adult clothes – Page 3

Making Pants Into Capris

I recently bought two pairs of pants at Goodwill. I needed some “new” work pants. I tried them on and was sure one pair would work. The other pair I wasn’t sure about – they seemed just a tad too short – like maybe an inch or so. After I got them home and washed them, I tried them on again. They just aren’t quite long enough for my taste. So, since there’s nothing wrong with them, I’m going to turn them into capris.

I tried them on and marked how long I want them to be.

Then, cut them remembering to leave an inch for the hem. I used the first leg as a pattern to mark where to cut the second one.

I wanted to have a small slit on the side, so I opened up the outside seam about 3″ on each side. If you don’t want a slit, skip to the last step to hem your capris.

Sew around the edge of the slit. If the seams are serged, you may need to undo some of the serging so that the seam will lay flat at the top of the slit.

Turn under 1/4″ on the hem and press. Then turn under another 3/4″ and press. Stitich close to fold. If you want, stitch again 1/8″ from first seam or use you twin needle.

Enjoy your “new” capris!

Making A T-Shirt Into A Better Fitting T Shirt

I have a lot of t-shirts that I love, but here in Florida it tends to be too hot for loose, baggy t-shirts. They’re just too long – too much extra material that makes them too warm. One of my favorites is my kitty shirt. I’ve had it for years (maybe 8 yrs!) and the kitten on it reminds me of one of our cats when she was little. So, I want to wear it, but I don’t love the fit anymore. I decided it would be very easy to make it more Florida summer friendly. I’ll resize it a bit and then remake the sleeves.

I know it doesn’t look that big, but the shoulders hang off as t-shirts frequently do and it just felt too big.

See all the extra material on the shoulder?

I want to get rid of that so it’s more like a fitted t-shirt…but not too fitted.

I’m following pretty much the same steps as I did here. First up is cutting off the sleeves. Cut close to the seam and don’t cut into the sleeve because I’m going to reuse it.

This t-shirt didn’t have side seams so I had to create them. I marked how far up I wanted the side seam to come and then I sewed down the sides tapering out towards the bottom since I didn’t want to take in the width to much. After trying it on (several times) and resewing a bit, I was happy with the fit.

Next I marked how I wanted to the new armhole shape (armscye) to look. Remember some of it was sewn as part of the new side seams so I had to make it a little bit bigger and take off some of the shoulder so the seam would sit properly. I tried the shirt on, drew a line, cut it, cut the other side to match, tried it, trimmed a bit, tried it on…you get the idea. Eventually I was happy with where the it sat. Just remember that a little bit will be taken up by the seam allowance.

Then, the sleeves need to be adjust so they fit the new armhole. Line the sleeve up and mark where the new underarm seam needs to be. In my picture it’s the red line. The black line is where the armhole seam will be. I sewed the underarm seam at an angle because I didn’t want it to be too tight.

Pin the sleeve seam making sure to line up the underarm seam with the side seam. Sew the sleeve back in.

I wanted to shorten the sleeves a bit so I tried the shirt on (again!) and marked where I wanted the hem. I used the rolled hem feature on my serger. Then, to make it look more like it came that way I also did a rolled hem on the bottom too. I serged just above the existing hem.

Rolled hem – I think it’s perfect for a casual shirt like a t-shirt.

Rolled hem on the sleeve – a little less bulky – perfect for the summer.

Now try it on one last time!

Resizing Adult T-Shirts

Do you have a t-shirt you love, but it just doesn’t fit quite right? Maybe you found it at a thrift store and thought it would fit. Maybe you lost some weight and it looks frumpy now. Maybe it’s just stretched out a bit, but still has lots of life left. No matter what, resizing adult t-shirts is pretty easy.

First you need a t-shirt that fits nicely. This will be your pattern. You can see here how the shoulders are too long and the sides are just a little too wide.

The next step is scary. You have to cut the sleeves off. Cut as close to the seam as possible and don’t cut into the sleeve. You’re going to reuse them after slimming down the body.Next, line up the neckline and mark where the sleeve seam is. I put a pin at the shoulder and side seams.

Draw a line (either real or just eyeball it) and cut the new line leaving room for a seam.

The sleeve hole is going to look really big because first we need to take the sides in a bit. Pin your new side seam based on your nice fitting t-shirt. Sew down each side and serge it if you want.

Now you can pin your sleeves back in and sew them back on. Make sure that you put right sides together. I normally do this by having the shirt wrong side out and the sleeve right side out. Then I tuck the sleeve into the shirt. Line up the underarm seams. Sew and serge if desired.

Now, try on your “new” shirt.