Clothes transformation: Adding details to cuffs

I decided to add some detail to the cuffs of my capris since I dragged out the sewing machine. Adding a strip of patterned fabric to the cuff seemed like a good idea. 

Upturned cuff (underside to work on)

Decide on the fabric and cut a strip approximately:

Length: The same as the capri/pant leg +seam allowance (I'm not a gifted seamstress, so decided to err on the side of caution and added 5 cm as seam allowance)

Width: Width of cuff, 0.5A (shown in drawings) +seam allowance (I chose to add 2 cm on each side for the seam allowance, hence the width I used was 0.5A+ 2*2 cm)

Pin the fabric strip into place covering the cuff

Pin the seam allowance on the underside of the cuff

Machine stitch the seam allowance on the underside of the cuff in place (I used a zig-zag stitch so I wouldn't have to worry abt the fabric fraying) 

Machine stitch the other seam allowance (don't worry if the stitch isn't straight, this stitch will be hidden once you fold up the cuff) 

Fold up the cuff and machine stitch the cuff in place (you can skip this step if you don't want to make the cuffs a permanent part of the capris)

I used a straight line stitch to ensure the cuff will remain but any stitch should do. The zigzag stitch you see is the one used to secure the seam allowance and effectively 'locking' the fabric strip into place at the cuff.

What the cuff looks like after you've folded the cuff (there are no visible stitches in sight

End product hanging on the wall

Difficulty rating: 2 out of 5
Machine sewing: Preferred

Clothes transformation: Cuffed capris, part two

To cuff capris (or any pants/shorts), these are the real life pictures instead of the drawings showing in part one.

 The turned up section is A (as shown in the drawings)

Fold it down again and you get the visible cuff you wanted!

When folded down, the actual visible cuff is 0.5A length

Clothes transformation: Cuffed capris

I had a pair of trousers which were at the risk of being thrown out as bleach was accidentally split onto it. Luckily, the stain and hole, although big, was at the lower leg section. 

I decided to alter the trousers to capris instead, cutting away the stained area. And since I was at it, I might as well make them cuffed capris. 

This is a basic post on how to make cuffed capris/shorts/pants. I'll share how to add detail to the cuffed capris next Monday. 

First establish the length of the capris/shorts that you want. This length is "X" indicated in the diagram above. If you want a visible cuff of 0.5A cm, your pants would have to be "X cm+A cm+seam allowance".

Fold the pant legs upwards, showing the underside (underside is represented by the blue stripes). "A" is actually the length of the underside of the pants. In the case of a 5 cm cuff, "A" is 10 cm.  

Fold the underside section down to reveal the original side of the pants. The visible cuffed section is actually 0.5A in length. Visible cuff showing= 5 cm.

Sew into place by machine or hand. 

Difficulty rating: 1 out of 5

Machine sewing: No necessarily but preferred

Clothes ReConstruct - Too small T-Shirt

Apologies for the lack of before pics!

This was a nice punk sleeveless T-shirt which my well-meaning friends gave to me for my b-day, to indulge my goth phase.

But being size zero themselves, they fail to account for me being a fat girl whose flabby arms will strike men blind!

However, I was determined not to let them down, and took apart an old checked shirt, and cut out the long sleeves. This ensures that I am still left with the main shirt for a vest later.

I then cut open the side seams of the T-shirt.

Measuring out 5 inch tall triangles from wider ends, I folded and quick-stitched them into place around the tops of the shoulder seams to form the top cap-sleeves. (which distracts from the flabby arms and makes them look smaller)

Measuring out 3 inch X 12 inch rectangles from the remaining material, I sewed them to the open sides of the T-shirts, so that the top is now my proper size (not size zero!).

The next time I saw them with this top on, I was greeted with squeals, on how their present suited me perfectly......

Difficulty level: 3 out of 5
Machine sewing needed: Yes

Clothes transformation: Expando jacket

I'm a sucker for a cheap buy. If it doesn't cost too much, and I think I'll use it in the future or if it could be a present for a fren, I'll buy it.

That is the reason why I have clothes that can't fit me. Ok, I'll admit that partly is due to an temporal blindness that I am one size, when I am in fact the next size up.

What to do in such cases?

You can either give it away in a swap or to alter it to fit.

1) Fold the jacket in half and cut along the length of the back. Using the tailor's chalk, mark 1/2 inch and 1 inch away from the cut length.

2) Measure the shoulder and back width of a jacket that fits. Calculate the amount of fabric needed for the panel. If the width of your normal jacket measures 15 inches, and the jacket you are expanding only measures 12 inches, the difference is 3 inches. You will need to cut 1.5 times the difference plus 1/2 inch on both side for seam allowance. In this case, the amount is (1.5*3 inches+2*0.5 inch seam allowance)= 5.5 inches.

In this case, I cut off the strip of fabric off the skirt portion of a dress. One side is hemmed, so I did not need to hem it again.

3) Pin the floral strip into place between the two cut halves of the jacket. Baste into place before using the sewing machine. Remember to sew an overlock on the raw edges of the fabric.


4) To further decorate the jacket, cut a piece of the same fabric as the strip and cover the button with it.

Finished look

Difficulty level: 2 out of 5

Machine sewing needed: Yes

Clothes transformation: Balloon shorts

I like the look of balloon shorts, but was also sure that they wouldn't be flattering to me.

One day, I bought a pair of shorts at a flea market and the cut tended to bunch up at the hips. I then decided to exaggerate the effect by turning it into balloon shorts.

My inspirations?

Extract from some DIY clothes alteration book (can't recall the title offhand)

Balloon shorts for sale online

1) Take a pair of shorts, preferably longer than your intended length. The pair here was given to me by a_slashie who bought the black version of my khaki pair.

2) Cut the hemline to the length you want less 1 inch. If you want the length of the pants to be X inches/cm, cut the hemline to X-1 inches/cm. You will need at least 1 inch to turn up the hemline.

3) Measure 1/2 inch marks from the seam. I chose to have 3 pleats, which means I marked 6 places of 1/2 inches. Fold the first pleat at the 1 inch mark towards the 1/2 inch closest to the seam. Pin and baste into place. Continue until you get 2 more pleats.

4) After pinning and basting all the pleats, turn up the cut hemline to cover the baste stitches. As the waistline for this shorts was cherry red, I chose to decorate the hemline of the shorts with a similar shade of red. I cut strips of red fabric and machine-sewed it to the hemline.

Finished look

Difficulty level: 2 out of 5
Machine sewing needed: Yes for the hemming

Clothes transformation: Black & boring to punk & edgy

I love black capris and pants. They go with everything, minimise attention to the lower body and are low maintenance. But black pants start de-evolving into a mouldy shabby black hue after sometime. In order to revive a pair of my old black capris, I decided to decorate it up somewhat.

The black capris were made out of a tough, denim-like material and that inspired a punk look. I still might just cut holes in the capris for an even grunger look.




1) Test bleach on a sample of the clothing. I hemmed the length of the capris and used the excess material to test how the bleach will look on the cloth.




2) Spread old newspapers on the floor and your intended workarea. Make sure it is not in an enclosed space, the fumes from the bleach can be quite toxic. Pour out some bleach into a container and dip a brush into the container (typical art supply brush shown here).




3) As I wanted to create the effect only on certain areas of the pants and to shape the areas of which the effect will be seen, I covered some areas with newspapers. Flick the wet brush onto the exposed area. After a few flicks, wait for the bleach to take effect before dipping the brush into bleach and repeating.



4) The pants will look somewhat like this. Here the effect is only on a vertical stripe as I only covered the rest of the capris with newspapers. Once satisfied with the effect, continue to do another area until satisfied.

Finished product


Close-up of the effect

Difficulty level: 1 out of 5

Machine sewing needed: No

Clothes transformation: Long skirt to summer dress

What are the ways to transform a skirt?

I loved the colour and the asymmetrical hem of this skirt but didn't like the length. After languishing in my closet for a while, I decided to do something so that I would wear it more often.

Original long skirt

With the help of parts from another dress, I decided to sew straps to the waistline of the skirt and to create a sash out of the same material. The straps and sash were a deep magenta pink, which matched the purple accents in the paisley design of the skirt.

Straps sewn on skirt and accompanying sash

In addition, I decided to use a cute ribbon brooch to secure the sash in place. In the above picture, the yellow & brown ribbon brooch is on the left and sash on the right.


How it looks when you secure the sash

The final look

Difficulty level: 1 out of 5

Machine sewing needed: No