves is to stitch in one continuous line from the armhole up to the opening of the sleeves.

RELATED: Basic Sewing Machine Parts Every Beginner Should Know

4. Bustline

wedding dress with embroidered bustline | Great Clothes Alteration

If the dress is not perfect for our bustline, this is awkward and can make us uncomfortable.

Another trick to alter the bustline is to sew Velcro inside your dress. Sew a strip of Velcro to the sides of the dress, under your arms. Use the soft and curved edge in case it rubs against your skin.

5. Pant Waist

measure tape light blue jeans | Great Clothes Alteration

Constantly pulling on your pants can be annoying and embarrassing. Save yourself from the inconvenience and embarrassment by learning how to alter your too-big pants and jeans!

To alter the waistline, all you need is to refer it from the center back of the pants. You need to remove the belt loop first, then measure how much fabric you need to take out.

Use pins to mark the point you want to refer to, then start sewing from the mark.

Tip: You can also use Velcro to alter the Pants’ Waist.

6. Pant Legs

sewing machine foot on denim scissors | Great Clothes Alteration

Some people prefer their pants to be loose while others don’t. I belong to the last group.

The formal and sophisticated look and snug pant legs will get you far. The number one hack to alter a baggy pair of pants is to get perfect fit jeans and use them as a guide.

Lay the fitting pants on top of the baggy jeans, then trace.

Tip: Make sure you line up the crotches of the jeans outside its leg seams before tracing them.

Want to know how to slim down a shirt? Check out this video by Will Beauty:

Learning how to alter your clothes will give a lot of advantages to your daily life! It certainly widens your choices. In Clothes Alteration, you can buy a slightly large but unique dress you like and alter it according to your fit! Then you can wear new clothes without spending too much.

Did this article help you? Which one do you think you’ll be using soon? Let us know in the comments section below!

Filed Under: Projects and How To's, Sewing For Beginners

Comments

  1. violetmoon says

    March 10, 2017 at 4:31 PM

    There is a LOT more to alterations then you have indicated! This is the field I have worked in for over 50 years. I retired eight years ago as a tailor and although some of your tips were good, there is a lot more to doing all that you covered. Pants, both men’s and women’s should always be altered from the back with a few exceptions. Bands on women’s slacks should be removed and moved over if the fabric is light and other wise, the band should be taken in, then the back seam and then put back together. To take the bag out of pants, only the inseam is touched and then normally only the back seam.

    Reply
    • Kym says

      January 16, 2019 at 8:41 PM

      I have searchng for a a long ng while ways to use darts in alterating good thrift store finds. This did seam to be missing pics for a beginner. For one that already knows the basics, may have been enough information.

      Reply
  2. Abby Young says

    October 20, 2017 at 1:17 AM

    I’m gonna try this on my pants!! I know how to sew!! As for Violetmoon. You have been altering for 50 years, what your saying takes it to a whole new level that people wouldn’t even bother to try and do!!This article is enough to believe I can do this!!

    Reply
  3. K says

    October 18, 2018 at 10:47 AM

    My issues are usually shirts too big in the waist (so they look tent-like when left out or have lots of weird gathers when tucked in) or pants with extra baggy material under the butt/at the tops of the thighs (or sometimes with hips too wide because they assume hip measurement = wide hips. My butt sticks OUT in back, hence my hip measurement and I need *rise*, but my hips are not WIDE). And sometimes tops that fit fine everywhere except that someone was very optimistic about bust size and it’s just too big. It would be nice to learn how to do these alterations as well.

    Reply
  4. Stacy Cruz says

    October 22, 2019 at 2:29 AM

    Awesome thanks for the info!

    Reply
  5. Gena says

    December 4, 2019 at 8:55 PM

    I have a problem with pants being too long in the stride/crotch area. If I fold over from waistband, they fit well. However, with side pockets, that won’t work. I’ve tried petite, but then the pants are too short.

    Reply
  6. Casey says

    June 27, 2020 at 1:13 PM

    I have a long A line sleeves dress that is a size too large. Can I just take up the slack at the top the shoulders?

    Reply
  7. Sarah Jane says

    March 15, 2021 at 1:07 AM

    hi can I use your article as reference?

    Reply
  8. david valdez says

    March 2, 2022 at 8:06 PM

    im a young man 66 years old that would like to learn to alter my own clothes . my jeans are baggy at the legs and big at the waist

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

SUBSCRIBE TO SEWING.com AND GET THIS FREE GIFT!

Sewing-Basics-for-Family-and-Home

Head Wrap Tutorial | How to Make Your Own in 6 Easy Steps

If you're looking for a simple, yet …Continue Reading

How To Sew A Simple DIY Rod Pocket Curtains For Your Home

Learn how to make simple DIY rod …Continue Reading

Sewing Patterns | 21 Pattern for Beginners That Are Fun and Easy

Learning easy sewing patterns for …Continue Reading

Go Shopping

  • Joann’s
  • Fabric.com
  • Michael’s
  • Art.com
  • Bed Bath & Beyond

Other Great Sites

  • DIY Projects
  • Homesteading
  • Garden Season
  • Homemade Recipes
  • Makeup Tutorials

Resources

  • FREE Sewing Patterns
  • Sewing Terms Dictionary
  • Sewing Projects
  • Sewing Machines
  • Sewing For Beginners
  • About Us
  • Advertise With Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contribute
  • Contact Us
  • Terms of Service
Sewing.com
Email Support: [email protected]
Phone: 512-394-8187

Product returns go to:
1889 E Maule Ave, Ste G
Las Vegas 89119

Copyright © 2022 · Sewing.com


This copyrighted material may not be republished without express permission. The information presented here is for general educational purposes only.

MATERIAL CONNECTION DISCLOSURE: You should assume that this website has an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection to the persons or businesses mentioned in or linked to from this page and may receive commissions from purchases you make on subsequent web sites. You should not rely solely on information contained in this email to evaluate the product or service being endorsed. Always exercise due diligence before purchasing any product or service. This website contains advertisements.

We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website.

Privacy settings

Privacy Settings

This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience. Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. You may change your settings at any time. Your choices will not impact your visit.

NOTE: These settings will only apply to the browser and device you are currently using.

This website uses cookies

We use cookies to personalize content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyze our traffic. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use our website.

Powered by Cookie Information