3 Alteration Tricks To Make Sewing Easier

Whether you’re a beginner or an expert in sewing, it’s always nice to have a few tricks up your sleeve! Check these alteration tricks by Downtown Tailoring on YouTube and see which ones have you seen before and which ones are you willing to try.

Materials:

• Button, use the flattest one that you can find
• Seam ripper
• Ban-roll
• Thread
• Sewing machine
• Scissors
• Pins

Directions:

Step 1

When sewing thick materials like a pair of jeans, make sure to raise the tension on your machine, then find the flattest button that you can, and use it to sew jeans easier. Simply lift the pedal, then insert the button underneath, and proceed to sew the jeans. Another trick that you can try is when hemming a silk dress. Hang the dress for a few days before doing an alteration to the hem, then trim the dress a little bit to even it out, and use a silk thread when sewing a silk material. Place the strip of ban-roll along the edges, then fold the edges of the hem a bit before folding it over on the roll itself, and sew all around the bottom.

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Step 2

When you want to alter a saggy neckline, you can either sew a bit of elastic inside the neckline to gather the materials or hand sew the middle with 3 to 4 stitches. If these don’t work, then you might want to start to open the lining of the material, pull it out, and remove the under stitch. Fold the neckline in half, then find the midpoint of each side and sew small darts on them. Set the length of the stitch to maximum, then release the tension, and sew. Pull the thread a bit to lightly gather the neckline. Set the machine back to the original setting, then sew the materials back together, then press the seam nicely.

*Thanks to Downtown Tailoring via YouTube for all images used here. Watch her video tutorial below for more alteration tricks!

3 Alteration Tricks To Make Sewing Easier