Practice DIY Tailoring WITHOUT Ruining All Your Clothes
Learning how to use a sewing machine to tailor your own clothes to fit you properly? One of the most game-changing things that can happen in your life. Hands down. The way it changes the way you carry yourself and the way people perceive you is unlike anything else. I tell guys all the time that they will wish they started all of this sooner.
Like a lot of people you’re probably really worried about ruining all of your clothes getting through the learning curve right? Make sense. And you’re not a lone. That’s one of the #1 things that stops people from getting into DIY tailoring.
Practice is Obviously Key to Banging Results
Everyone knows that tailored clothes look 1,000 times better on them. They compliment your body perfectly, regardless of if you’re in shape or not. But the thought of putting a needle through your favorite dress shirt or a pair of expensive pants is valid, I get it.
When I first started tailoring my clothes, I had those exact same fears. My solution? I practiced on old clothes that I either didn’t like very much or knew I wouldn’t wear again if I ruined them. This included everything from old work clothes at my serving jobs (I know, I surprisingly didn’t throw them into a bonfire when I quit), to outdated chinos that I got for super cheap so I had at least something “nicer” to wear when going out.
After altering about five to ten garments, though, it hit me—I was getting really good at this and figuring it out quickly, but I didn’t feel good enough to start hacking away at my everyday casual wear.
Discovering the Fundamentals
You’ll be surprised to learn how quickly you get the basic concept of DIY tailoring down. It only takes a few hours to understand the fundamentals. Most people alter their first garment on a Friday evening, and by Sunday night they can handle themselves pretty well.
But truly feeling CONFIDENT…that takes a bit more practice. Despite following my tutorials that are designed to be super easy, you might find yourself holding back.
An Unconventional Practice Material: Bed Sheets
Before you rush out to Goodwill to buy more practice shirts or dive into your expensive garments, consider this : use a bed sheet. Yes, a plain old bed sheet. Most of us have a couple of these lying around, and if not, you can get one at Walmart for $5-$10 max.
Ah yes, good ole Wally World.
Get the flat one, not the stupid scrunchie one.
Here’s the game plan:
1. Get Yourself a King-Size Flat Sheet: Head to a local store or grab one online for about $5 to $10. Look for a king-size flat sheet with dimensions of 102 inches by 108 inches or 259 cm by 274 cm. Make sure it’s flat and not the scrunchie one that smacks you in the face at 3 am regardless of how well you put it on.
It doesn’t have to be these EXACT dimensions, this is just what mine was.
2. Cut That Bad Boy into Strips: Start by cutting the sheet lengthwise into a bunch if strips each of which are 4 inches or 10 cm wide. This will yield about 24 long strips.
You’re using your fabric scissors for this…right?
3. Keep Cutting Bro: Take those strips and cut them in half to double the number. Repeat the process until you have 196 strips of fabric.
With these 196 strips, lets say you put a stitch on each side lengthwise and you added 3 more in the middle of the strip. That would give you 980 stitches total. You now have 980 opportunities to practice all the different stitches (well 2) and DIY tailoring tactics without fear of running out of practice clothes.
What to Practice
With each strip, you can:
Practice Your Straight Stitch and Zigzag Stitch Game: These are the only two stitches you need to make your clothes look fantastic on you. That's it. They aren’t hard at all, but the zigzag stitch is one that some beginners can struggle with a bit. Now you’ve got 980 chances to screw it up.
Dress Shirt And T-Shirt Tapering Techniques: Use pins to create different types of tapers, then practice sewing along the pinned line as closely as you can. Practice making gradual tapers and avoiding making sharp turns with your hands.
Ironing Darts: Learn how to iron darts correctly, which is crucial for getting a dress shirt to fit properly. Practice creating a line and ironing that line into the strip without ironing at the wrong angle.
Work with Thicker Materials: Fold some strips to increase their thickness and practice sewing through them. This helps you get a good idea of how different fabrics and thicknesses behave under your sewing machine.
Push Your Sewing Machine’s Limits (Safely That Is)
As you get down basics as far as stitches and techniques, you can try testing your sewing machine’s capabilities and seeing what it can handle:
Adjust Needle Type: Find out if your universal needle is good enough for garments that are a bit thicker or if you need to upgrade to a denim needle. Sometimes things like chinos can be altered just fine with a universal needle if that’s all you have. Otherwise I’d suggest a denim needle.
Machine Settings: Adjust your machine’s settings to handle different fabric weights and thicknesses. Does it run through them like butter or does it start making the bad “sewing machine noises”?
You know, ENG ENG ENG ENG ENG ENG ENNNNNNNNNN…
Becoming a DIY Tailoring Master
Seriously, all it takes is a mere $5 to $10 and a weekend to practice with a bed sheet. It can dramatically improve your DIY tailoring skills and give you the confidence to tackle whatever garments you have in your closet.
RIP your poor-fitting clothes…
Ready to Tailor That Perfect Fit?
Once you’re confident enough, it’s time to make that dress shirt fit perfectly.
Remember, tailoring is not just about making clothes fit better—it’s about transforming how you feel in your clothes. So, let’s grab that bed sheet, get practicing, and clear the way to a more stylish, tailored look.
SD out, deuces!
