You will bring in a garment that doesn’t quite fit right, and we will alter it in class. You will go away with a well-fitting garment and the skills to repeat the process on future pieces. You can bring in something you’ve made or a ready-to-wear garment that you’ve bought.

This class will focus on alterations. If you are looking to completely overhaul your garment with new fabrics and significant style changes, you might prefer our popular upcycling class (link to upcycling).

Sewing Level: Intermediate

You will need to be able to comfortably use a sewing machine, as well as have a basic understanding of how a garment goes together. Ideally, you will have sewn at least one garment already. You don’t need to have any knowledge of alterations or advanced sewing; we will walk you through your adjustment step-by-step.

What you will need to bring:
 

• The item you want to alter

• Matching thread

• If you are wanting to make something larger, you might need to bring some extra fabric that matches.

As you will be trying your garment on in class, make sure you’re wearing something that your piece can easily go over. Leggings and a tight shirt or vest are a great example if we are fitting a dress, but anything is fine as long as you can put your mock-up on top and we can get a good idea of how it will fit you.

FAQs:

Can I alter a garment for someone else?

Yes! As long as they are willing to hang around for the first half of the class to be your fit model. It will be impossible to fit a garment on someone who isn’t present.

I’m not sure if my item will be able to be altered!

That’s okay, bring it in, and we can assess it in class. It might be a good idea to bring a backup piece to alter just in case.

My garment is too small/short, what fabric should I bring?

The most important thing to think about when bringing in a fabric to use to extend a garment is the weight of the fabric. For example, if you’ve got jeans, you will want to bring in denim or a thick trouser weight fabric. If you’ve got a t-shirt, you will want a t-shirt weight fabric. Have a feel of your garment and try to find a fabric that matches the weight, stretch, and texture. Contrasting colours can work surprisingly well, but the weight of the fabric needs to be close for the best results.

 

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