FAQ

Alterations & Understanding Tailoring Language


What types of clothing alterations do you offer?

We offer a wide range of clothing alterations including hemming, resizing, restyling, and more. Your seamstress can do a lot for you — from adding sleeves/straps to changing the neckline, lowering the back, and even making an overskirt or lace topper for an alternative bridal look. The degree of alteration possible will vary depending on how the dress is constructed in some cases. Certain alterations could compromise the structure of the dress. Some common alterations include adding a waist stay, shortening the straps, altering the closure, altering the neckline, and changing the back. 

There are three general categories of tailoring

  • Made-to-measure: Made-to-measure clothing (or custom clothing) is when a client modifies an existing pattern to fit their measurements. The clothing is "taken in" or "taken out" to fit the customer's body.

  • Bespoke: Bespoke clothing is often the most expensive form of tailoring. The client chooses everything to be custom-made, from the item's design to the pattern and the measurements.

  • Ready-to-wear: Ready-to-wear garments have been premade in typical sizes and can be altered to fit a person's body. 

  • Baste: Basting is the bread and butter of clothing alteration. It describes the action of sewing long, easily removable stitches that are used to mock-up a fitting, hold a zipper into place and keep slippery fabrics in place. The next time we are stitching you into something, chances are we're basting.

    Break: This refers to how much of the bottom of a pair of trousers meet the shoes. This can range from no break (absolutely no folding over/pants just skim the top of the shoe) to a full break (one full fold above the shoe).

    Bring Up: To shorten a length of a garment.

    Cuff: Cuffs are intentional folds we create at the bottom of your pants. More traditional than un-cuffed pants, cuffs lend themselves well to trousers that are pleated. Be sure to let us know if you want cuffs or not so we can factor it into your alteration.

    Darning: A sewing technique used to repair holes with only a needle and thread.

    Darts: An overlapped/folded over and sewn piece of fabric that's meant to add dimension and shape to a garment. Darts can be added if your jacket or shirt fits relatively well and you want a more defined shape without taking in/removing fabric.

    Hem: The edge of a piece of fabric that is (or needs to be) sewn to prevent it from unraveling. Most suit trousers are sold unhemmed with the intent of you taking them to a tailor to give them a custom fit.

    Inseam: The inseam is the seam that binds the inner pant leg. It is also the measurement of the length between the bottom crotch and the lower ankle. The opposite of the inseam is the outseam, which measures the distance between the waistband to the hem of the pants.

    Rise: The rise refers to the difference between a pair of pants' inseam and outseam lengths.

    Suppress: Cinching/tapering a jacket's waist to accentuate the "V" shape of the torso.

    Take in: Another term similar to suppressing the waist, and one that's arguably more common. "Taking in the sides" refers to removing fabric at the seams on either side of a shirt or jacket.

    Taper: Tapering means narrowing – a pant leg, a jacket waist or a jacket sleeve.

    Vent: A slit or slits located at the tail of a jacket that allow for a more tailored fit and increased ease of mobility. Center vents are traditional, whereas double vents are more contemporary and allow for a more fitted jacket.

    Warp: The effect of vertical threads of a woven fabric.

    Weft: The effect of horizontal threads of a woven fabric.

Bride & Groom

Wedding dress alterations usually take anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks to complete. The time required to complete the process can vary depending on the complexity of the alterations.

We recommended that brides come in for their 1ST fitting consultation about 2–3 months before their wedding; this allows ample time to alter the wedding dress, review bustle options and ensure a flawless fit on their special day.

The bride and bridal party should bring along the right wedding dress undergarments and shoes that will be worn on the big day. 

Wearing the correct undergarments helps us to assess how the dress will sit on your body. The wedding shoes on,help us to properly adjust the hemline to the correct length.

2nd Fitting

4 - 6 weeks prior to your wedding
Our tailors will baste the alterations discussed during the first fitting, but will not cut any fabric which will allow you to see a preview of the end result. These alterations are not permanent and can be adjusted as needed. The tailor will typically review bustle options for your dress during this fitting. The second payment will be collected. 

3rd Fitting

2 - 4 weeks prior to your wedding
At this fitting, we will ensure that everything is to your liking and make any final adjustments, if needed. We will schedule a pickup time for your dress. Final payment will be collected.

Bridal Pricing

Install Bra Cups$50 and up
Basic Hem$200 and up
Adjust Straps$50 and up
Intricate Bridal Pricing upon requestWe specialize in nearly all aspects of tailoring and can help you with basic and intricate alteration/tailoring needs. To make the process seamless and convenient for you, we offer risk-free consultations to discuss your bridal alteration needs with an expert tailor or seamstress.
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Custom Cuts
 

Yes if needed. You can expect that items can be;

  • Sew and measure your clothes.

  • Can design and create clothes from scratch such as suits, jackets, blazers, pants and more.

  • Fix clothes that have been damaged or ripped.

  • Alter clothes to fit better, including making garments shorter, longer, tighter or looser.

  • Iron and steam clothes that are finished and ready to be picked up by customers.

Decorating Interior
 

  • Reupholstering involves a series of steps that can often span several weeks or even months to complete. While most reupholstery tasks are best handled by a skilled professional, simply changing the fabric is a common do-it-yourself project. This process allows you to transform the appearance and usability of a piece of furniture, be it a vintage couch, a favorite armchair, or a treasured window seat with a stunning view.

                                                       

Entertainment

If you need costumes for your organization you can show us your style and we will redesign and/or make a block pattern and keep for your private collection>

Fashion Designs Sewing Class

Additionally, we provide useful learning tools, such as templates and rulers, to help with measuring and cutting. Please include the following in your email inquiry: - Name and contact information - Projects and or consultation specifics - Sewing level or experience - How many lessons you would like - Total number of people for the lessons Our private lessons are $60 per hour for one person, $85 for two people. In home visits will be priced based on location. *Suggested amount of time for private lessons is 2 hours.

Oui Wee Designs - White Spikes © 2024
2504 W. Division St, Chicago, IL 60622
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