Copy of Table of Contents
Clothing Alteration Secrets Revealed
Acknowledgements, 3
About the Author, 4
Contents, 5
Introduction, 6
What you will need, 7-8
How to use this book, 9
Pants
Taking Up, 10
Introduction, 11
Reference points on pants, 12
Shoes & Styles of Pants, 13
Different heel heights, 14
Hem length options, 14
Pinned for low & high heeled shoes, 14
Short length, 15
Medium length, 15
Long length, 15
Dress Pants, 16
Cuffed Pants, 16
Stove Pipe. 17
Narrow leg, 17
Flared leg, 18
Fun Length for pants, 19
3/4 length. 19
7/8th length, 20
Capri length, 20
Ankle length, 21
False hem – let down, 21
Ideas for a tall person, 22
Legs different lengths, 23
Mistakes People Make, 24
Introduction, 25
Folding the hem outwards, 25
Holding hem up with staples, 25
Wearing a belt, 25
Holding pants against body and guessing the length, 26
Marking pants with pens, 26
Measuring inside leg of pants that person is wearing, 26
Pinning without shoes, 26
Using another pair of pants as guide for length, 27
Using iron on hemming tape, 27
Using only one pin, 27
Wearing joggers instead of dress shoes for fitting, 28
Wearing the wrong shoes at fitting, 28
Conclusion, 28
Taking Up Technique
Pinning, 29
The Knuckle Technique, 30 - 31
Writing down measurements, 32-33
Preparing, 34
Checking, 35
Marking, 36
Cutting, 36
Sewing, 37
Tapered pants, 38
Flared pants, 38
Pants that are very tapered, 39
Ladies & Men’s Dress Pants Hems, 40
Ladies Dress Pants, 41
Men’s Dress Pants, 42
Casual Pants, 43
Procedure, 43-45
Taking In Technique
Introduction, 47
Pinning, 48-50
Taking pressure off band. 50
Pinning each side of band, 50
Writing down measurements, 51-54
Inches, 52-53
Metric, 54
Preparing, 55-59
Option 1 - Take band off, 56
Option 2 - Undo band at Take In point, 56-57
Placing dots band, 57-58
Placing dots body of garment, 58-59
Sewing, 60-62
Sewing the garment, 61-62
Taking in, 63
Introduction, 64
Pants too big, 64
Take in back, 65-66
Take in back – with zip, 67-69
Take in front – no zip, 70
Take in back - suit pants, 71-72
Take in sides - waist to hips, 73
Take in sides - waist to hem, 74
Take in sides - hips, 75
Take in sides - hips to hem, 76
Take in sides - hips to hem with pockets, 77
Taper legs in – Permanently pressed, 78
Taper legs in – Excess fabric on inside leg, 79
Taper legs in – Excess fabric on outside leg, 80
Take in back leg & crotch/fork, 81-82
Take in crotch/fork, 82-83
Pockets sticking out – pin down, 84
Letting Out, 85
Pants too tight – Extension in waist, 86-88
Positioning a button, 88
Using a self threading needle, 88
Fast method using a normal needle with a large eye, 88
Sew button on with sewing machine, 88
Release back - Suit pants, 89-90
Replacing Zip, 91
Introduction Suit or Dress Pant Zip, 92
What you will need, 92-93
Step by Step Instructions, 93-98
Jeans
Taking up with Jean Genie, 99
Introduction , 100
Writing down measurements, 100
Preparing, 101
Sewing, 101-103
With Original Finish, 104
Introduction, 105
Pinning, 105
Preparing, 105-108
Sewing, 108-110
Taking in, 111
Introduction, 112
Take in band only, 112-114
Take in centre back, 115-116
Band too thick to pin, 117
Lower waist on jeans, 117
Replacing zip, 118
Introduction, 119
What you will need, 119
Step by Step Instructions, 120-125
Replacing jean stud, 125
Dresses, Gowns & Skirts
Taking up, 126
Introduction, 127
Straight of the grain versus bias cut fabric, 127
Care instructions for bias cut clothes, 128
Hem Lengths, 129
Hem not straight, 130
Measuring - floor to new hem length, 131
Above the knee, 132
On the knee, 133
Below the knee, 133
Mid Calf, 134
Above the ankle, 134
Ankle length, 135
Evening gown length, 135-136
Gowns with trains, 137
Bridesmaid gowns, 138
Types of Hems, 139
Blind hem, 140
Machine stitched hem, 140-141
Rolled hem, 141
Lining, 141
Writing down measurements, 142
Preparing Technique, 142
If the hem needs to be straightened, 142
If the hem is straight, 142
Sewing outer garment, 143
Splits, 144
Lining, 144-145
Taking In, 146
Introduction, 147
Which option is right for you?, 148
Garment Construction, 148
Front and back panels the same, 148
Front and back panels different, 149
Taking in sides of dress, 149
Take in sides of sleeveless garment, 149-151
Take in the back side seams, 151-152
Take in Centre Back Seam, 152
Without a zip, 152
With a zip, 152-154
No centre back seam - create one, 154-155
Take in sides including sleeves, 155
Create darts, 156
Shortening straps, 157
Raise Shoulders-Sleeveless, 158-159
Raise shoulders-with sleeves, 159-160
Excess fabric around waist & chest area, 160-161
Breast enlargement cups, 161
Skirts Introduction, 162
Take up from waist, 162-163
Take in sides, 163-164
Take in sides - with zip one
side, 164-165
Skirt too tight - Release pleats or
darts at waist, 166-167
Jackets
Taking Up, 168
Introduction, 169
Hem Length, 170
Hem - Unlined Jacket, 171
Hem - Lined Jacket, 172
Hem - Lined Jacket - Curved, 173
Sleeves - without cuffs, 174-175
Preparing- Lined Jacket Sleeves, 175-176
Sewing-Lined Jacket Sleeves, 176-177
Sleeves - with cuffs- not lined, 178-180
Take up sleeves - with ribbing, 180-181
Raise shoulder at top of sleeve, 182-185
Taking In, 186
Back - Take In, 187-188
Sides - Take In, 188-190
Shirts & tops
Taking Up, 191
Introduction, 192
Front higher than back, 192-193
Shirt to be tucked in, 193
Long Shirt Length, 194
Perfect Length for Top, 194
Curved Length, 195
Hem with ribbing, 196
Sleeves - Long Length, 196
3/4 Length, 197
Short Length, 197
Sleeves - with ribbing, 198
Sleeves - with cuffs, 198-200
Long sleeves to short sleeves, 200
Raise sleeve onto shoulder, 201
Halter neck - Take Up, 201
Straps - Take Up, 202
Reshape neckline using pins as guide, 202
Taking In, 203
Introduction, 204
Sides - Taking In, 204
Sides - Top Sleeveless - Take in, 205
Creating darts, 205
Types of Seams
Introduction, 207
Single seam with over locking, 207
Straight seam, 207
Over locking, 208
Unraveller and over locking, 208-209
Cover stitch, 209-210
Cover stitch - triple seam, 210
Single top stitched seams, 210
Double top stitched seams, 210
Blind hem, 211
French Seam, 211
Imperial & Metric Explained
Measurements, 213
Imperial measurements explained, 213-214
Metric Explained, 214
Helpful Hints & Tips
Introduction, 216
Belt loops, 216
Blade - slicing jeans or thick hems, 216-217
Blood on your clothes, 217
Buttons, Sewing on with machine, 217
Buttons, Sewing by hand - Easy Technique, 217-218
Buttonholes, 218
Clothes - Protecting clothes against moth and silverfish, 218
Denim - Sewing Denim, 218
Hem allowances, 219
Hem - false, 220
Hem - Off cuts, 220
Hems - Small hem on evening gowns, 220-221
Ironing - Why you should iron
seams flat on garments, 221
Iron - Using your iron, 221
Jacket sleeves, sewing interfacing before ironing on, 221-222
Jeans - Marking, 222
Jeans - Replacing jean buttons, 222
Jeans, Making jeans smaller, 222-223
Labels - Unpicking labels, 223
labels - Sewing on, 223
Machine plate - Fabric catches on plate, 223
My Notes - blank, 224
Needles, How to sharpen, 224
Needles - Self Threading needle, 224
Oil on clothes, 224
Over locking, 225
Pants - Take in back, 225
Rajah cloth, 225-226
Rolled hem - sewing rolled hem twice, 226
Satin garments, 226
Seams - Laying seams in correct direction, 226
Sequins - Sewing over sequins, 226
Sewing - If you are having trouble sewing a straight line, 226-227
Sewing - Two rows of stitching, 227
Sewing - Stitch width, 227
Sewing- stitch width-tiny stitching, 227
Sewing topside on stretch fabrics, 227
Stretch fabric - Sewing stretch fabric on your domestic sewing machine, 228
Tailors arm, 228
Tummy bloating, 228
Unpicking, 229
Velvet, 229
Zips - Shortening a long zip, 229
Zips - How to save them from breaking, 229
Zips - Metal versus nylon, 229-230
Zips - Nylon versus Invisible, 230
Zips - Repairing jacket zip sliders, 230
Fabric
Stretch fabrics, 231
Wool - Natural fibre, 231
Linen - Natural fibre, 231
Polyester - man made fibre, 231
Silk, 232
Knit, 232
Technical Abbreviations, 232
Table of Contents, 233-236