I agree with what you said about “easy.” I just bought a sewing machine as a present for myself. I have never worked with a sewing machine before and am therefore an absolute beginner. So far I’ve completed little projects tweaking clothes I already own and I’m so happy with the results! Does it take time and effort? Yes. But, I’ve been so proud of myself and the results. I hemmed a tshirt that I never wore and I love it! Is perfect? Noooooooo. Would anyone ever notice that it’s not? Noooooooo! I’ve also turned a dress into a maxi skirt and removed elastic from the sleeves of a linen shirt and stitched it back up. I think the key when you’re a beginner is to try tweaking stuff you consider low stakes. The stuff that you’re just not wearing. What’s the worst that can happen? Once I had that mindset starting a project became much easier. That and realizing all of projects don’t have to turn out to be bangers. As far as something I’d like to see you do, you mentioned something about wishing you’d stabilized the sweater before you reattached the cuff. Could you demonstrate something like that and talk about when that might be a good idea? Thank you for your content. I truly enjoy your channel so much.
These are great hacks. I spent the day trying my hand at a couple adaptations for things for my daughter from thrift store finds. One thing I thought might be a good video is how to finish the project. Tips and tricks for the little details that maybe you do but don’t show on the screen. Tying up the seams, or the finishing touches that make it not look homemade or fall apart after a couple washes. Thanks for all your videos. They are inspiring me to do more projects.
At 5ft tall, I've always been able to hem some pants, but I have to agree that altering your clothes can sometimes be more intimidating than sewing something from scratch😅 It takes a lot of practice to understand how an easy fix can make something fit you better. I've definitely messed up some clothes in the process of learning, but your videos have been some of the most helpful for learning how to sew!
I love how the Byrdie button up turned out - it’s such a gorgeous shade of blue! For keeping white clothes white, I highly recommend percarbonate of soda (aka oxygen bleach and not to be confused with bicarbonate of soda, which is baking powder). It’s very effective and easy to use and environmentally safe too. It breaks down into oxygen, water and sodium carbonate (soda ash) during use. I thrifted an embroidered linen tablecloth recently and am planning to use it to make a button up shirt. It was discounted because it had a few tea stains in the fabric but I soaked it in hot water and percarbonate of soda and they came right out, plus the fabric was visibly much whiter too.
I really think the cardigan looked best straight, without that ribbed edge. Now I know how to fix all of my cardigans that are like that!! Really enjoyed your video.
So nice to see a woman sewing, which I really miss. My grandmother taught me how on an old singer. Maybe one day I’ll have the courage to buy a more modern machine…
Well-done, as always. I took a break from sewing today, and I've started clearing my closet of clothes I don't wear and saving the ones I would like to wear again that need attention. I repaired loose seams, reinforced a floppy collar, and shortened a shirt to the same length of one that fits me well. Three "new" old items have rejoined my wardrobe.
I like the purple buttons with the blue, it came out very pretty. Thank u for the cardi resize…that’ll come in handy when i shed some weight this year. 😀
After mistakenly “dying” a load of whites pink, I discovered that Carbona (in the laundry detergent aisle) makes a product called “Color Run Remover” for removing colors that bled onto others in the laundry. Works well.
Hi Casey! I never regret taking the time to watch a video of yours as I am constantly learning something each time I do! Thank you so much 🌸. A suggestion for a future video would be one on how to source affordable fabrics for wardrobe sewing. They can be so cost-prohibitive. It’s hard to spend a lot when one doesn’t even know, as an inexperienced clothing maker, how they will turn out in the end. It can be discouraging to spend a good amount of precious time and money to produce a garment one does not want to be seen in. Yet, each time I watch a video of yours I am inspired once again😊
Thrift the fabric. Use an old sheet to make your garment. Tweak this garment until you get a reasonable fit. Take apart, use as the pattern or adjust your pattern to match what you have now
I love hiw the shirt turned out. I didnt know there was a different RIT dye for synthetics. Never knew you coukd dye buttons. 😮 Makes me want to go to the thrift store & find a shirt to experiment with.
When you came on screen in that plaid shirt I thought "wow, those are her colours!" then you mentioned they were clothes you didn't mind getting dirty 😄 Looks like a great autumn/winter shirt 👍 I love these transformations, Casey - so well done and helpful! I've got some thicker knit jumpers (sweaters) and I think I want to alter them but I've been unsure how... Maybe I will just go for it 😉👍 I agree this is all do-able! Love your attitude 🥰
I really enjoyed this video. Learned some things. I loved the way you shortened the jeans leaving the original hem. How to shorten a cardigan. I’ve never dyed anything but now I might give it a try! Thanks! 🪡👗🧵🥰
O M G, this is the first time I have understood how to hem jeans, I have watched many tutorials and was never sure if I can do it and the way you explained this made me confident that I actually can. Thank you ♥ btw all of these flips turned out beautifully, I love how you altered the cardigan and the blue you dyed the shirt is YOUR COLOR, it makes you look incredible
I have sewn my whole life. First out of necessity and now out of love for creating or improving items of clothing or household things. Watching this video gives me ideas of things I can pull out of my closet that I haven’t been wearing for one reason or another and try to breathe new life into them so I will wear them. Thank you for the inspiration.
I hemmed my nephew’s jeans the same way (besides tacking them down on the side seams- definitely going to do that next time) so that they can grow with him as he gets taller and we can rehem them later on. Such a great skill to have!
Just be aware that the portion of the jeans folded inside may not fade as much as the outside, so when you let them down there may be a dark ring around the bottom of the jeans.
Thanks for a great video. You mentioned when reattaching the bottom band on the cardigan that you might would have stabilised it. Stopping it from stretching. How?😮. I have tried sewing cardigans my self and this is a reoccurring problem for me.
There's a product called "Wonder Tape" that works really well for stabilizing seams on stretch fabrics...it's just a narrow tape that can be placed along the seam before sewing that will eventually wash away. It works great!
I've been hemming pants this way since I saw it on Instagram. What a great way to hem. It is so easy. You gave three tips that I didn't know about and they will make this method even easier 1. zipper foot 2. move needle if necessary 3. tacking the sides (I don't cut the excess off either). I'm not a sewist but a quilter however, I have always tweaked clothes for a better fit, to change the style, ect. Thank you for the tips.
😂 I love your “soapbox” rant and fully agree! I’m also hoping this easy hidden hem will work on a pair of linen trousers with a deep hem sewn with decorative thread. Not something I want to try to recreate! Love seeing your design and redesign processes!
I used to take big batches of clothes from a wealthy woman in town and altered them to her shape each season. I don't usually do alts like that, but doing so in bulk on high end items really taught me a lot about luxury construction techniques. I don't have the patience to do the same for myself lol
The dyeing on your shirt is interesting. I also use DyeMore, but with room temperature 90% alcohol - to dye my synthetic wigs! A brassy blond mistake purchase can be toned to a nicer blond with purple dye. The wigs I buy are synthetic, not human hair. Basically plastic hair. Your tutorials are priceless. I am now going to shorten some pants. Thank you!
Thanks for the hem idea. Never thought of that. I have to hem a lot of pants and being able to keep the original look is great. And thanks for giving me courage to cut a band off a sweater and sew it back on.
So satisfying! I have always had the same issue with cardigans...too boxy, too blouse-y, too long. I'll never understand it. And that blue ended up being a really pretty colour! Thank you for saying that 'easy doesn't mean zero effort'. I think that, with all the quick cut, sped up shorts and reels that make it seem like things can happen in 60 seconds, people think that anything that takes more time than that is hard. I feel like it might be as much or more of a patience/attention issue than actual 'ease'. 🤷♀ Also, if the shirt dress you're wearing is the pattern you're working on, it's looking great...the pockets are so cute! 🙌
That is so true: we are constantly "served" so many quick, sped up tutorials (which is ironic bc videos like that still require a large energy and time investment to create)! I've been leaning into a sort of anti-instant-gratification-on-social-media ethos lately haha. I think we sell ourselves short if we aren't willing to give time and energy and patience to the things we want in our creative lives (and beyond)! There is no easy button...and that would be boring anyway! :) And yes that shirt dress is one of the patterns in the works! Today I'm watching netflix and annotating the pattern pieces!
I always have to shorten my extra long jeans- need the length through to the knees!! Thank you for showing an easy way to shorten them while keeping the original hem 😊😊❤
I enjoyed watching you dye the shirt. Never seen this done before. Great idea for old white shirts that get dingy over time. Never thought of taking that band off of cardigan. Thanks for the inspiration!
❤ Starting my Saturday morning with my smart girl Casey and coffee. I have always thought refashioning is more challenging than a new make. You make this seem a lot less overwhelming. I didn’t know about the two types of dye, I learned something so thanks Casey.
Great video. You are so stylish (as well as talented). What I really love about this particular video is it highlights your RESOURCEFULNESS. A skill that more individuals need to learn today.
I have never dared to fix knitted clothes, but you have made it doable. I guess I shouls think about them as stretchy fabrics. They are nor my favourite to sew but I can do it, I think 😊
I really appreciate the techniques in this video and the blue shirt is fabulous. Thanks for doing the cardigan-you make it less intimidating! I have sewn most of my life and think that having an understanding of garment construction goes a long way for doing alterations. I try to go through my closet each season to see how I can make what I have fit better and be more on trend.
Awesome projects! I’ve been interested in learning to dye for years. Your thorough video makes me lots more confident. I’ve been sewing for more years than I want to admit but never did much creative altering. New vistas to seek!
Thanks for showing this. I have a lot of clothes I want to ‘fix’. I’m 5 ft, large bust so for years bought large or above. Now I’ve realized I was way out on buying large to basically hide. So now I’m going to cut them down to a medium at least. Thanks again. There are very little books on changing your existing wardrobe.
I've had a bunch of things I've meant to dye but have been a little bit intimidated to try -- this actually does look pretty easy, and i'm feeling emboldened after this video!
I love the new colour of the shirt! It really suits you. I always plan ahead and use cotton thread when I'm sewing white clothes for the very reason that I know I'll have to dye them at some point, and I'd much rather use the washing machine method. The Dylon washing machine dye is really easy to use and works well on natural fibres and viscose, in my experience. Fun and approachable video, and I loved your 'don't be so damn lazy' (I'm paraphrasing) soap box moment 😄
Thank you so much for this information! I have so many sweaters and tops that are too long but I was always afraid to cut them down like you did. I realize that this might not work for some looser sweater knits, but you've definitely opened up my eyes to a whole new possibility.
Love all the changes you made on the clothes. Today I did a similar thing to several pieces of my wardrobe. To be honest I think sewing one's own clothes doesn't mean you won't make changes later. It is a challenge for me because taking out seams is more work than starting from scratch. I learned tips from your video today and thanks
Good morning. I am a first time viewer. I have to say, thank you very much for this video. I have recently lost over twenty pounds and didn't want to get an entirely new wardrobe. So all my clothes make me feel frustrated. Other than completely cutting them down I was unsure of how to tailor them. Thank you so much. ❤❤
Just found you and subscribed. I am not a seamstress never made clothes, but I am trying to thrift my wardrobe more. Hoping to find easy tricks to make things fit better.
You gave me an idea for a slightly yellowed, but otherwise well-made blouse that I purchased: dye it! By the way, I have recently begun exploring dyeing fabric to make garments in a color that I need to pull an outfit together. Sometimes you can't find the right color in fabric or ready to wear! I am starting with the Dharma Trading Co dyes - their colors are AMAZING and the directions on site are clear as a bell. I hear that their customer service is excellent. I have no affiliation, just a new customer...
❤the sweater makeover. Now I know what cutting the cuff of commercial sweater looks like II will be doing it as well. Love the denim blue of the blouse. I have a number of dyes ready for use for different fibres Have been doing my jeans your method but will leave the hem on next pants. Loved the show
I love this video! I didn't think I would enjoy it so much, but you kept it simple, like you said, they weren't huge transformations, but they made a big difference! I really like to watch the process and your explanations are easy to understand. I should do more alterations to my clothes, but I'm so scared of messing up. I would love to see how to alter a too high elastic waist pant into a lower (natural) waist.
Excellent video, and great flips! Just a little tweak to a garment helps save money by prolonging the life of the garment or by making it wearable instead of wasting money on a piece of clothing that won’t be worn.
Just did my new pair of jeans last week and cut them off, now want to make them a little longer. Great tip for leaving the length on the inside. Also like the cardigan modification. I feel like these never fit me! And I never would have thought to dye the shirt! GREAT idea.
Great video! I'm 5'-11" and have long legs and a long torso. I almost always have to purchase tops in a larger size to get the length I need, then I take in the waist. Thankfully, pants have come a long way since my younger days (more length options). Years ago, I had to let down the hem and take in the waist on all of my jeans/pants. I'll definitely like your hemming technique.
-liked the sweater fix best. Think I might try. Would LOVE to see how to remove hoodie from knit sweater, not a sweatshirt. Hope that makes sense. Thanks
The jeans hemming technique is wonderful - gotta try that one! I have mixed results when I try to take things in that are too big, the way you did with the cardigan - I would like to see how to take in the waistband on a pair of jeans as I have tried to do that twice following a video online and didn't get good results - looked so easy in the video and not so easy in person for me, unfortunately.
I love this type of video because it makes me really take a look at why I'm not wearing some of my clothes to see if there are fixes for them. I have just finished crocheting a duster length cardigan that would be worn as an outerwear item. I love the color, I love how it feels and fits through the shoulders and chest area, the length is comfortable but it just is not flattering because it's shapeless. Reminds me of a robe. I'm thinking of adding darts so that the waist is more defined. I have room to do this but don't know if they should be along the sides or in the back. Wondering if you have a video on this type of alteration?
