How to Make Sewn in Blouse Shoulder Pads Removable

Some women will tear the shoulder pads out of a garment immediately after purchasing it. Others love the look and feel that shoulder pads offer and leave them in. But there are still others who feel differently about shoulder pads depending on the occasion. This solution is for them; it's a cheap, easy and effective system for making shoulder pads simple to remove and re-install. It also makes it possible to remove the pads prior to washing, which will greatly extend their lives.

Things You'll Need

• Velcro sticky tape
• Scissors
• Clothes hanger

Instructions

1. Turn a new garment (with the shoulder pads still sewn in) completely inside-out.

2. Either tear the shoulder pads out (if they're sewn in lightly enough) or use scissors to snip the stitches.

3. Hang the garment on a thick plastic hanger without turning it right-side out again. Hang the hanger on a shower-curtain rod or closet clothes rod. Hang it somewhere where you have a clear view of the entire garment and can reach both shoulders.

4. Use the scissors to cut four strips of industrial-strength Velcro sticky tape. The strips should be about 2 inches long.

5. Peel the backing off one of the strips and carefully place it over the center of one shoulder of the garment. You should still be able to see where the shoulder-pad stitching was, so it will be easy to align the tape properly. Repeat this step with the other shoulder.

6. Peel the backing off another one of the strips and carefully place this one over the center of one of the shoulder pads. Again, look for where the stitching used to be to find the right spot, and make sure that you put the tape on the top or convex side of the pad. Repeat this step with the other shoulder pad.

7. Turn the garment right-side out. Press the Velcro strips together to install the shoulder pads, and simply pull them off when you don't want to wear them.

Tips & Warnings

• Remove the shoulder pads before washing the garment to make them last longer.

• The tape inside the garment should last through several washings. If it ever comes off in the laundry, it is cheap and easy to replace with another strip.

• If you intend to sometimes wear the garment with no shoulder pads and with no sleeved garment underneath, you may find the Velcro strips to be scratchy and uncomfortable against your bare shoulders. If this bothers you, you can always pull off the strips and re-install new ones later, but this is something you should consider before making the modification taught in this article.

• Removing the shoulder pads from a garment may make it impossible to return to the store.