Thursday, July 08, 2021

Altered

Some of you know that I am working to reverse my diabetes.  A nice side effect from the process is weight loss.  So far I have lost between 18-20 pounds.  But that creates a problem.  My clothes don't fit so much anymore.  I have been slowly working on my blue jeans to adjust/resize the waistlines.  Here is how I am  doing it. 

First I get a few pair of jeans.  Today I pulled out three pair of comfy, lived in jeans. 
These just nearly fall off when I put them on until I get my belt on.   Note: I almost always wear a belt. For this method the belt hides the spots where I have adjusted the size.  

The three center back belt loops are key to making this easy. 

The pair below has a label right where I need to sew.
Off it comes!

I tore this one, but if you are careful you could sew it back on. 
I really don't care for it being there so I trashed it. 

Then I fold one of those three loops in to match the center loop. 
I don't pin or typically use this clip - it is there so I could get a good photo. 

For these I am sewing a simple dart at about half an inch. 
Notice that I sew back and forth about three times to add strength.  

Then it is repeated for the other side. 
Here are both sides sewn. 
Outside
And Inside. 

I didn't worry about thread color as it should never show, but you 
could match the blue or the thread color used to sew the seams on your jeans. 

I did the first pair one day when I was going to put them on.  
When I saw how well it worked, I decided I would do them all eventually. 
If I lose 10 more pounds, I will buy NEW clothes.  For the 
transitional period, this works. 

FYI  I have noticed that the seat is a bit baggy.  But I can live with that.  
Taking in that back center seam would make the pockets a bit too close. 
At least for now, my jeans fit nicely in the waist again. 
That is my Alteration "tutorial"  Ha ha. 




Until Next Time,  
Stay Creative 


Comments are welcomed. I will reply when possible. Of course if you are a "No Reply Blogger"- I can not reply. Links in comments will result in the entire comment being deleted.

7 comments:

Frog Quilter said...

Nice tailoring Gene. I have have had to do this as well. As for jeans well I just got the next size down and they still needed tucks.

A Left-Handed Quilter said...

That's a really quick and easy way to fix them - thanks for sharing!! - ;))

Barbara said...

Part of a quote from Great Depression days says “Make do or do without”. We all should pay heed. Well done, Gene!

Kathleen said...

Great job on getting by for a little longer. I have a pair of pants that required that and it really does work and gets you through until you are ready for that new pair. Congrats on your success so far.

Quilting Gail said...

Wonderful!!! You will find quite a few darts on my jeans ... but I don't wear a belt - so they would show, but I never tuck in my tops - so it doesn't matter!
Congrats on the weight loss! Keep it up!

JohninKent said...

You might get a better fit if you extend the dart to the yoke. That’s what I do when I alter cargo shorts or jeans that are a size too big.

Cheryl's Teapots2Quilting said...

Congrats on the weight loss. I hope the diabetes is getting better. I was lucky to keep several different sizes of pants in the basement. The last set is getting loose, so I may have to dig deeper to find a smaller size soon. I just dropped off 2 large kitchen trash bags of clothes that are too large for me.