Taking in a Blouse with Pintucks

I was given quite a few nice blouses that fit me in the shoulders and sleeves but are much too big through the torso and bust. I noticed two of these blouses are already constructed with pintucks along the torso. These are very small pleats spaced evenly apart that help shape the torso of the blouse.

I started this process by pressing the blouses and trying them on to get a good idea of how much I needed to take in. I took a few minutes to study the construction. One blouse had tucks along each side of the front and the back; the other had tucks on the front and a smocked panel in the back.

 I looked closely at how the tucks were formed and measured the spacing between them.  I made sure I was measuring between the seams that form the tucks, not the topstitching details.

On the first blouse, I decided to add news tucks to the back of the garment first. I thought it would be less noticeable if I messed it up. I used my ruler and chalk pencil to mark where I wanted the new tucks to go.  I folded the tuck along the line I marked, and folding the extra fabric to the inside of the garment, I pinned it in place along the length of the tuck. I put matching thread in the top and bottom of my machine and I sewed along the new seam line using 1/4 inch seam allowance. I started sewing at the bottom hem of the blouse and tapered the top of the tuck to a point (which followed the pattern set by existing tucks). I pressed each tuck to the side, and topstitched it down, again following the pattern set by existing tucks.

After finishing the two back tucks, I took a minute to try the blouse on again. It was still quite roomy so I repeated the process on the front, adding one new tuck to each side.

The blouse with smocking on the back only required one tuck on each side of the front of the blouse to sufficiently take it in.

There you have it! Now I have two blouses that fit ME much better!

Taking In the Waist of a Simple Skirt

I bought a very simple, unlined skirt at a yard sale recently. It was two sizes too big but I figured it would be a great practice alteration project. I found this tutorial which was so helpful.

My skirt was a very simple fix. It is a simple A-line shape with a side zipper so I did not have to deal with the zipper at all.  I made sure my sewing machine was loaded on top and bottom with matching thread.

I put the skirt on first, and pinned the waist where it fit me comfortably. I needed to take in four inches at the waist. I detached the waistband at the back seam for a width of about 8 inches. I severed it along the back seam line and pinned it out of the way.  I then opened the back seam of the skirt about 10 inches. I pressed the seams flat and removed all those little threads left from seam ripping. A lint roller is helpful with that job.

At the top of the back seam, I measured two inches on each side of the seam and made a mark. I put the skirt panels right sides together and pinned them. I drew a line with a chalk pencil from the top mark, and tapered the line into the existing seam. I sewed along this new seam line, and tried the skirt on to make sure there were no unsightly bumps.

The last step was to take in the waistband strip. I pressed the waistband strips flat. I measured two inches on each side of the cut on the waistband, put right sides together and sewed along my marks. I trimmed off the extra fabric, and pressed the new seam open.  I sandwiched the waistband strip back around the body of the skirt , lining up the waitband seam with the back seam of the skirt, and stitched it back on, sewing thru the back and front with one seam.

I have to admit that I would usually have just thrown in a couple of messy pleats (or even safety pins, lol), and covered it up with a long blouse. I am so glad I took the time to do this simple alteration on this skirt. I looks very professional, and it only took about half an hour. The waistband seam is nice looking enough that I can wear it with a shirt tucked in.