Harnessing your perfect proportions with the lost art of tailoring...

#StyleTip

In a world of mass produced garments, sometimes we forget that each body is unique.



I could rant for a full five paragraphs about how the decreasing cost of fast ready wear fashion has made it feel absurd to pay a tailor for alterations that will probably cost as much or more than the original item, but I won’t put you through it. 

Instead, I’ll just remind you that because you are one of a kind, your clothes will sometimes need an adjustment or two to serve you best. 

And one of the simplest alterations that helps a garment feel custom made for you is the hem. 

Here are two recent examples from my closet - pieces I had hanging around but hadn’t worn out yet because something just felt “off.” In both cases I shortened the hem and it made a world of difference in the styling possibilities and how I felt the pieces worked on my unique body. 

Another option here if I wanted to keep the midi length of the dress would be to let the hem out an extra two inches so that it cuts across the narrower point of the calf and gives the skirt a longer look. Midi dresses can prove trickier to find your perfect hem length. So don’t be afraid to have it adjusted on a dress that you love. 

Of course, it’s a lot simpler to hem up. But sometimes the adjustment that’s best for you will be letting the hem out (bringing it down). This is trickier depending on how much fabric you have to work with. But it’s always worth examining the possibilities. A little alternation can make the difference between a garment landing in your donate pile or your most worn pile.

3 Ways to Hem at Home

The most common hang up to having tailoring done is finding a good tailor you trust and deciding to invest more $ in the garment. But if there is one alteration you can DIY at home, it’s a new hem. 

Here are three ways you can fix your own hems:

1. Rolled Hem - cut off the old hem + more fabric if necessary. Fold up the fabric 1/4 to 1/2” up and iron (or press) the crease. Then fold that up once more and iron before taking the new hem to your sewing machine. Sew a straight stitch around to hold the hem in place. (This is the method I used in both of the above examples.)
2. Double-Sided Fusible Hemming Tape - follow the same measuring and folding method above, but if you don’t have a sewing machine, use this iron on fusible tape between the fold of the fabric to secure your new hem. Here’s a link to the tape: https://go.shopmy.us/p-21362667
3. Cut a Raw Hem - this method works great for thick sturdy fabrics that will fringe well like jeans. All you have to do is measure a straight line where you want your new hem and cut across. (Or with pants that are a bit too short, unpick the hem stitching and iron them flat for a new longer raw hem.)