Customised: Next blue and white striped tie front top

A quick update on my pyjama trousers - they've been a massive success so far. Not only have they not fallen apart, but they've been so comfortable that I've not just been wearing them in bed but basically getting them on as soon as possible when I get home in the evenings.  I may need to make another pair so I can get these ones washed at some stage!

On another note - my sister Esther bought this top from Next a few weeks ago.  She really liked it apart from one flaw - the ties at the front.  Typically when there's something that fundamental that you don't like about a garment, you don't tend to buy it, but Esther has a lot of confidence in her big sister's new found sewing skills, so when she was last over she brought it with her to see if there was anything I could do with it.  This is the first time I've done any customisation of shop bought items - always nice to experiment when it's someone else's purchase at stake...!

Before

After

 and...

So here we go - how do you chop off part of the garment and still make it look as if that was what it was meant to look like all along!?

• Step 1 - Do some planning.

As well as ensuring that I had matching thread (helpfully provided along with the top by Esther), the most important thing was to ensure that I knew where I was going to start cutting, so that there were no major errors which would push the whole garment out of shape.  I followed the line of the existing hem, and used tailor's chalk to draw on the top where I was going to cut.

• Step 2 - Prepare the new hem

The existing hem of the top had been done with an interlocker - something that I obviously don't possess (yet!).  I decided that the best thing was simply to just fold up the existing hem, and make a new hem for the top.  That obviously made the top a bit shorter, but fortunately it was quite long in the first place.  I folded up the existing hem, pressed it, and then folded again, to ensure the edge was fully concealed and there wouldn't be any fraying once the hem had been sewn up.  I then pinned - always an important thing to do - otherwise things could go very wrong...

• Step 3 - Sew and press

Literally it is as simple as that!  I used quite a long straight stitch, and just hemmed the top again.  A final little press of the hem, and there you go.  You'd never know it had ever been tampered with!

As yet, Esther hasn't actually seen the finished result, but hopefully she'll be pleased with it.  As far as my first customisation went, I was not just relieved (someone else's money hadn't been completely wasted!), but actually really pleased with it.  I'm hoping I'll have more confidence in the future to have a go at changing things when a garment isn't quite what I want.