Clothing makeovers

CEBU, Philippines - Stretch your clothing budget and update your wardrobe at the same time by this clever makeover ideas:

Slimming pants or skirts:

1              Turn the garment inside out and take down the hem.

2              Put on the garment and have someone pin out the excess fabric on the side seams, using rows of pins to mark the new seams.

3              Take off the garment and place it on a flat surface; take out to be sure an equal amount has been taken off both sides.

4              Place a yardstick along the pin lines and, using tailor's chalk, mark a straight line following the line of the pins; the mark line will be the stitch line.

5              Machine-stitch the new seams, trim the excess fabric from the seam allowances and press the seams open.

6              Re-hem the garment.

Relining a coat:

This really makes a big difference in the life of a coat, and isn't that hard to do if you take one step at a time.

1              Using a seam ripper, carefully remove all the stitching that holds the lining in place.

2              Take apart the lining, piece by piece.

3              Press all the old lining pieces carefully; they will serve as pattern pieces for the new lining.

4              Using the old lining patterns, cut out pieces from the new lining fabric; the seam allowance is already accounted for on the new lining pieces. Set aside the sleeve pieces.

5              Following the stitch lines of the old lining, stitch together the new body lining pieces.

6              Turn under the edges of the new lining and pin it to the coat, matching the folded lining edges with the old stitch lines on the coat.

7              Slip-stitch the new body lining in place.

8              Stitch two gathering rows along the cap of the new sleeve lining pieces.

9              Tack the sleeve linings to the arm hole of the coat, matching underarm seams.

10           Gently pull the coat sleeve to the wrong side of the coat, slipping it through the new sleeve lining.

11           Pull up the gathers to fit the lining to the cap of the coat sleeve, and slip-stitch the lining in place.

12           Hem the new lining at the wrists and along the bottom edge, and slip-stitch the hems to the coat fabric 1 inch above the edges of the coat sleeves and bottom edges.

Changing necklines:

The size and shape of a collar can make a dress or blouse look out of date. By removing or replacing a collar, you can make a favorite outfit a new lease on life. Removing the collar altogether will give the garment a "jewel" neckline that can be accessorized easily with a scarf or necklace.

1              Cut off the old collar about ¼ inch beyond the original inner edge.

2              Fold the raw edge inside the garment, and bind the edge with the original facing or matching bias tape.

3              If the garment buttons up the front, create a contemporary cardigan look by removing the collar and trimming away the front neck edge to form a deep "V" shape.

4              Bind all the raw edges with matching or contrasting bias tape.

You can also replace the collar on most garments with a new, ready-made collar of fabric or lace:

1              Just remove the old collar (and collar band, if there was one) and slip-stitch the new collar in position, placing the inner edge of the new collar just inside the new collar seam line of the blouse.

2              Bind the edges with either the original facing or with bias tape.

Shortening a coat or jacket:

1              It the garment has patch pockets, remove them first. 

2              Using a seam ripper, carefully remove the stitching along the lower edge of the garment lining.

3              Open out the front facing.

4              Turn up garment hem to the desired length, trimming away excess fabric.

5              Tack the garment hem in place, and then hem the lining over the new garment hem.

6              The bottom edge of the lining should be 1 inch shorter than the bottom edge of the garment hem.

7              If you have removed the patch pockets, pin them in place on the garment. If the placement and proportion looks good, slip-stitch them in place.

8              If the pockets look out of proportion to the new garment length, just leave them off altogether.

Another way to update a coat or a jacket is to add a belt of the same fabric, a contrasting fabric or leather.                          

-from Hints, Tips & Smart Advice by FamilyCircle