This is my "new" summer outfit for around the house. I was really just looking for the pants, but came home with both the pants and top. I bought both at Value Village, pants about $5 and top about $4. I absolutely love the pants. They're roomy in the hips and legs, which allows me to do all sorts of physical work in them, without any binding or constricting.
The problem is this, they're at least a full size too large. I couldn't try them on at VV, as VV took out their fitting rooms in 2021. But I knew they would be too big anyway. I just didn't have a realistic plan for what to do about it.
My original plan was to make two darts in the back.
After checking online, the neatest way to take these in would be to remove the waistband, take in the back seam, redo the top stitching, add a seam to the waistband just above the back seam (to make the waistband the right size for the resized pants), then resew the waistband back on. That sounds like a lot of work to me. have any of you taken a waistband off of a pair of pants in order to take the pants in? What would you do to size-down a pair of pants styled like this pair?
For the time being, I'm borrowing my daughter's belt to hold the pants up. They're really great pants. They just are too big in the waist and slip down without a belt.
p.s. I love the top more than I thought I would. This length of sleeve comes to the elbow and conceals upper arm flab.
I think the last time I took a waistband off to alter something was when I was still at home and my mother was guiding me. It was beyond my skill level at the time, and I think it still is. I have to wear a belt with almost all of my pants, so I think that's the easiest way to handle a big waist. However, you might try stitching a piece of elastic to the inside of the waistband. I have found that that is my favorite length of sleeve, too.
ReplyDeleteIt is a beautiful outfit. I love the 3/4 length sleeve to hide arm flab too. 😂
ReplyDeleteI'm with Live and Learn. There's a lot of structure involved in a true alteration on them, and it's not "hard", but can be complicated. Also, you never know (even with a "good" name brand like that) how much seam allowance, etc., you'll find inside. Pants are always too big in the waist for me, because I have big hips, so I (fairly often) make two slits on the inside of the waistband, at around the side seams, thread in wide elastic (just be careful to keep it flat), then carefully topstitch the whole operation closed, right next to the belt loop, if there is one. Makes them comfy, as well as a better fit, if you get a nice waistband elastic. :) Glad you found such good deals! I need the arm flab cover, too, but I also like a little more cover from the sun. Sara
ReplyDeleteI've done the darts on the sides just in front of the back pocket panels and tapered the dart point so it blended right in.
ReplyDeleteAlice
My sister, who is a size larger than me, frequently gives me jeans and casual pants. I found a Youtube video from Classy Cheapskate that walked me through adding a small piece of elastic to the back. The most difficult part is using a crochet hook to pull the elastic through.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your suggestions on how to make my pants fit better! I'm going to have to give this all some thought. In the meantime, I'm grateful for belts!
ReplyDeleteI’m pretty awful at sewing but I do wear a belt almost everyday. They’re cheap at thrift stores!
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