Fixing up the clothes

In that pile of clothes I bought at the Goodwill a few weeks ago were a few things that needed a little help.

This tunic and those black pants are both double knit, indestructible, polyester. Oh I have a weakness for polyester. I love the retro appeal, I love the never-fading eye blinding colors, I love that I can toss it in the wash every day covered in snot and food and it will come out looking great. The only problem is that most of the polyester stuff you find around nowadays is something that was made for someone to wear on their way to Bingo.

When that tunic came home, it was a giant square. It hung off of me like a cardboard box, and if you are a largely chesticular lady such as myself, that makes you look ENORMOUS. All I did was take those side seams, draw in a curve for my waist, and sew on the line. Now you can see my actual shape, and this will work for everyone. Whether or not you’re happy with your particular shape, nobody is shaped like a square. It is *the simplest* adjustment to make, but you’ll get so much more enjoyment out of your clothes.

These pants crack me up. They are elastic waisted, they pull up past my rib cage, and when I bought them they were straight legged. Just begging to be worn with a pair of orthopedic shoes. But in my beloved polyester, I sensed real possibility.

My legs have always been one of my favorite features, so once leggings came back in style I hopped on that train but quick. I have gone through more pairs of leggings than I can even keep track of, and it is endlessly frustrating to me how quickly they wear out. If you can even find a pair in the first place that is not either too sheer or shiny with spandex.

I took down the hem, measured in where I wanted the ankle, and drew a line to just above the knee where the pants were already form fitting. Then I sewed on the line, cut off the extra, and re-hemmed. Now I have a set of super slim pants to wear with my tunics that will never wear out.