Top altering

This was just a quick little alteration for my sister before she went on her holidays.

This was quite a baggy top, As it has no fastening or opening anywhere I couldn't just take it in as then she wouldn't be able to pull it on over her head.

So I came up with the idea of creating some little bias ties that she could then tie to pull it in.

 I wanted it to blend in with the fabric of the top so I used some fabric I already had. 

I ironed it in half the turned each edges into the middle so I could run up a top stitch and keep it all inside.

I then unpicked the sides of the top and put the binding inside.

 I then stitched it in & stitched over it to keep it secure.

The finished result.. so simple and easy.

How to Alter your Jeans

Another Little job that has been waiting around for me to complete for a few weeks now was altering this pair of Topshop jeans.

These were a great pair of high waisted jeans, that over a few years lost quite a lot of stretch in the waistband. This led them to be super baggy and not very flattering to wear. I finally got round to doing it.

Here's how.

These are what the jeans loo like now. I wasn't going to take a picture of what they looked like before, not the most flattering. I began by separating the waistband from the legs about 3" long at each side seam. While wearing the jeans I pinned them to get an idea of how much I needed to take out.

I then transferred this through to the inside and pinned the line that I would sew.

As you can see here, after I stitched the side seams the waistband is much bigger than the legs. If you were altering something with a simple waistband that is easy to put on and off you could take the whole thing off, make it smaller and put it back on again. But with the button and button hole, I decided to alter the waistband instead (The lazy option!) 

I turned the waistband inside out and took the same amount out of it as did the side seams.

Before I stitched the waistband back on, I cut down and over-locked the extra seam allowance that I now had. 

I stitched the waistband back on.

Super easy and saves me having to buy a new pair of jean. Now I can finally wear these great jeans again.

Floral Strappy Vintage Style Top

This is just a quick and easy top that I made using some vintage fabric. I loved the colour, making me excited for autumn. 

I started off with quite a small amount of fabric, I cut it into a square to begin with. 

I then marked up the areas I need to remove from the top including a dip in the front, back and also a drop for the arms. 

I then overlocked and stitched the side seams together, this image is what the top looked like before I 

created the bias binding and stitched that around the arm.

My arm hole is quite dropped so I wear it with a bandeau top underneath. The bias Is quite simple to do, I measured how much I would need by just putting the top on and wrapping the tape measure around where I wanted it.

I am really pleased with the out come of this. Lovely colours to wear in autumn with a big cardigan.