Botched alteration - what to do?

When I went home in May I took a bunch of items to my seamstress to alter. I also had a couple of new tops made. To my horror, she messed up almost everything, some of the items severely and irreversibly! I am still sick to my stomach thinking of all the waste, and pretty upset, as I have been going to her for years and she has never done anything of the kind. I took the newly-sewn tops to another tailor here in US who has luckily managed to salvage them, although at quite an expense. And now I have to figure out what to do with items than can not be fixed.

Here is one of them, Club Monaco checked pants to used to be bootcuts for flats and were not getting much wear, so I wanted to have them tapered. I even brought BR Sloan's to serve as a pattern. As you can see from the pictures, they are a disaster:
1. The tapering was not done smoothly, they look like jodhpurs now
2. The calves are waay too tight
3. The seams are not straight, but twisted
I do not think anything can be done to save them, as she cut the extra material off. I am about ready to hack them off to shorts, and was wondering about the length - just under the knee, over the knee or mid-thigh? Thank you for advice and commiseration!

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11 years ago

April

Veteran

Oh, Tanya, I feel for you. I've had botched alterations a few times and it's awful, especially since it usually can't be undone.

As far as the cutting into shorts, I would start with the longest length and work my way shorter. As soon as you have a length you're pleased with, stop.

Angela K

Tanya, I've been there with the botched alterations--hard to pay a "professional" when I could have done better myself! My seamstress was new (only been there one other time) and didn't speak English well (or else she was pretending not to.... o_O) so I didn't even try to get her to correct the mistakes. Do you think your seamstress would try to fix for free? Maybe she was just having a bad day.

But all that aside, I do agree with April--you should try to salvage the pants by making shorts. It's hard to tell but it looks like the leg doesn't twist until down near the bottom, so I think you could get some very nice looking long shorts out of these. Please post a pic and let us know how it works out!

Anonymous

Tanya, it is so disappointing to have alterations done badly. It has happened to me so that I'm a bit shy at getting them done. With rolling looking stylish this season,I have cut off jeans with that in mind. You could also consider what length of shorts you wear the most. If these are left long enough,could you tuck the into boots for fall yet roll them for clam diggers for summer?

Transcona Shannon

Oh how infuriating Tanya! I do like Joy's suggestions of cutting shorter or tucking in the fall. The plaid would be lovely in a sort of "equestrian" way with knee high boots.

JAileen

I'm so sorry she ruined your things. I wonder what happened - did someone else do the alteration instead?

I like the idea of tucking into boots.

Tanya

Thank you for the kind words and commiseration ladies!

Angela, I can't ask her to fix it because she is back home in Europe, I took these clothing pieces there when I visited my family because the alterations are much more affordable than here in US. I asked her to fix one item that was too oversize, bud did not dare with more delicate ones.
JAileen, don't really know what happened, maybe she was stressed or in a hurry because I brought lots of things, but she still had a month.

I am going to tuck the pants in flat boots and post pics of that when I get home to see how that looks. In addition to twisted seams, what really bothers me is the abrupt tapering right under the knee the gives them jodhpurs look. I wore these pants like this once and the thigh area stretched (they are stretchy cotton) but the calf area did not which only emphasized the problem. I felt pretty bad in them and realized that I can not wear them like that.

crutcher

If you have been pleased with her in the past, I would go back to her and say that you would like to try on the pants she worked on and let her see how they came out..Sometimes, just talking together can bring a solution...
I

Vildy

I think what happened to them, besides the jodhpur effect, is that at or below the knee you have to take in from both the outside and the inside seam, else they can twist. Sorry for your disaster.

Ugh, that's such a terrible experience. I'm sorry Tanya. (This is why I've yet to get up the nerve to go to a tailor.)

I do think they could make nice shorts. If I were you I'd start at just under the knee to see if you liked it, because if you don't can cut more off but not vice versa. If you don't care for the jodhpur effect though, you might have to go above the knee.

Suz

(website)

Oh, Tanya -- what a pity. Such great pants, too. And how frustrating for you.

I think April has given great advice about the shorts length. Start long and work your way up to the length you like for the shoes you will be wearing.

Diana

Ugh this is why I'm afraid of the tailor. The easy alterations I can do myself and I have trust issues regarding the complicated ones.

I like the idea to try them with tall riding boots. Pretend they're meant to be jodhpurs.

nancywalters

Active Member

Such a shame.
My tailor always suggests that I try on the clothing before I take it home. When I don't, he always suggests that I bring it back if there is any issue. Is there any way you can communicate with her or perhaps email a photo to her.

When taking in pants, both the inseam and outseam need to be taken in similar amounts or the seam will twist. She must have noticed that they were off grain and wouldn't hang correctly. I hope you're able to salvage them!

suzanne

I'm so sorry for your alteration saga. Here's what you can do. First, take out the messed up seam; just undo the stitching. Now see if the pants will once again lay out flat, both on a flat surface and when you put them on. Now, while wearing them in front of a full length mirror, use pins to see what length appeals to you, even with the seam open below the knee. You may be surprised to find that the length that appeals to you could be longer than shorts but shorter than you previously imagined. Don't cut off any of the fabric yet. Just use pins the mark the length that you now like, and leave the side seam open. Find someone locally to handle this very modest alteration and ask for their help with that side seam. The question would be, is there any way at all to use some of the fabric from the old hem to rebuild that side seam / or to create flaps on the side seam and leave it an open edge on the very bottom part.

Or something else might occur to you once you open those side seams and stand in front of a mirror and re-asses your situation. When I do that, something new almost always occurs to me. As soon as I stop looking at the mess and start looking at possibilities, the pants rapidly improve. Good luck!

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