How to Alter a Pair of Pants

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Debrah, and I'm at Deluxe, a resale clothing boutique, in Eugene, Oregon, and today, I'm going to show you how to alter a pair of pants, and if you need to take in the sides of the pants, I put them on inside out, and then while you have them on inside out, you can pinch along the seam, and then pin it, while it's on your body, and you have to start in an angle, that blends in gently, with the original angle, making sure that there is no rivets, or anything metal, or double stitching, and you can make your pin lines, all down the side of the leg, after you've put them on. Now, if one of your legs is fuller than the other, when you have the pants on inside out, it will be the opposite leg, when you actually put them on, so make sure if one leg is fuller than the other, you make that leg looser on the opposite leg, because when you turn them right side out, it will be on the proper leg, so what I do, is after I've pinned it, however I need it, I take a piece of chalk. You can take a regular piece of chalk, and then you can mark over the pins to get a line, so when you take your pins out, you still know where your line is, and it makes it easier when you're sewing, to follow that line chalk. Now, when you get to the bottom of the leg, you'll have to determine from the knee down, whether the excess material, is going to be taken in on the outside of the leg, or on both sides of the leg. If you have bell bottoms, you'll need to take in on both sides of the legs, and when you get to the bottom of your pant leg, after you've sewn that bottom edge, you need to backstitch it, so that doesn't open up, and that's how you alter a pair of pants."