Decor To Adore

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DIY· Fashion

An Easy Way To Fix A Blouse That is Too Big

I recently spied a darling white blouse on a $10 clearance rack. The style was reminiscent of Kate Spade. I could easily imagine how versatile the blouse would be and began searching the racks searching for my size. There was none to be found. Don’t you just HATE that? My choice was either a size 2 (never gonna happen) and a size 12. The 12 was way too big. You can see a definite gap in the underarm area. But here is An Easy Way To Fix A Blouse That is Too Big.

An Easy Way To Fix A Blouse That is Too Big

An Easy Way To Fix A Blouse That is Too Big

Here’s another angle showing an improper fit.

An Easy Way To Fix A Blouse That is Too Big another view

How To Make A French Seam

I studied the blouse and saw that the manufacturer had finished the sides of the blouse with a French seam. You often see a French seam on pillowcases or sheer fabrics. It is, in essence, an enclosed seam that has a very finished look. You can find multiple tutorials on the web but they can sometimes be difficult to understand.

How to make a French seam.

I simply took the blouse and determined how much I would need to take in on each side for it to fit and pinned it in place on the right side (the outside of the blouse if you will). I then sewed a straight stitch using the existing stitched seam as my guideline.

French seam step 1

Here is another look where you can plainly see the front of the blouse and my newly sewn side seam.

French seam step 1 shown on blouse

You then take scissors and trim away the old sewn seam.

trimmed seam

Then press open the new seam.

Pressed seam

Then turn the blouse inside out and sew another seam that is wider than the seam you just have sewn. It literally took me less than 5 minutes to sew each side and create a blouse that now fits.

Finished blouse

You can see the gap is now gone.

Gap is gone

This $10 blouse has been paired with capris, skirts and Bermuda shorts. I love it!

Laura

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Comments

  2. Auntie Em says

    That is a cute top! The bling on the front is so pretty! Some alterations and minor repairs really are worth the time and effort when you find something you love and it's a great price. I am sure this will be one of those tops you get a lot of wear out of.
    Have a great weekend! 🙂

  3. Pat@Life At Lydias House says

    Great tutorial! You are a very talented seamstress! I recently found a skirt and jacket at TJMaxx. The only problem is the skirt is the right size and the jacket is 2 sizes too big so I am doing the same thing to my jacket. You know what they say, great minds think alike!

  6. Vel Criste says

    You so pretty Laura, anything your wear, big or small, ill-fitting or not, just looks good on you girl!

  7. Cindy (Applestone Cottage) says

    Excellent Laura!
    Very pretty and your turning into an amazing seamstress as well~
    Hugs,
    Cindy

  8. Jill Flory of Sew a Fine Seam says

    Great job Laura! French seams are great! I did a detailed tutorial a couple years ago on my blog – I need to do a new one now that I have a real camera and use Lightroom for editing!

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