Dusting Off My Sewing Machine

The good thing about my general wardrobe dissatisfaction is that I've been using my sewing machine a lot more to alter my clothes that just aren't quite right. When Grace posted a tutorial on how to alter your pants- I knew that I would have to give it a try!
I had a pair of light khaki corduroy pants that fit great at the waist, but belled out below the knee in a decidedly dated way (I think I've had them since college). I also wasn't worried about ruining that pair of pants because I have lots of corduroy pants. (So comfy!) They were the perfect pant to try to alter.
You should definitely check out Grace's tutorial if you want to try this at home because I think she explains it a lot better than I do, but here is what I did to alter my pants.
First I used a pair of skinnier pants as a template and traced them on the inside of the pants I was altering, using a pencil (if you want to do things properly, you should iron and pin them. I tend to take shortcuts when I sew which is probably why I'm not really all that good at it!)

My Template

Next I sewed along that line. I flipped them inside out, checked the fit, then went back and made a few more adjustments inside (it was hard to get the fit just perfect b/c I only needed to take the pants in up to the knee- the thighs were already fitted and the transition from stitching to no stitching was a little awkward).

Gotta Fix This

Then I did the same thing on the other leg.

Right= before, Left= after

Finally, I cut off the insides where I'd sewn the pants, ironed them into a new seam and stitched that down along the cuff. I went from bell bottoms to matchstick cords!
Thanks for the great tutorial, Grace!

Eat Your Heart Out, JCrew!

In other news, I went to the mall after work today and got four sweaters (I can't find the link for one- a hot pink v-neck merino sweater from Banana Republic that I somehow got for $12 because I win at life... oh and the third sweater I linked is in black and was marked down for much lower than the one that's linked- shopping in stores is paying off!) and a dress (for $15!), so I feel like my wardrobe has become at least a bit more versatile!