Alterations have a reputation as an expensive luxury, which is odd, given that the common ones cost less than a takeaway and take a tailor about twenty minutes. In plus sizes they matter more than average, because ready-to-wear patterns are built for a set of proportions that nobody has exactly. Knowing which alterations are cheap, which are worth it and which are not possible saves both money and disappointment.
The cheap ones that change the most
Shortening a hem, taking in a waistband and moving a button are quick, low-cost jobs, and each one fixes a problem that otherwise makes a garment unwearable. Trousers hemmed to your actual leg length in the shoes you wear will look better than an expensive pair that puddles on the floor. It is the single highest-return alteration there is.
Buy for the largest measurement, then adjust
The sensible approach is to buy the size that fits your widest point and have the rest brought in, because letting fabric out is limited by the seam allowance. Doing this reliably means shopping where the measurements are published rather than guessed at, and Just My Size lists both the 1X to 5X and 16W to 32W charts so you can compare bust, waist and hip figures against your own tape. That is far more useful than a single label size that hides three different fits.
What a tailor cannot do
Armholes, shoulder slope and back length are structural, and reworking them costs more than the garment is usually worth. If a top binds at the armhole or the back neck rides up when you reach forwards, that is a grading problem and the answer is a different brand, not a needle. Ranges that grade properly change the armhole depth and back length as sizes increase; ranges that simply scale the pattern up produce exactly that tight, high armhole.
Straps, bands and bra alterations
Bras are the exception to almost all of this: they are engineered objects and altering them rarely works. Shortening a strap is fine; taking in a band changes the tension the whole garment depends on. If a band is loose on the tightest hook, the bra is finished and a new one is the only honest answer.
Alterations that pay for themselves
- Hemming trousers and skirts to your own leg length in the right shoes
- Taking in a waistband when the hips fit and the waist gapes
- Shortening sleeves so cuffs sit at the wrist rather than the knuckle
- Moving a button to close a gap at the bust on a shirt
- Replacing a broken zip in a coat, which is far cheaper than a new coat
What you can do at home
A hem can be turned up with iron-on tape in ten minutes, and it survives several washes before it needs redoing. Sewing a button on properly, with a shank of thread so it sits away from the fabric, takes five minutes and stops it pulling out again. Beyond that, a machine and some practice will get you through simple side seams, but a tailor will do it faster and straighter.
Finding someone and what to ask
Dry cleaners, market stalls and small alterations shops all do this work, and prices vary by area rather than by skill. Bring the shoes you will wear, wear the bra you will wear, and be prepared to stand still for pinning. Ask for the price before agreeing, and ask whether they have worked with the fabric before if it is a knit, since knits behave differently under a machine.
When to stop and give up on a garment
If a piece needs three alterations, it is the wrong garment and the money is better spent elsewhere. The same applies to anything that has already thinned, faded or lost its shape: no alteration renews a fabric. Be equally sceptical about altering something you have not worn for a year, because the reason it sits unworn is rarely the hem.