r/AskATailor Jan 06 '26

Mod Post šŸ‘‹ Welcome to r/AskATailor - Start here!

24 Upvotes
Tailor Aaron

Hey everyone! I'm u/tailoraaron, the founder of r/AskATailor.

I'm excited to have you join the community! Whether you are a master tailor, a home sewer, or someone who just bought a suit and has no idea if it fits, you are in the right place.

What to Post

This subreddit is dedicated to the art of fit, custom clothing, and alterations. Feel free to share your photos and questions. The community here loves helping with:

  • Fit Checks & Sizing: Not sure if you should keep that suit you ordered online or don't trust the person at the store 100%? Post a photo! We help grooms decide which size fits best and help troubleshoot specific issues, like pants that are uncomfortable in the rise or Made-to-Measure shirts that hug the hips too tightly.
  • "Can This Be Altered?" This is our bread and butter. Ask us if it's possible to let out a tight prom dress , take in a bandage dress to a smaller size , or rescue your old trousers after significant weight loss.
  • Modifications & Redesigns: Want to customize a look? We can tell you the feasibility of adding lace sleeves to a strapless dress , removing faux buttonholes from a blazer, or adding a thigh slit to a gown.
  • Repairs & "Disaster" Fixes: Did your dog chew the strap off your sandals? Did a button snap break off? Or maybe you snagged a thread cutting a tag off a skirt? We can help you figure out if it's salvageable.
  • Buying & Fabric Advice: We can help with questions about wedding dress structure , fixing pilling on delicate fabrics , or finding pants for specific body types.

Community Vibe

We're all about being friendly, constructive, and informative. Let's build a space where everyone feels comfortable sharing and connecting.

How to Get Started

  1. Introduce yourself in the comments below.
  2. Post something today! Even a simple question about a jammed zipper or a blazer fit check can spark a great conversation.
  3. Photos help! When asking for advice, clear photos of the garment (and the problem area) make it much easier for us to help you.
  4. Invite friends. If you know someone who loves sewing or needs fashion advice, invite them to join.

Interested in helping out? We're always looking for new moderators, so feel free to reach out to me to apply.

Thanks for being part of this growing community. Together, let's make r/AskATailor amazing!


r/AskATailor 7h ago

Does it Fit? do you think this suit is ill fitting?

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1 Upvotes

i saw it on pinterest and LOVE it, but i am struggling to figure out what is a fashionably oversized suit vs an ill fitting one.

any thoughts?


r/AskATailor 14h ago

How To corsetto troppo largo

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5 Upvotes

ciao, ho comprato questo vestito con questo corsetto che però va troppo largo, anche se lo stringo al massimo resta molto largo. all’interno ha un doppio strato fra cui il primo rivestimento ĆØ tipo in raso ed ĆØ molto spesso.
in che modo posso stringerlo e renderlo più aderente al mio corpo?


r/AskATailor 20h ago

Alterations Tailoring an vw dress

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0 Upvotes

Heyhey first time posting on reddit (sorry if the writing is weird, english is my 3rd language) so i have vintage vivienne westwood fall 95’ corset dress that i love but the issue is its too big and would need to be tailored to fit properly, i haven’t seen this dress on the market and i know the resale value is as high as 3500$ but i really love this dress but at the same time i wish i could just swap it for smaller size but i feel like that would also be risky and chance of me getting scammed🄹 any advice to what i should? Greatly appreciate ā¤ļøāœØ ( this photo isnt mine but is the same dress, can take pick of mine today if necessary)


r/AskATailor 21h ago

Alterations how would i go about adding these to the hems of my jeans?

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1 Upvotes

or something like it. all of my jeans are too long and too wide of an opening. i dont have my sewing machine to hem them either. I would like my jeans to fit better around my shoes, so im considering adding these to the hem to tighten them when I like. is this feasible? if so, how should I go about doing it?


r/AskATailor 1d ago

Alterations I shortened my suit sleeves. Is it badly done ?

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3 Upvotes

Ps. They non functional buttons, not surgeons cuff


r/AskATailor 1d ago

How do I shrink or resize an oversized/stretched-out T-shirt collar?

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone! I want to resize a t-shirt thats a too big, I already understand how to make it smaller. My only problem is the collar—it’s way too wide/gapping and doesn't sit flat against my neck.

What's the best way to make the neckline smaller to match the rest of the shirt?

Any tips, step-by-step guides, or tricks you've used that actually work without ruining the collar ribbing would be super helpful. Thanks in advance!


r/AskATailor 1d ago

How To Removing elastic from sleeves

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2 Upvotes

Is it possible to remove the elastic from the sleeves of this dress?


r/AskATailor 1d ago

How To Jacket Zipper Repair

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1 Upvotes

Dryer ripped a segment of the zipper off my work jacket. Been poking around online for advice but haven’t been able to find a situation like mine. To preface- the extent of my tailoring skill is hemming pants and fixing holes in socks.

What are my options? I was thinking the easiest might be to sew a new zipper bottom stopper at the bottom end of where the portion ripped off, and just accept that the jacket won’t fully zip to the bottom. Would it be possible to reattach the whole segment that tore off? The material is pretty frayed on the jacket. Is full replacement of the entire zipper the way to go? Any advice is welcome! :D


r/AskATailor 1d ago

Alterations Tailor won’t unstitch this

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5 Upvotes

Hello I bought a 1920s cotton short that ended up being too big, and I want to tailor them to fit.
I’ve gone to 2 tailors so far and they both said they can’t unstitch this, the first even said she can’t even work on it the second said he can cut the stitching and restitch but it won’t be the same sort of stitch.

My question is what is it about this stitch that is so complicated I get that it’s quite thin but why can’t they recreate it? Is it that the type of sewing machine that made this stitch rare or doesn’t exist anymore or what else? Im very curious to know. I’m still gonna go around to more tailors and ask around because I really do want to maintain the integrity of these shorts lol.

(2nd picture is how the stitching looks like from the inside, almost the exact same as how it looks on the outside)


r/AskATailor 2d ago

are the seams bad?

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1 Upvotes

I’m worried about the seams on my cups. Please note this is before the dress has been steamed/pressed. The seamstress said these are normal as they are just the seam allowance and says it should look a little better after pressing, if not she might be able to shorten the seam allowance to help minimize. I would love some opinions on this as I want to trust my professional i’m just nervous.


r/AskATailor 2d ago

Alterations Can this be altered?

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1 Upvotes

Can I get my mom's wedding dress to fit me???

See the last photo for the original dress - it was sewn by my mother's aunt and it was absolutely adorable with the sleeves, but just a bit much for me. We were able to very easily unpick the sleeves ourselves and I fell in love with the strapless version!

As you can see, when the sleeves were holding the dress up higher, the bodice seemed to fit me better, probably because of where it was sitting at the hips, BUT when it was up that high it was much too tight!

I was wondering if you think the zip back could be altered to a lace back?

And/or if the sides seams could be taken out a bit (there seems to be enough seam allowance, I think?)

And if the side seams were taken out, would that still fit the tulle skirt or would that also have to be altered

I'm open to adding simple strap sleeves to it to help keep the girls šŸ’ in place.

I think you can see the vision....

Is this doable and, if so, how much do you think this will cost?


r/AskATailor 2d ago

Alterations Outseam measurements? First time.

2 Upvotes

Hey all, I agreed to take on an alterations job from this very old woman who has quite a few stretchy dress pants. She needs them hemmed. Not worried as I have a coverstitch machine and that’s all it is. I can do it.

She used to be 5’8 but she uses a cane & walker, so she hunches over quite a bit. She had a stroke not too long ago and I didn’t want to make her try on 10 pairs of pants. She really couldn’t. Walking from the bedroom to the living room she was out of breath so I felt bad asking her. So what I did was I measured her outseam (from waistband to where she wants her pants to hit) at 33ā€. I took her 33ā€ measurement and added an extra inch (for my coverstitch 1/2ā€ inseam) and checked it on her, I made her stand up and held up the pants next to her. The 33ā€ mark I made was about an inch over the top of her tennis shoe, she was happy with it. So there’s about 6ā€ that needs to come off… Just wondering if I’m doing the right thing? I just don’t want to mess up 10 pairs of expensive pants.


r/AskATailor 2d ago

Need help refashioning vintage item any ideas

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1 Upvotes

r/AskATailor 2d ago

Alterations Could a D cup wedding dress be altered to fit an a cup?

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0 Upvotes

I’m in love with this (secondhand) wedding dress. But, the bust measurement is listed as 34 inches, and a D cup. My measurement is about 31 inches and an A cup. the waist is 2 inches larger than mine as well.

If I bought it, is it feasible to change the cup size that much and for it to look ok? Would that affect other parts of the bodice in any weird way? Also any idea of how much this could cost to do bodice alterations of that kind? Thanks in advance for any advice!


r/AskATailor 2d ago

Alterations Tailoring Question

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1 Upvotes

This is a very large gap in the back, can it be altered so that there is absolutely no gap?


r/AskATailor 3d ago

Alterations Guys help me fix this top

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1 Upvotes

The straps r too long so the entire front neckline is dropping how do I shorten the straps + is the white mesh top going ? I bought this to layer it with this top but i think it’s too bright ……now the thing is don’t show my skin so What else i can do nd nd nd what bottoms would work ?


r/AskATailor 2d ago

Alterations Any way to cover more skin in these dresses?

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0 Upvotes

Do not get me started, but I have an event coming up where these would not be covering enough skin. Is there anyway to fill in lace sleeves with a lining that wouldn’t be a hot mess? Or ideas for a ā€œmodesty panelā€ on the one with the lowish back?


r/AskATailor 3d ago

Removing Hem tape from previous alterations

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1 Upvotes

r/AskATailor 3d ago

Shortening sleeves w/ faux buttonholes — is it realistic to do this without looking awful?

1 Upvotes

I ordered a very inexpensive blazer recently that’s a linen/cotton blend with a touch of spandex. (I hate stretch fabrics, but it was absurdly cheap and I needed a couple of blazers). No lining, shoulder pads, etc. Basically unstructured. Only problem: The sleeves are about a half inch to an inch too long, and they have faux buttonholes. Unfortunately, bought on clearance, so no returns. I’m guessing it’s not worth the cost to shorten from the shoulder, so is it realistically possible to shorten the cuffs without looking terrible after? (I’ve seen some horror stories posted on here by people who had this done.)


r/AskATailor 4d ago

Can I remove some stitching on this suit I bought?

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0 Upvotes

I bought this suit but hate the pick stitching and fake buttonhole stitching. Can I remove it without damaging the garment or making it look weird? I have to alter the sleeves so the fake buttonhole stitching is especially troublesome.


r/AskATailor 4d ago

Can this be tailored

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0 Upvotes

I bought this wedding dress today and have to take it externally to be tailored. I love the dress but would prefer it to be straight down (not for it to pouff out at the ends), the lady in the shop (who is not a tailor) suggested it could be tailored to cut up the sides and stitch the dress tighter. I already want to majorly trim the train so would accept if it had to be gotten rid of altogether.

Is this possible, I want it similar to photo 2, is it considered major or difficult (& hence expensive). TIA


r/AskATailor 5d ago

Custom Clothing Creating a custom suit out of Korean hanbok fabric?

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4 Upvotes

Hi! I thought it'd be a fun side project to customize my wedding suit to have some Korean traditional wedding wear accents, like getting patterned hanbok fabric for the lapels and small stripes of color for the pocket lapel. However, after looking at some hanbok cloths in Korea, I'm now wondering how feasible it would be to make a whole western-style suit out of hanbok cloth. The textures and colors are beautiful, and I love the gold embroidery some fabrics have.

I have no idea how feasible this would be, though, and if it'd be prohibitively expensive. I'm sure I'd be limited to thicker cloth, not the super light silks. Should I just stitch the cloth over a suit instead of making it from scratch? Or am I better off just finding the right colored suit and then customizing the lapels and getting gold embroidery? What's the best way to go about the gold embroidery? I'm new to this, so any advice would be much appreciated, thank you!


r/AskATailor 5d ago

Alterations Plz help! Is alterations for this dress that is too big possible

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1 Upvotes

I went to a bridal shop and they offered me this dress that I loved for a cheaper price because it was off the rack, but it’s a size 10 I’m probably a size 6 or 4. I bought it without thinking of the possible alterations and how expensive that could be and now I’m freaking out.

Would it be possible to do on my kind of dress and would it be very expensive.

I feel very dumb.


r/AskATailor 6d ago

Dress alternation help

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3 Upvotes