How to: be a customising queen

The old adage goes, a stitch in time saves nine. And a stitch in the right place might just save you a lot of money and shopping hassle. With celebrities from Eva Longoria and Rachel Bilson to Tilda Swinton and Nicole Kidman all admitting they like to kick back with some sewing, now might be the time to rediscover your inner 50s housewife, and learn how to customise your clothes.

Now, when we say ‘customising’, we’re not harking back to DT lessons at school, when you would turn a pair of jeans into a ‘funky’ denim skirt with the addition of some pink sequinned mesh and a flower corsage made out of zips. No. The proper, grown-up art of being able to alter garments – I’m tempted to call it seamstressery – is a skill well worth learning.

Think of all the times you’ve bought a gorgeous dress, probably for too much money, then relegated it to the back of the wardrobe after a couple of wears because it just doesn’t fit quite right. Then think of all the stuff you’ve nearly bought, but had to put back at the last minute because it was that bit too long, or big, or had a neckline that made you look like your Great Aunt Hilda. Wouldn’t your wardrobe be in better shape if you could only take to it with a whizzy needle and a bit of know-how?

So here are our top-tips for becoming a customising queen:

Get back to school: If there isn’t a dressmaking relative or friend handy to teach you the basics, sign up to learn it from a pro. Where better than London College of Fashion, which offers a 9-week basic sewing skills workshop for £380. Sign up here, or search for classes in your area. We also love DIY fashion blog Threadbanger, for on-trend sewing tips and tutorials.

Wind the bobbin up: There’s a lot you can do by hand, but for speed, accuracy and the sheer joy of having a new toy to tinker with, get yourself a sewing machine. At upwards of £100, buying them new can be quite a hefty investment so check out eBay for some second-hand bargains. Alternatively, Cooper Sewing Machines have some great discount deals.

Stock up: A sewing kit like this one provides a great stash of needles, pins, buttons and thread in every colour you’re likely to need. As a rule, try to use cotton thread on natural fabrics and polyester thread on man-made. Think of it like not mixing grape and grain, if that helps you.

Don’t get scissor happy: Remember, you can always take more off, but once it’s off it’s pretty tricky to reattach again. Unless, y’know, you’re going for the Raggedy Ann look.

Beware of the shrink: My particular failing is taking dresses up when I’ve only just bought them, then putting them in the wash to find they shrink to indecent proportions. After a few years of attempting to stretch out doll-sized clothes with an iron, I’ve learned: wash first, sew after.

Don’t get precious: If you go the whole hog and get an overlocker, good for you. But otherwise, don’t stress out over finishing your inside seams. Nobody’s going to see them (or nobody who’s looking at the craftsmanship, anyway…).

Pin, pin, pin: It’s easy to get impatient and jump straight in with the machine. But relying on guesswork is a recipe for disaster – if you have time, it pays to pin, try it on, tack (loose hand stitches), try it on again and then sew. I have ruined more dresses than I’d care to admit by being slapdash (let’s not mention the one I tried to sew while I was wearing it).

Viva la vintage: A lot of people shy away from vintage shopping because, appealing though the garments are on the hanger, they just don’t quite fit right (lots of people shy away because of the smell. I can’t help with that.). But learning your way around a needle and thread can open up a whole new realm of shopping – love the fabric but hate the shape? Want to wear that maxi as a mini? Start small with things that only need a little tweaking, then progress to full-scale overhauls. The best bit: when someone asks where you got it, you have the most irritating answer in the book… “Oh this old thing? It’s vintage, but I altered it myself.” Translation: “You can’t buy one. Nur nur.”

Show shoulder pads some love: One of the easiest ways to revamp a lacklustre garment is by adding or removing these babies. In vintage dresses and jackets they’re usually fairly easy to cut out, bringing the garment forward several decades in a few seconds – just find the three stitch points and carefully snip loose. Then save them to sew into tops that need a little oomph (or put them down your bra for a low budget chicken fillet effect).

It doesn’t have to mean forever: As Sinatra once sang, a lady is allowed to change her mind. And so is a seamstress. If you forgo the machine and stick to loose hand-stitching and big hems, you can change up your clothes to suit your mood and your outfit. Take up skirts to wear mini with tights in winter, then take them down again in summer when your legs see the light. I have a jacket that gets longer or shorter week on week, according to what I’m wearing underneath it. It’s like a fabric-based outlet for your pre-menstrual mood swings. Just stay away from the scissors.