taking it apart to put it back together

An alteration challenge becomes a lightbulb moment

A sweetie pie asked me if I could alter their partners family heirloom Woolrich work pants to better fit him as a gift. First off, so special. Secondly, gulp. I am an avid thrifter and have never come across or seen Woolrich pants in my life before, so to be able to work on them was equally both exciting and intimidating. I am self taught lest we forget! But I said yes because I love a challenge.

Once I got my hands on these relics I quickly realized the construction of these pants was meant to easily accommodate a broad range of sizes and quick alterations to the hip and waist by adjusting the back rise seam. I could already see remnants of past alterations shown in little tiny colored threads on the back rise - these had been taken out and taken in on repeat for who knows how long. This is nothing new. I discovered nothing. People have been doing this for decades. probably centuries. probably forever. Nothing to be afraid of.

The pants were able to be taken in numerous inches in both the waist and hips without cutting away fabric. These heirloom gems that once fit grandpa, are now able to be worn currently by the intended person in a size that comfortably suits their body right now. And later if that body needs the garment adjusted, they can still wear the same pants. Or if a totally different body wants to wear them…same pants. Yes there are limits to this concept, and not every single body can fit into these specific Woolrich pants, but with a rough 10” margin, that allows for a lot of use for one humble garment.

This naturally sent me on an anti-capitalist/fast fashion spiral which I won’t repeat here in full but……it really does make you think. There is a reason why they don’t make ‘em like they used to. And it has to do with making money.

I took this concept into practice with an alteration of my own for downsizing my skort. Instead of cutting away excess and serging the ends like I previously would, I made the adjustment to the back rise, kept the extra fabric by hand stitching it down, reattached the belt loop and boom - the alteration is completely imperceptible.

I’m going to take this concept with me for my next pair of jeans that I make - cutting roughly 4-6 sizes larger than my measurements and adjust inseams to what I would currently wear today. That way if and when my changing body does indeed change, all I need to do is make a few tweaks to a few seams and keep on trucking.

I’m constantly thinking about what it will look like to make and sell clothes for other people, and pants sizing is something that constantly stops me in my tracks out of fear of doing it wrong or doing it poorly. Thinking about constructing clothing in this way makes the process a little less intimidating.

xoxo leah