Sewing when your body keeps changing with weight loss or weight gain (hello menopause)
I have been working on one of my apps called Swifty Workouts all summer long (please do try it and who would have known I lost some weight!) I’ve thought about today’s video a lot and if it make sense to even do it. Do people really care about this? BUT I think it is important to talk about this especially since we are all going through changes and that maybe you finally decided to get healthier, eat better, move a little more and the scale is moving in your favor or you are getting older, you are learning all about menopause (I’ve been there) and your body is changing but you still want to wear your clothes. ESPECIALLY when you have put so much time and effort into them.
Here are some ways to still wear your clothes but add a few changes that will make them stand the test of time and the extra ten or those ten less pounds.
A. Shirring - This is especially useful in the back of a dress with a zipper or no zipper. That back panel on a dress. Add some shirring in this area. If you don’t need the extra room then the fabric /shirring doesn’t expand. If you do need some more extra room then the fabric expands while still hugging your body. Great way to add a good inch of fabric and some times that just what you need.
B. Elastic - I’ll be honest I’m not a big fan of elastic all over the place on a waist band BUT lets face it some times it is really useful if you add it in a discreet way like on the back of a waistband vs. all around. Again, some extra waist room if you need it. Super duper useful after eating salty foods and its 2PM in the afternoon and your body suddenly is expanding. But hey those tacos were so worth it and so was the extra salt on that lunch margarita.
C. Seam Allowance - I just used this one on my Tessuti Alessi dress. I was so uncertain how it all would work out so I decided to give myself an inch seam allowance on each side of my dress. You do the math. Front and back on two sides. That is some serious way to give myself some extra room in case I need some more seam allowance later on.
D Forgiving silhouettes - What do I mean by that… perhaps if you are doing a button down dress shirt dress give yourself some more room around the bust, the waist and the hips. Use a self made belt to fit the dress vs. letting it flow or add ties to it.
E. Stretch wovens - What do I mean by stretch wovens? Stretch cotton (Mood fabrics has a TON of them), stretch twill, gabardine, stretch denim. These have around 10% to 15% stretch via nylon, polyester or rayon, and they give you just enough stretch. I like to call it controlled stretch.
F. Heavy weight knits and Mid weight knits vs light weight knits - Stick with ponte/ Ponte Roma knits, interlock, double brushed polyester (gasp I said it polyester but let me tell you folks it does the job), sweater knits and cotton jersey. Stay away from rayon jersey, ITY or spandex anything unless you are working out or are going for the sausage casing look. Heavier and mid weight knits follow the contour of the body whereas the lighter knits tend to cling to your body.
At the end of the day, its about feeling good in your clothes. Usually this happens when your clothes fit well and you feel confident in them and that’s how you know you are ready to take on the world.
