In the last post I revealed a clue to my whereabouts and this time I have more clues as I move from place to place…see if you can recognize any of them:
With 4 days left in the 3 week adventure we have logged over 1000 miles on the rental car, visited every relative, found lots of dead relatives in abandoned graveyards, had a delightful visit with fellow blogger Kim and been maneuvering scary winding mountain roads and watched fishing boats, but the best has been saved for last…the 11 hour flight back home with a 7 hour wait for the last leg of the journey.
Having never left home during the bridal season before, I have 13 anxious brides awaiting my return in order to make their dream dresses to some flattering. Below is a post I made of some simple alterations on some my own clothes before I left, maybe they might help you too.
When you spend 75% of your time sitting on the floor reaching forward to pin hems, you quickly realize that sleeves, even short ones can be “grabby”. Most of my tops are bought online and are knits but even with knits, some are more stretchy than others.
The answer to making sleeves with more ease is adding a godet/wedge of fabric at the hem decreasing at the armhole.
Great…but where do we find matching fabric? This is a dress with hidden side seam pockets. I’m not a pocket girl so I removed both of them and cut them into the wedges I needed. Yes, I know it is not an exact match but beggars can’t be choosers and no one will know.
Once the seams are trimmed and the hem is sewn, it fits great with ease. The right photo has the side view and you can see in the lower half how the wedge blends in.
Another dress had the same issue but the wedge would have to be a bit more creative as it was half solid kit and half sheer knit. So, I made wedges that would almost be the same. The sheer knit is doubled and the solid knit is serged/overlocked on the wrong side. I start with a rectangle and just pin to the exact point where it stops at the underarm seam. It ends up being a triangle but if I cut a triangle to start with it would have been a real hassle to pin those sheer edge to each other!
After the wedge is sewn and the seams trimmed and pressed away from the wedge…it blends in too.
The side view shows the wedge and it fits. 
The last photo is of a tunic, again with a tight sleeve but I had no fabric that matched so I just cut some black knit as it co-ordinates with other black sections.
The side view looks OK too:
Wishing you the best weekend of sewing!
Sorry to those who left comments last time, our internet connections have been so dismal along the way that replying was impossible.
fit for a queen 
I remember my mum letting out the lace sleeves of her wedding dress the same way , so that I could fit into it for my wedding. nice memory
So simple and no one will be looking at your armpit for alterations!!! Ha ha
I can just imagine all the brides lined up outside your door as you pulled in!!!! sleeve insets make such a difference to the comfort of the wearer…. they must have been delighted, (thank goodness for pocket fabric)
meant to say pulled in to your driveway in your car, home from your journey – sometimes when I type I forget I use expressions local to me
Thankfully I have 3 days before the brides wander up the pathway….just enough time to wash smelly damp clothes from living out of the suitcase!
Mrs. Mole you are amazing! Happy to hear you are having such a good time in Merry Ol England🤗 Looking forward to hearing all about it…safe trip home my friend💕
Finally back home and back to work. Lots of photos and miles spent in the rental car makes you realize how calm home can be and the beauty of your own bed…ahhh.
Your sleeve inset tips could not have come at a more perfect time. I just sewed up a top that, due to fabric choice as much as fit, did not have enough ease. Triangles inserted and functioning nicely. Thank you.
Hooray, Janet…neat solutions can be found all over the internet…I love finding them!
Sort of a reverse gusset, and genius either way. Happiest holiday!
Thanks, Erniek3, simple triangles can help a lot! So happy to be back home after 3 weeks of living out of a suitcase!
I’ve done this to a couple of knit tshirts now. Makes such a difference. Because of my auto-immune bloated tummy, I’ve added godets to the side seams too. It’s an easy fix as knits don’t fray. So much more flattering.
Looks like you had fun on your travels.
Small fixes don’t have to be fancy do they Kathy? As long as they do the job and sort of match…the solution is found! The trip was wet and hectic but we covered lots of ground and saw every relative living and dead. Now it is time to get back to work!
Glad you had fun in Blighty., have a good trip home and put your feet up for a while before waving the magic wand over the way too small, wrong length, hopelessly ripped dresses.
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