Bridal – The Sewing Garden

Should You Charge A Minimum Fee For Alterations?

I get asked this question alot. Should you charge your customers or friends a minimum fee for alterations? Well, let’s take an example. This morning, I found a bag on my front porch. Inside was a pair of workout pants: The customer called to say that there was a hole in the seam at the…

Celebrate With Me…It’s Free!

By: Linda April 27, 2012May 1, 2023

UncategorizedAlterations, Bridal, eternal life, forgiveness, Jesus, salvation, sewing, tailoring, wedding19 Comments

Today is the 3rd anniversary of this blog and I thought you might like to know how it all started. About 6 years ago, a customer came to my door needing his suit jacket altered. As I spoke to him about the changes that needed to be made on it, he asked me if I had…

Altering the Shoulders on a Jacket

A customer brought me two jackets to take in at the shoulders. Both of these jackets had shoulder pads, too, which she wanted removed. You don’t see those much anymore! The other jacket can be found in the post entitled, A Finely Tailored Jacket. Both were custom made in England for my customer and they were…

Just a few things….

By: Linda April 26, 2011September 24, 2017

UncategorizedAlterations, Bridal, veils3 Comments

Hi everyone, I thought I’d stop by and say hi today. I hope you and your families had a wonderful and blessed Easter. It’s an amazing gift….the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To think that we can spend eternity in heaven, not by trying to be a good person, but…

How To Take in a Dress with Piping

By: Linda February 14, 2011March 24, 2021

Alterations, Bridalbinding, Bridal, cording, homecoming, how to alter clothing that has piping, how to make pillows with piping, how to make upholstery with piping, prom, strapless, wedding dress4 Comments

This formal dress has piping that goes all along the very top edge. (Piping is cord that has been covered with fabric to make a nice decorative feature on a garment.) This dress has to be taken in at the bust area, which means I need to alter the piping when I take in the…

How To Fix Boning Issues

By: Linda August 24, 2010February 18, 2023

Alterations, Bridalboning removal, Bridal, corset, homecoming, how to make a dress more rigid, how to put boning in a dress diy, how to stiffen a dress, prom, stiffening12 Comments

I’d like to address how to fix a few problems with the boning in your wedding dress, formal dress, corset , tops or really anything that has boning! Recently, a customer tried on a dress that just didn’t seem like it fit correctly in the bust. I knew right away that it had an issue…

French Seams

By: Linda May 27, 2010April 2, 2023

Alterations, BridalAlterations, Bridal, homecoming, how to alter a bridal gown seam, how to alter a bridal gown sleeve, how to make French Seams, How to take in French Seams, how to work with sheer fabric, lingerie, prom, sew, sheer fabric3 Comments

I want to teach you how to alter a garment that has French Seams in it. But, first, I’d like to talk about what they are and show you how they are made. The French Seam is a seam that is encased within itself so that no raw edges can be seen. You’ve probably seen French…

How To Shorten Spaghetti Straps

By: Linda April 22, 2010February 12, 2021

Alterations, BridalBridal, formal wear, Homecoming dress, how to fix straps on a dress, how to shorten long straps, prom dress, spaghetti straps, strapsLeave a Comment

Let me show you how easy it is to shorten the spaghetti straps on your dress. This is a prom dress whose straps were too long for the customer: On this dress, there are four straps on each side. But, the technique is the same whether you have one spaghetti strap or several. Not only did this…

How To Hem a Bubble Dress

By: Linda April 7, 2010February 11, 2021

Alterations, Bridal, HemsBridal, bubble hem, how to alter a poofy dress, how to take in a poofy dress, poof in a dress, pouf in a dress, prom, puckering in a bridal gown, puckering in a wedding dress, wedding18 Comments

Let me show you how easy it is to hem a bubble dress. Here is a strapless gown that a customer brought in earlier this week: Sometimes, if the dress isn’t overly long, I can just tack the dress up at random spots and stitch a bar tack in to hold up the hem. Most…

How To Shorten Shoulder Straps on Your Dress or Top

By: Linda February 11, 2010February 6, 2021

Alterations, BridalAlterations, baggy, Bridal, how to shorten shoulder straps, how to shorten shoulder straps diy, loose fitting, sew, shoulder straps, tank top, wedding gown59 Comments

When your dress or top needs to be taken up at the shoulders, the process is not difficult. Often, my customers will tell me to just stitch across the strap and cut off the excess. Yes, you can do a version of that, but it leaves a very large lump that doesn’t always lay flat,…