Anyone ever had clothes altered by a tailor?

LolitaLove

Hi

I've lost a bit of weight recently ......I work in healthcare, and have been told I'll have to pay to replace my too big uniforms myself....so instead of buying new, was just wondering if anyone knows how much it would cost to have them altered? I know it'll probably differ around the country, but approx....(I'm in the midlands area). It'd be tunics taking in, and trousers. Hopefully someone can give me a bit of an idea? Thanks

Quackers1

I've had clothes altered. To find someone try local sewing shops or recommendations from friends etc. The lady we use is reasonably priced and the work was excellent.

Tiddlywinks

How many sizes down will the items need to go?

What sort of uniform is it? Suit, overalls...?

If it's more than a couple of dress sizes down then that will require a lot of work to reset shoulders, but etc. It will not be simply taking in side seams.

The alterations may be as expensive as buying replacements to be honest.

Oh, and... congrats on your weight loss :T.

LolitaLove

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

How many sizes down will the items need to go?

What sort of uniform is it? Suit, overalls...?

If it's more than a couple of dress sizes down then that will require a lot of work to reset shoulders, but etc. It will not be simply taking in side seams.

The alterations may be as expensive as buying replacements to be honest.

Oh, and... congrats on your weight loss :T.

Thanks for your reply:)
The uniforms are tunics, and trousers...horrible polyester type material. The trousers are huge especially, and the tunics have lots of pleats, e.g at the back, for ease of movement when moving and handling etc.
There uniforms are discounted as they're from a central supplier so trousers are only a little over 12 quid. So a taylor would need to charge less than this to make it worthwhile....I need a lot taking off (three dress sizes) so I've got a feeling it will probably be cheaper to just replace them.
The tunics are only baggy kind of below bust down....my bust has stayed the same, so they fit around that area, but then they are really baggy around my waist and hip area, and at the back kind of mushrooms out. Do you think I'd get away with just taking in the side seams with the tunics...and do you know (roughly) how much it'd cost? The tunics are a bit more expensive so it'd probably make more sense to have them altered.

Sorry for being cheeky asking so many questions !:P Thanks again!

Tiddlywinks

Lay the item face down on the bed and look at the seams (with the pleating you've described it will be trickier) - which bits need to go in? As the bust does not need to be altered this may make it more complicated as the "balance" of the garment will not be the same as originally designed.

Looking at it flat, are there many seams that need to be undone and fabric cut out? Do you have a spare old one where you could take it apart and have someone pin it or tack it on you to see if it would be easy to do it yourself?

Around here, alterations are relatively expensive. You can be charged £12 for just taking up a hem. Your changes to the tunics sound like almost a re-make of the garment. Do you have any friends that could do it or mums of friends?

Owain_Moneysaver

Could you swap with someone who's putting on weight?

People who work from home and who advertise on cards in newsagents windows are likely to be cheaper than those who work from a shop or through a dry-cleaner.

Is there a staff noticeboard you could put a card up - 'alterations wanted'