Mike writes: This week, while doing a little vintage shopping at my local thrift store, I discovered a sharp Harris tweed sport coat among the discarded and otherwise cheap-looking jackets. Although the fit was a little snug, given its condition, I couldn’t turn down the $8 price tag, especially since I’m in the process of losing some extra weight anyway. But pot belly or not, the sleeves are still about an inch too short — something that even the best diet won’t fix. In a typical coat, how much extra fabric is there for a tailor to work with, and is it even possible to lengthen sleeves, or any other part of the garment?
Generally, a tailor can’t do much to make clothes bigger. Good pants usually have an inch or two in the waist to give, but most coat enlargements are impossible. Even if there’s a bit of fabric available, it can change the shape of the coat in an undesirable way.
Luckily for you, sometimes letting sleeves out is an exception. You can roll the fabric at the cuff between your fingers to feel whether there’s any extra fabric in there. Remember that you can only extend it by whatever fabric is folded back inside the lining – the stuff immediately inside the cuff, before the lining starts, needs to be there. If you’re not sure, you can always take it to the tailor and ask. Usually half an inch or even an inch is available.
One pitfall to be aware of when trying this maneuver: older coats can get wear at the very end of their sleeves. This changes the texture of the fabric, and results in a visual line. Shorten the sleeves, and this line is on the inside where it’s invisible. Lengthen the sleeve, and the line creeps up the sleeve (relatively) and starts to look like some sort of military insignia. Make sure there isn’t major wear along that edge before you try anything.
How Many Sizes Larger or Smaller Can You Go? The first rule of suit alterations is that taking away or reducing the amount of fabric is doable, but you can't make something bigger, at least not by much. Exactly how much depends on what allowances of extra material were under the seams or hems of the garments.
This will very much depend on the type of the dress – but if it is a simple-cut, summer dress, tailors can potentially give one or two sizes more, by adding a fringe of fabric on each side (of the desired width, according to how many centimetres you want to add).
If your garment is too tight near the armhole, the tailor can drop it to create more room. They can also use the extra fabric allowance in the seam to loosen the arms a bit or even remove the sleeves completely to transform it into a tank style.
It probably can be done, particularly if we're only talking about a fairly small upsize, but it's going to be expensive, and it's a job for an expert. It's also not necessarily going to look exactly the same as the original dress. Also that “probably” is a little bit dependent on the style of the dress.
Knit fibers like cotton, cashmere, and wool are the easiest materials to stretch out by soaking or spraying them, pulling the fabric, and air-drying them. Ingredients like baby shampoo, conditioner, baking soda, and vinegar can help to loosen the fabric fibers, making garments easier to stretch.
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