https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/alterations-question-for-those-who-sew Style Advice for Fashion Lovers en-US Fri, 10 Apr 2026 00:31:55 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/search.php https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/alterations-question-for-those-who-sew#post-1088513 Mon, 18 Nov 2013 01:54:12 +0000 Gigi 1088513@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Thanks for all the input. It sounds to me that maybe keeping a flat seam when altering a skirt isn't necessarily as easy as it sounds, so I don't need to be on the search for another tailor. This is perhaps just a bit of a trial-and-error thing.</p> <p>The skirt is 95% rayon, 5% lycra. It is medium to heavy weight.&nbsp;It is a J. Jill Wearever skirt, if any of you know the fabric of that line.&nbsp;Maybe rayon (which is kind of slippery) is tougher when trying to keep a seam flat. Seems like it would slip around.</p> <p>Museum Gal wanted some pics, but unfortunately, I don't have a camera. I tried taking some pics with my video camera on my computer, but the resolution is crummy, and they come out postage-stamp size in the upload preview. Or do pictures not show up at actual size when you are previewing the post, and show up at actual size only once they are online?</p> <p>Another question I had about this skirt--and maybe this is too tough to explain--is I wonder about how the tailor altered it. It is a faux wrap skirt, so he didn't want to take in the waist at both sides of the skirt, because the faux wrap is attached on the one side. So he took in the skirt only on one side of the waist. This means that technically, the two back panels on the skirt are no longer the same width (I think he took about about two inches on the one side). I wear the skirt with the back seam down the middle of my back, but this means that the side seams aren't both exactly down my sides. The fact that this is a flowy skirt, and the fact that the faux wrap panel in front adds even more drape, makes this not too noticeable from the front view, from what I can see. But do you think this is the tailor just taking the easy way out, or do you think this is the best route in a no-win situation?</p> <p>Thanks for the help. Maybe I should ask for a digital camera for Christmas! I don't even have a phone that could take pictures...just nothin'. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/alterations-question-for-those-who-sew#post-1088070 Sun, 17 Nov 2013 16:09:54 +0000 Karie 1088070@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It can be tricky altering a side seam on a skirt. I am currently altering a skirt and am having this same issue. With my skirt, I took the waist in too sharply and did not taper the seam well. I need to remove the waist dart and make several smaller darts, and do a smoother side seam taper.&nbsp;<br />Also, certain needles/stitches need to be used for different fabrics, but your tailor knows this. Knits are more prone to puckering and are fussier about what needle you use. Heavier weight fabrics tend to bunch more if not sewn correctly. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/alterations-question-for-those-who-sew#post-1088031 Sun, 17 Nov 2013 15:37:43 +0000 Anonymous 1088031@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>It is difficult to say without actually seeing it IRL, but it may be that the seam wasn't tapered gradually enough, or the top layer of fabric may have pushed along during the stitching process and created an excess. I've done many jobs like this and they can sometimes be easy or not depending on fabric type. I would always do a proper pinned fitting though, on both hips in case of irregularity. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/alterations-question-for-those-who-sew#post-1088021 Sun, 17 Nov 2013 15:28:50 +0000 Suz 1088021@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>What's the fabrication, Gigi?&nbsp;</p> <p>It's so frustrating when alterations don't turn out as we had hoped. This ought to be relatively simple (at least in theory) but I noticed after I lost a lot of weight that some supposedly simple alterations just didn't work out. It really depended on the garment whether it was worth it.&nbsp; </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/alterations-question-for-those-who-sew#post-1087961 Sun, 17 Nov 2013 14:16:29 +0000 MuseumGal 1087961@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Can you take a pic of the seam?&nbsp; Both lying flat and actually wearing the garment? </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/alterations-question-for-those-who-sew#post-1087665 Sun, 17 Nov 2013 02:34:58 +0000 Gigi 1087665@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>Those are good ideas! However, after noticing the poofiness, I took the skirt off and held it up in front of me with the questionable seam facing me, as if the side seam were actually on&nbsp;the center front of the skirt. And the poofiness was clearly visible, as a slight pucker of the material. Also, the skirt from tailor 1 had the poofiness on the left, while the skirt from tailor 2 had the poofiness on the right. Tailor 1 pinned the whole seam down the length of the skirt while I had it on (both times that I had him work on the skirt); tailor 2 used chalk to mark only the waist. (The second skirt was a straight skirt, so it was easier.)</p> <p> </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/alterations-question-for-those-who-sew#post-1087652 Sun, 17 Nov 2013 02:21:05 +0000 Laurie 1087652@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have sewn for over 40 years and I thought the first thing as Runcarla.&nbsp; Because I am asymmetrical, I have to actually pin fit the skirt while it's on me to get a good fit.&nbsp; Did the tailor do that?&nbsp; One of my hips is straighter than the other, and without pin fitting, will have a tendency to poof - I'm speaking of a tapered, pencil skirt. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/alterations-question-for-those-who-sew#post-1087646 Sun, 17 Nov 2013 02:08:40 +0000 Carla 1087646@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I have one hip that is 'fuller' and higher than the other, so I am not actually symmetrical. A slouchy fit isn't a problem off the rack, and a knit conforms, but some garments need to be tailored differently on one side than the other to account for MY physical build. I note this most in close fitting sheath dresses and pencil skirts.</p> <p>DH broke a collarbone, and when it mended, the shoulder was 'shorter' than the other. He can get away with most shirts and jackets, but 'bespoke' items always account for the physical difference and fit better.</p> <p>The 'pouf' in your skirt may be the tailor taking in seams to make a symmetrical garment, when you body may not be symmetrical. </p> <p>Of course I don't know you, so I can't say for sure, but this might be the issue. Kind of like having one foot that is a half size bigger than the other, etc. </p> https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/topic/alterations-question-for-those-who-sew#post-1087633 Sun, 17 Nov 2013 01:51:19 +0000 Gigi 1087633@https://youlookfab.com/welookfab/ <p>I recently took a skirt to a tailor to have it taken in. The waist needed to be smaller, and some fabric&nbsp;also needed to be taken in at&nbsp;the seam down the side of the skirt, to reduce the overall width of the skirt. Now that I have tried on&nbsp;the altered skirt, I see that the seam is a little poofy in one spot--there is about a four-inch length of it where it looks like a little too much material was taken in, so the seam doesn't lie flat. I had this problem with a previous tailor—I had taken in a denim miniskirt to him to have the same type of work done, and the seam did not lie flat but poofed out by the pocket. I took the denim skirt back, and the tailor agreed that there was a problem, but after he "fixed" it, the poofing was still there. I wondered if maybe the extra material by the pocket was causing a problem, but in the current situation with the new tailor, there is no pocket or extra material.</p> <p>I figured that a straight seam&nbsp;shouldn't be rocket science, which is why I took my next&nbsp;alterations project to this other tailor. But I obviously am having&nbsp;the same issue. Is this something that is more difficult than I think? Or is it the sign of a tailor who doesn't really put a high value on quality work? </p> <p>I have another skirt that needs altering, and I'm wondering if I need to try a third tailor. I am very disappointed, as my impressions of both tailors—but esp. the first—was that they knew what they were doing. The first tailor was careful not to just take material from the "easy" places on the skirt, because he said that would cause the pockets in the back to lie too close together. So I was surprised to see something as basic as a flat seam cause him a problem.&nbsp;Any advice would be appreciated. </p>