Post by Sara Selepouchin

I haven’t bought a pair of pants in at least eight or nine years because I find almost everything about pants to be trying. Buying them is a pain and finding a pair that fits in all the ways that pants are supposed to fit… who can be bothered with that?

At last week’s Alterations class of the Philly Sewing Collective, we started the class by going around the room, giving our name and something about clothing that’s bothersome to us. So we went over a laundry list of how some pants can fit in the hips but not the waist, how the waist may be fine, but the length might be off, how the rise can determine how well the hips fit, etc., etc. And I felt little less crazy for avoiding pants issues altogether for almost a decade.

The class was really informative, as we covered how-to’s of hemming of men’s and women’s pants, altering length in garments, darting skirts and pants, and a host of other simple techniques for even the least skilled alterer. A great mix of hands on demonstrations and discussion (with a quick overview of why the garment industry sizes as it does), I left motivated to attack my wardrobe to rid it of all its ill-fittedness and almost tempted to take on the daunting prospect of wearing pants again in the near future. Or maybe not. But I did leave intrigued by the very being of the Sewing Collective, and completely excited about their upcoming four session class on zippers…

Learn more about the Philly Sewing Collective on their official website! Spring and summer workshops are held at the Old Pine Community Center on 4th and Lombard.

Philly Sewing Collective
www.phillysewing.org