Thursday, November 01, 2012

Bye-Bye Bells

I attended a clothes swap last week hosted by the theatre company my friend works for. If you've never been to a clothes swap, you should really try to find one in your area. Basically, you bring any clothes/shoes/accessories you don't want anymore, pay an entry fee, and get to take home as many of other people's clothes as you want. It was fabulous! Since I was kinda sorta working the swap with my friend, helping hang up clothes as they were brought in, I stayed the entire time. So at the end of the night, when last call was announced, I basically just went down the racks and grabbed anything that I might be able to do something with, whether it fit me or not. Wanna hear about my haul? I knew you would.

3 suits (one skirt suit and two pants suits)
8 dresses
1 pair of pants
5 skirts
4 tops
1 scarf
2 necklaces

A few of these pieces actually fit fine as they were (I mean, in addition to the scarf and necklaces, obviously). But now I've got plenty of refashioning material too.

Let's start off with those pants. They were chocolate brown, Old Navy bell bottoms, with a subtle, textured, pin-stripey thing going on. They fit perfectly in the waist, but those bells are just not my style... anymore.

Bye-Bye Bells - Before


Taking in pant legs is not that difficult really. Flip your pants inside-out and lay them on the floor/table. On top of them, lay another pair of pants that fit you well. If these happen to be the pants you're wearing, so now you're pinning in your underpants, that's cool; no one here is judging.

Bye-Bye Bells - In Progress

Now go ahead and pin down both sides of each leg so they'll match the width of your well-fitting pants. I started around mid-thigh, taking in just a smidge, then increasing down to the bottom hems to nix those bells. I also picked out the two little stitches holding the cuff at the bottom of the leg. I like my pants as long as possible, so every extra inch counts!

Alternatively, you could try on your too-big pants inside-out and pin them while they're on your body. This method is better if your two pairs of pants are different materials. For example, if your well-fitting pants are stretchy, and your project pants are not, then you might not want to take them in as skinny as the stretchy pants, or else they may not fit anymore. Just be very careful not to stick yourself while pinning around your legs.

Now just sew those new seams, trim your excess fabric, and you're finished!

Bye-Bye Bells - After

Bye-Bye Bells Before & After


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