VMan
Distinguished Member
- Joined
- Feb 26, 2003
- Messages
- 4,996
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Well, I posted a few weeks back on the difficulty of self-alterations, specifically hemming shirt length and taking in the sides.
My aunt came over this weekend to show me. She is a master sewer and makes her own clothes (not just follows pre-made patterns, actually designs everything herself - and they look good.). She made it look so easy. I tried to shorten a few shirts myself (so that I can wear them untucked) and they turned out okay (wearable). Also, she showed me how to take in the sides of a dress shirt to make it more tapered. It takes me about 1.5 hrs to shorten a shirt and 2 hrs to taper the sides. Of course, this is with measurments and everything; I expect it to go a lot faster when I get more experience.
Now I have a bunch of shirts that fit me a lot better, and I know that if there's a shirt that I really like that has a full cut (Armani, Zegna, etc) I can alter it in a few hour's time.
Just wanted to say that if anyone was interested in trying this themselves - go for it. Not only is it cheaper than going to the tailor, you can alter them EXACTLY how you want (without leaving it up to someone else). Plus, you get to learn a little more about how shirts are made/cut, and you get some pride knowing you picked up a new skill.
My aunt came over this weekend to show me. She is a master sewer and makes her own clothes (not just follows pre-made patterns, actually designs everything herself - and they look good.). She made it look so easy. I tried to shorten a few shirts myself (so that I can wear them untucked) and they turned out okay (wearable). Also, she showed me how to take in the sides of a dress shirt to make it more tapered. It takes me about 1.5 hrs to shorten a shirt and 2 hrs to taper the sides. Of course, this is with measurments and everything; I expect it to go a lot faster when I get more experience.
Now I have a bunch of shirts that fit me a lot better, and I know that if there's a shirt that I really like that has a full cut (Armani, Zegna, etc) I can alter it in a few hour's time.
Just wanted to say that if anyone was interested in trying this themselves - go for it. Not only is it cheaper than going to the tailor, you can alter them EXACTLY how you want (without leaving it up to someone else). Plus, you get to learn a little more about how shirts are made/cut, and you get some pride knowing you picked up a new skill.