Can I be honest? I don't enjoy doing alterations for others.
(I know that so many sewers can't get enough of them.)
I am willing to do them for family members, however. I shortened a pair of shorts last week for Michael (which involved removing a cargo pocket so it wasn't such a breeze) and today, my mother showed up for lunch with not one but two tunic tops she'd picked up, both way too long and one also needing the (cuffed) sleeves shortened.
I think if these were more costly items I'd mind a bit less, but it feels like a waste of (my) time and energy to spend an hour or two altering some schmatta from Marshalls.
Here's the first one: it only needed shortening. (My mother's probably barely five feet tall at this point.)
The blue tunic, up top and below, needed more work. I ended up removing the cuffs (my menswear sewing class came in handy as I knew precisely how they'd been attached), cutting nearly 3" off the sleeves and then reattaching the cuffs.
It definitely looked better but was it worth the trouble?
I guess I figure that someday, after she's gone, I'll be glad I took the time to tailor her tunics.
Before her arrival, I managed to finish my cotton-linen pants. I added patch pockets in back and belt loops. Now I just need to hem them. A number of you have asked what machine I made these on. Unless I say otherwise, I'm always always sewing on my Kenmore 158.141. It's a great no-fuss vintage zigzag machine that easily converts to straight stitch (and can use Singer feet). Plus it's in a table in my living room where there's lots of light.
And that was my sewing day!
In closing, two questions:
1) Where do you draw the line with doing alterations for others?
2) Are there some people you simply can't (or won't) say no to?
Have a great day, everybody, and be sure to tune in for tomorrow's vlog!
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