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If you are looking for professional custom alterations, design, sewing, or
embroidery; check out
Donna Trumble's Sewing Studio.
Donna Trumble
has been a sewing professional for over thirty years. She has
operated a custom sewing center out of her home in Georgetown, Texas since 1992.
She is also an owner of the Temple Sewing And Supply Inc chain of
Sew And Quilt Stores.
Contact Her
If you need alterations, custom sewing, embroidery, or design.
You can check out her personal website at www.DonnaTrumble.com
ALTERATIONS
CUSTOM SEWING
FORMALS
MENS AND WOMENS
EMBROIDERY
MONOGRAMMING
QUILTING
LOGO DESIGN
DIGITIZING
HOME DECOR
CLOTHING CONSTRUCTION
PERSONALIZATION
Contact:
Donna Trumble
www.DonnaTrumble.com
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Alterations
Alter Clothes Yourself
So They Fit Perfectly.
Author: Jack Heywood
Article:
Years ago sewing was a skill commonly learned by most women and many men. Ready-made clothing was
often poorly made and didn't fit well. So people insisted on making their own cloths or, at the
very least, making adjustments to the cloths they bought so it would fit better and be more
durable.
Not only that, but if a zipper got stuck or the owner's waist line expanded, all
could be quickly fixed with a simple repair or alteration.
Today people who can afford fine suits often have a professional tailor
perfectly fit the suit to the customer. If you watch TV news anchors and wealthy tycoons, their
clothing always fits perfectly.
Unfortunately, the rest of us usually have to put up with cloths that don't fit
their best. Even worse, we are forced to purchase new clothing when what we have doesn't fit right
anymore or develops problems.
I was very fortunate to learn the skills of a professional tailor early in my
career and have perfected my own sewing and alteration methods over the past 30 years.
Don't go around wearing a shirt or dress that needs an alteration to fit you
perfectly. Doing your own alterations is quite simple if you use the correct tools. For dresses and
shirts, use a grade 120 thread. Anything heavier will make the fabric pucker. Use a regular
needle.
Let's say you gained some weight recently, or successfully completed one of the
new diets, and your waistline isn't the same as it was when you purchased your jeans.
No problem. Use a slightly heavier needle for altering jeans -- 75's or 36s,
sometimes called a jeans needle will work fine.
While you're at it, you can quickly take up pant legs to be just the right length for your
individual frame.
What if your garment is made from lycra, spandex, or other stretch knit
material? Many people tell me "my sewing machine won't sew that type of material."
The problem is with the needle you're using. For lycra and similar fabrics, use
a Stretch needle. This type of needle is also called a ball point or special point needle. You'll
find your sewing machine works fine with this fabric once you have the correct needle in place.
Frequently a perfectly good coat or pants will be discarded when the zipper
malfunctions. Don't throw the clothing away. Instead, take out the old zipper and sew in a new
one.
Often you can get tips and pointers by visiting a fabric store.
The owner is probably skilled at sewing and certainly knows the in's and out's of needles and
thread.
You can also pay a professional tailor to alter or repair a piece of clothing.
Ask the tailor to show you how they made the alteration. Frequently you can learn enough to do the
job yourself the next time.
About the author:
Well-known tailor Jack Heywood has created a visual step-by-step guide to alterations at
http://www.sew-so-easy.com . His new DVD shows you
how to easily alter clothing, let out and take in trousers, replace zippers and much, much more.
See parts of the DVD free at his site.
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