This post is part of Craftsy Review Month. To see a schedule of all posts, click here! Today’s post is from Cristy of Love You Sew. Check out Cristy’s blog and follow her on Instagram!
Isn’t it funny that whenever someone finds out you sew, they automatically ask you to hem some pants or take in a dress/skirt? I’ve been sewing and quilting for over 6 years now and have only been able to make a handful of hack jobs out of alterations. The garment world is pretty extensive and my knowledge only goes as far as being able to read a pattern and finish a few custom pieces for myself.
As I learn to sew more clothes for myself, I want everything in my closet to have that same custom fit for my body. That’s why I decided to choose Craftsy‘s Angela Wolf’s Tailoring Ready to Wear class. Don’t let the name fool you…The techniques can apply to all of your handmade clothing as sizing and styles change over time. For example, I have a dress I made with a high-low hem which is stylish today. However, a few years from now, it may not be…but with this class, I know exactly how to even out the hem later.
The Tailoring Ready-to-Wear class is broken down into 10 separate lessons which go over hemming & lengthening pants/skirts (with a special section on jeans.) shaping knit tops, adjusting shoulders and armholes, and even changing out invisible zippers. Each lesson is about 30-60 minutes with Angela showing how to handle each different project.
With the class, I decided to alter a pair of khakis I’ve had for awhile. They were a size too big and the pant legs were very full….making me look the same! The hips were too wide and gave me “flaps” on the side. I have a bit of a booty too and with so much extra fabric, you could hardly tell. There was just no shape.
It was not easy to measure myself….Thank goodness for extra-large Clover Clips to help. I later pinned where I clipped the fabric together. There was a lot of taking off and putting the pants back on to make sure I was taking in enough fabric, but could still get out!
I took in the waistline following Angela’s dart technique and was able to create a slight “U” in the back to accommodate my backside. Then, I ended up taking in the entire length of the leg while tapering it slightly below my knee for a straight look.. Angela addressed how to ease your stitching seam to get rid of the extra hip “flaps” which took me a few tries before I got rid of the puckers….but it still worked!
This is after I took off and reattached the waistband to create the dart. The only way you can tell something was altered is that I forgot to reattach the manufacturer’s label 🙂 I’ll hand-sew that back in later…
With the leg, the only evidence of an alteration is my bright white serging. I only have a handful of different serger thread colors…and of course, khaki or cream wasn’t one of them. I didn’t mind having to use white since these stitches most likely will only be seen by me.
The Tailoring Ready-to-Wear class was paced out well, and Angela is an easy person to listen and follow. There were a lot of tips and techniques for various fabrics and types of clothing. Since I don’t sew with a ton of apparel fabrics, it was nice to learn a little more about how to treat a corduroy vs a polyester fabric and why you need an absolute straight hem on tweeds.
I highly recommend this class and can now make basic alterations with confidence….although I may not let anyone else know. Shhhh!
Hi Sara and Cristy, what a great review for a class that sounds like definitely need to catch. Being relatively new to sewing the word ‘tailoring’ terrifies me but based on your review I’ll be adding this to my wishlist. The before and after pics were great too. Thanks. Dawn
Thanks so much Dawn! It’s amazing what a little bit of “tailoring” can do to make a garment more flattering. This class definitely helped de-mystify how it all works and gave me more confidence to open up and reattach seams. Good luck!
I am sooooo glad that you wrote this review! I have some jeans that I no longer wear (too baggy, just like yours) and would like to alter them to be more fitted. The class description really didn’t go in to enough detail, I didn’t know it was this detailed. Thank you so much!
Hi Sara, Your pants look awesome! Thanks so much for joining me on Craftsy and even more for an incredible review of my class! Cheers, Angela ♡
Thanks for SUCH a great class Angela and making me want to tailor everything now! 🙂
LOVE this class!!! I need to go back and watch it again thank you for the motivation! 🙂
I know I will have to probably re-watch it again for the zippers! Thank goodness these classes are available forever, right?!?