If you have tailored pants, the max. is about 2 inches. This is usually taken out in the center back seam. Better plan on buying some new clothers soon! Congratulations on the weight loss.

Thanks KyBell. These pants are off the rack. Did you mean 2" on either side of the center back seam? Or 2" total? I have a "Sewing Tips for Men" book, so I've got a pretty good guide to how to do the job, just not the experience to know what's realistic.

Thanks.

I find there is no standard amount to just quote. The bigger the pants, the more you can take out. If you get much, you have to go into the crotch seam & remove some there in the seat/leg area. I don't suppose you are small or you wouldn't have had the surgery. How much room is between your hip pockets now? You don't want them too close together & you don't want your side seams & pockets too far past the center of your side...like back on your hiney. Unless you plan to do it yourself, costs can exceed worth quick. We are blessed to have a local thrift store with all clothing items 99 cents. Even if you can't find anything that cheap, I would suggest going that route to purchase until you stabilize some.

Thanks Joansews4u.

Indeed I am not small.

I see the wisdom in proportionality, so I'll just have to make some judgments on my own.

I plan to use thrift stores some -- eventually. Trouble is, once you get beyond the XL sizes it's slim pickin's in those bins. Most thrift stores don't keep their clothes sorted by size, so you can spend a lot of time searching and go home empty-handed.

That's why I decided to get a sewing machine and try to make the clothes last longer. So far I've sewn lots of hems in pants that others gave me, and now it's time to take in some of the slacks that I had "outgrown" years ago and recently retrieved from the back of the closet.

Thanks all for some good suggestions.

Can't help on the sewing, but a huge WELL DONE for the weight loss. The new, slimmer, healthier you is going to emerge for the spring!

Like Joansews said, just be sure you don't pull the sideseams toward the back or the pants will not look good. She is also right about being able to take in larger sizes more than smaller. I would think if you took the pants in 4 inches you would have to take them apart on the inseam and move the front of the slacks over the back taking out some fabric there. Just rip the inseam for a few inches below the crotch and move the front seam over the back, reducing the back, but not the front.

KyBell,

If I take in the inseam as you suggest, should I taper the back center seam all the way to the crotch, or just the 5 to 6 inches that my book recommends?

I'm concerned about getting the seat too tight, though lord knows there's plenty of extra fabric in the front.

Thanks again.

Turn your pants wrong side out. Usually there is a knotch or clip in the fabric about the knee area. I remove the inseam to that point with the back waist seam open from the waist down. Be careful going too close to the bottom of the zipper because it gets hard to put back. Most pants have a larger seam allowance on the back of the leg area. That's to let out.

To determine what to take out, pinch up& pin a section across the back seam till it feels comfortable. Unless you get get the waist pinned to fit, this may need to be done differently. You could baste the back seam before you try to fit the crotch. I would baste the inseam or even use safety pins to make a temporary seam. Understand all that excess material will not give an accurate feel or look. Squirm or sit & go for feel as "does it bind or anything". There is usually an extension of the fly lining that comes down & stitches over the open seam allowance in the crotch. Just undo it no more than you have to & go no closer to that zipper than you have to. Put all back in same manner it was. Inseams first, then down the back from the waist thru the crotch area, then sew that lining section back over the seam allowance there. I sew across the facing, on the outside, at the waist in "the ditch" where the waist band is attached to the pants. Some times you have to remove & replace some belt loops when you have large amounts to remove. In big pants, I have taken as much as 6" out. A rule of thumb, for average sizes, that I learned was 3". We are talking 36-40 inch pants. 34s down gets smaller. 40s up more.

I got lots of my advanced alteration education living in a town with a military base. I got started with it having 3 brothers & got into the military aspect when my husband was drafted & I was in need a money to stay with him living on a base 60 miles from civilization! I even worked 3 years in a men's dept of a Belk store because they had an opening when I couldn't find anything in my field.

You will need to trim the back seams & inseam seams some. Zigzag the edges to prevent fraying. I would leave the back seam allowances about an inch & a half to 2 inches. Press all new permanent seams open good.

I saw a thing in a sewing catalog that I intend to make for inseam pressing. It was a 24X5" board covered with padding then inserted in a sleeve of the silver ironing board fabric & even that fabric would not be an absolute necessity. You could use old towels for padding & any firm dye free fabric cover over it. It was finished off on one end with excess fabric extended so you could grasp it to remove & also had a grommet to use to hang by.

Don't you like this site? I have been buying embroider tutorials & you can get free ones on here.

Whew! That's a thorough description if I ever read one! To tell you the truth, I never dreamed of taking the whole garment apart from knee to waist, and it sounds like something that would take me a week of evenings to finish, at least the first time.

May be worth it, though, as the pants are already a bit baggy in the crotch area. I'm worried about putting that much effort into pants that are probably not going to be worn for more than 4-5 weeks before I need to replace them with a smaller size. I thought I'd just be taking in the waist a little.

But thanks for the suggestion of using safety pins. I couldn't see how I was going to try out all that seam area without becoming a human pin cushion.

Thanks again for all who replied. I'm much obliged. And yes, I do like this forum. Where else could you get a question like that answered? And how did we get along before we had computers?

That inseam is a snap to do. Most seam stitching will ravel when you pull a thread. You just have to figure out which one goes which way. Before you start raveling, clip it at your stopping point so you won't ravel out more than you planned. Then just line things up & sew it back. By the time you finish, you may have an unplanned career too.

You probably don't need a whole wardrobe, just a couple of basic colors to tide you over till you drop down again. I can understand your situation. I got sick once following surgery & getting too many antibotics. I dropped 25 pounds in 3 weeeks. I needed at least casual office clothes for work. I wound up wearing wrap around skirts & even had to put darts at the waist when they got too big. The kakhi one got worn about 3 days out of 5.

Thanks, Joan

I've spent the last two days in the yard raking all the gravel back from where the snowplow deposited it to the drive where it belongs. Then there's a little planting to do, and by the time I get the mower and trimmer back in shape after their winter dormancy it'll be time to start mowing. Used to do my sewing after dark, but now it stays light so late.

I'll just have to make time for the sewing, since I bought the machine for that purpose. Actually the "sewing" is a snap, it's figuring out where the seams belong and making sure you don't cut where you're not supposed to.

Well I'm sure that's no news to you.

I've got a pair of grayish brown slacks I hardly ever wear and I thought I'd use them to practice on before I start with the four others I wear day in and day out.

But thanks again for all your suggestions. I've saved them all so I can have them at hand while I'm working.

If you need formal or at least semi-formal trousers for work, then it is worth the effort even for those 5 weeks. I often see larger people in town with such ill fitting clothes (too big or too small) that it makes them look really ugly. By complete contrast there is a very large lady that gets the same bus as me sometimes and she is always so beautifully dressed - everything fits right and the colours are co-ordinated she looks 10 times better than many others half the size!

On the other hand, if you are going to be spending a lot of time working from home or your job supplies a uniform, I'd get some cheap(ish) fabric and make some drawsting trousers to keep you going until your weight stabilises.

Just think what fun you are going to have making trousers from scratch in beautiful wools and linens when you reach your desired size!

I also agree that if you master these skills of alterations you could end up with a new career. Plus-size clothing, especially the quality end of things, is often hard to find - many grateful customers to be found!?

Good Luck!
AJ