Changing Your Clothes

Shopping, Sewing, Upcycling, Repairing: Make the most of your clothes!

Category Archives: Repairs & Alterations

Fixes for common (and not-so-common) wardrobe dilemmas, from changing buttons and replacing zippers to a range of alterations.


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Basics: Repairing a Hem

Because I’ve been making clothes nearly all my life, sometimes I forget that certain skills are not, in fact, second nature to everyone. Even so-called basic sewing techniques involve specific instructions, as I discovered this week when I had to fix a dress whose hem had started to come undone. Just photographing the various steps in the process of hand-sewing approximately 11″ was eye-opening— there’s a lot to this seemingly simple repair!

Here’s the situation: It’s a sheath dress in a substantial stable knit, meaning it has some give, but also holds its shape; this quality has to be taken into consideration, as I’ll show you in a bit. Somehow, between the last time I wore it and, well, now, the hem started unraveling between a side seam and the center back seam. (This is a ready-to-wear dress, originally hemmed with the commonly-used clear monofilament that doesn’t tend to wear very well.)

Hem coming undone

The hem of my dress coming undone. For such a small section to be restitched, it’s actually quite a project.

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Makeover Monday: Cardi-Wrap to Cocoon

Ever since I made my first 3D scarf for last week’s Makeover Monday, I’ve been wearing it almost every day. It’s the perfect light-yet-warm layer that goes on easily over everything. (I’m wearing it even as I type right now!) In fact, this surprisingly versatile piece has gotten so much use already that it inspired me to root through more than my scarf collection for makeover candidates. And lo! Lurking deep in a stack of seldom-worn hand-knitted sweaters, I found this:

Cardi-wrap, pre-makeover

Cardi-Wrap, pre-makeover. This is literally just a long, wide scarf with sleeves set into the rectangle.

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Makeover Monday: Cuff ‘Em! (The Sequel)

Previously on Makeover Monday: A pair of too-short jeans gets a glam fix with the addition of deep hem bands in bronze-metallic-finished denim! But when I discovered I didn’t have enough of the contrast fabric to do a double-layer cuff, I got to thinking…

What if I added a different fabric to line the cuff? Then, in addition to the full-length look with the bronze bands, I could fold the cuffs up to capri length, showing the second fabric, and have a whole new look! I thought about the type of fabric for a minute; my first instinct (as usual) was to use something fabulous in sequins (I have lots of scraps under this heading), but I reflected that that might not feel too comfortable against my shins when I wear the jeans at full length. (Boo.) A quick rummage through my stash yielded this:

Fabric to line the bronze cuffs

Fabric to line the bronze cuffs: The new fabric (on right) is printed to look like lace, and I think it’s a great complement to both the original denim and the bronze band.

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Makeover Monday: Cuff ‘Em!

I confess to a fashion crime… my narrow-leg jeans are just a tiny bit too short. Usually, with a narrower leg, I can get away with a “regular” length, meaning a 31-32″ inseam; with wider legs like boot-cuts, I’d have to go to a “tall” or “long” length (33-34″ inseam). These jeans seemed perfect at first, but after a solid 2 years of a lot of wearing and washing, they’ve gradually gotten a little shorter, to the point where I can only (barely) get away with wearing them with high heels; with flats, they’re maybe 3/4″ too short, at least to my eye. What to do, what to do…

When I was in the fabric store a few weeks ago (getting more dye for my other jeans’ makeover), this idea popped into my head: why not add a contrast band or cuff to the legs of my jeans to lengthen them?

In spite of a rather bewildering array of denim fabric choices, I couldn’t find the black denim I wanted, but I did find an intriguing piece with a bronze metallic finish on one side, very like the lacquered treatments so popular in denim right now. Here are my jeans in their sad “before” condition, and the fabric I found to cuff ’em:

"Before" jeans and bronze-finish denim for cuffs (these are not the same jeans as the ones I dyed on previous Makeover Mondays).

“Before” jeans and bronze-finish denim for cuffs. (These are not the same jeans as the ones I dyed on previous Makeover Mondays, by the way. Now I’m starting to think my whole denim wardrobe is just sad…)

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Makeover Monday: Painting on my Dancing Shoes (Extended Version)

As promised, here is the full (if slightly belated) report on my dance shoes’ tripping the light fantastic into the CYC Day Spa! (If you want the seriously truncated version, look here.)

You must be wondering, “Lindy, why would you want to change your dance shoes??” Here’s the reason: I’ve not been active in ballroom dancing for a couple of years, but (fortunately) I’ve held on to my ballroom shoes, all of which are the usual gold-tone satin color. However, I wanted them to look more like fashion shoes, rather than dancing shoes per se. Hence the makeover!

A word (or several) about dancing shoes: First, in ballroom dancing (particularly for competition), women typically wear shoes that are more or less skin-tone, to visually extend the line of the leg. Second, shoes made specifically for ballroom are constructed differently than street shoes (and they’re never worn on the street, only on dance floors). They have suede soles to slide on the dance floor and make smooth pivoting possible. And third, in the case of shoes for the Latin dances ( cha cha cha, rumba, samba, jive, and paso doble), like the ones I’ve used in this project, the soles are extremely flexible, which facilitates toe-pointing.

My Latin dancing shoes before their makeover:

Dance shoes, pre-makeover

Dance shoes, pre-makeover: The classic ballroom gold satin is pretty, but it’s time for a change!

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Makeover Monday: Painting on my Dancing Shoes (Preamble)

I know, I know, it’s Makeover Monday already again! And I do have a fantastic makeover for you, but… today is my daughter’s birthday, and the whole weekend has been one long celebration*, so I’m afraid I only have a few minutes today. I’m just going to give you a quick overview, plus a little photo preview.

The project: I have a pair of dance shoes in classic ballroom-gold satin, still in good condition, but somehow just too… ballroomy. I’ve been wanting a pair of dance shoes that are in the brown-to-bronze range; this would be a versatile color, considering my dance wardrobe. (I’m really trying to get away from all black, all the time, which in my wardrobe, only happens with dance clothes.) But considering the original cost of these shoes (and more to replace them), I thought maybe there was another way to get what I wanted. So I thought about dyeing them (yes, I’ve had dyeing on the brain for the last several Mondays!); I looked into that, and it seems that fabric paints would be more appropriate, as well as easier to DIY (DIM? Do It Myself?).

The preview: Here are my shoes, before and after a fresh coat of fabric paint!

Dance shoes, before and after!

Dance shoes, before and after. A lot more photos and project details are coming tomorrow!

That’s all for now— I’m sorry for the delay, but I promise, first thing tomorrow, I’ll fill in all the details of this project!

*It was on this day, my daughter’s birthday one year ago, that she was rushed to the hospital, extremely close to death from a sudden and complete liver failure. Today, she is not only alive, but doing amazingly well. Hence the non-stop celebrating— including lots of dancing!


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Makeover Monday: Dyeing to Finish

Previously on Makeover Monday:

My hastily-bought jeans, it turns out, lived up to their “dirty-washed” name, and I decided the boot-cut was just a little too flared for me. So the jeans ventured into the Changing Your Clothes day spa for a much-needed makeover. Day One: Dye with mixture of navy and black:

Spa Day One

Spa Day One: The new color isn’t as dark as I expected, but they’re at least not so “dirty”!

Day Two: Trimming a little off the sides… of the legs.

Spa Day Two

Spa Day Two: The change in the leg width is pretty subtle, but it does make a difference!

And now, the series finale of my epic jeans re-do on this Makeover Monday: Dyeing to Finish! (Is the suspense killing you yet?) Continue reading →


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Makeover Monday: Another Spa Visit for my Jeans

Wouldn’t you know it: just when my jeans are getting used to seeing themselves in their new custom color after their first visit to the Changing Your Clothes Day Spa, today they’re back for Phase 2: a little trim! They’ve let me know they’re not ready for a drastic change, so I’ve promised not to cut more than an inch… from each side. Yes, that’s right, they’re going to go from a classic boot cut to straight legs!

The first step in this seemingly simple process is to analyze the current conditions, in order to make a plan; I’ve learned (the hard way) that having a strategy before making that first crucial snip is the key to a successful outcome.

Tip: I realized, only after my jeans’ dye job last week, that it would have been better to do the leg alterations before dyeing the jeans, because guess what? That antique-gold-colored thread used for the topstitching on the inseam and hem got dyed along with the jeans! So the topstitching thread that I bought for this specific purpose won’t match. However, since I’m planning to overdye the jeans with black, I’m hoping the difference in thread color will not be so noticeable by the time this makeover is complete.

Looking at the jeans, I notice that the inseam is topstitched, but the outseam is not.

Original seams

Original seams: the inseam is topstitched, but the outseam is not.

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Cutting a New Hem: The Tango Skirt

The Tango Skirt. I spotted it languishing on an overcrowded rack in a consignment shop. It flirted shamelessly with me on the hanger, looking all cute and mysterious, and I just knew we would be going home together. I admit, I didn’t know anything about it, really, just that it was the dark, rich brown of the best espresso, in a soft, slinky fabric that was ruched and gathered at the back in an utterly beguiling manner. I didn’t even try it on, just handed over $18.00, and dashed out, clutching it to my heart. It was a magic moment.

Alas, poor Tango Skirt! The magic died when I pulled the skirt on at home. Yes, the ruched-and-fishtailed back was nearly as flattering as it had promised on the hanger, and I loved the way it swished around the backs of my calves. But the front! The front of the skirt, so plain, cut straight and drooping sadly below my knees, was not flattering at all. It was as if I had brought home two different skirts instead of one. Brokenhearted and embarrassed, I hung The Tango Skirt in a dark corner of my closet, where it stayed, unloved, for several months.

The Tango Skirt The Tango Skirt, pre-alteration. Looking at the plain-Jane front, you’d never guess such fabulousness could be lurking in back! (The pin in the front of the skirt marks the length of the lining, something that’s important to know before you start cutting anything! (Trust me.) Continue reading →


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Closet Confessions: A Big Hang-up

Yes, it’s time for another closet confession. Today, I’m revealing all about one of my biggest closet hang-ups: hanging things up.

It’s not that I’m a slob. (Well…) It’s just that somehow, over the past several years, my wardrobe has gradually become more and more about clothes that don’t need ironing— which, coincidentally, usually means they don’t need to be hung up. Looking inside my closet this morning, I realized that at least 65% of my clothes (I’m guessing here) are not, in point of fact, hanging up. Sweaters stacked on one shelf, purses (and the odd out-of-season item) on the other, and everything from camisoles to workout clothes in one of those hanging multi-compartment organizers (I use that term loosely). This leads me to the profound observation that I prefer low-maintenance clothes.

Interestingly, though, I’ve also noticed that when I make clothes for myself, the pieces I choose to spend my time and energy making are nearly always special things: a fabulous asymmetrical jersey dress, heavy Irish linen trousers, printed silk tunic. (All of these can be seen here.) And that silk tunic, bless its lovely one-shouldered heart, is the reason I’m writing this today: it not only needs to be hung up, it needs special assistance in doing so. To wit: the addition of a hanging strap.

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