So in a perverse way, it's good to know there are others out there of small stature who have a difficult time finding a nice vintage blazer. I'm wondering - the trendy moniker for this particular item is called the "shrunken blazer," meaning it's slim-fitting and cropped. Do you think one could achieve this effect by washing a thrift store blazer in hot water to literally shrink it? I see the lining posing problems, but beyond that, I'm stumped. Has anyone ever tried it?
Posted by jess at April 12, 2004 9:26 AMOoh...this is tough...now I'm not small but I have the OPPOSITE problem of being rather large and tall....so I find myself having to alter MUCH larger clothes to fit me better height-wise..... I'd be worried about it shrinking unevenly. I think you'd be best to remove the lining around the bottom edge by snipping the threads, turning the thing inside out, and taking in the back seam or seams by 1/2 an inch on each side with big stitches or safety pins.......a little at the seam under the arm as well. Turn it right side out again, try it on, and if you've shrunk it enough, sew it up with a machine or small hand stitches.... and cut the fabric off. As long as you don't take in more than a few inches the lining shouldn't be a problem...but you can probably take it in in the same way if it shows under there. good luck!
Posted by: becca jo at April 12, 2004 10:20 AMoh, you are probably right... i just get depressed at the thought of my lame sewing skills trying to alter a blazer. still, these are great instructions, maybe clear enough even for me ;-).
yeah just go slowly, don't CUT anything until you're sure you like it! You can probably do it all by hand if you're careful....just make sure to do it evenly on both sides at the same time-don't try to pin one side, try it on, then the other. Also try working from the top down to the bottom.
If you washed it, it would also change the texture of the fabric and you probably wouldn't like it then. :(
My problem with finding blazers that fit is in the shoulders. Shoulders in blazers are almost always too wide for me. I did find a very cool blazer once that fit in every way except the shoulders and took it to a seamstress to have her cut down the shoulders. It was a little expensive, $15 I think, but worth it, because I'm sure I would have messed it up.
Perhaps you should buy a blazer pattern and some muslin and practice a bit on the actual construction of it, then it would be easier to understand where and what and how to change your one of a kind vintage ones.
Good luck.
Posted by: Jenn at April 12, 2004 1:18 PM