I received an email from a lady who had just received my book, and that she had a question.  She said that she had worked for a short time in an alteration shop, and that they pinned the person’s trousers at the knee area.  So if you can imagine this, they folded up the amount that the trousers needed shortening at the knee.  They then took the trousers up the amount they had pinned at the knee.  Her question to me was, did I agree with this method.

My reply was “No I do not”.  The reason I don’t agree with this method is that all trousers are different.  There are basically three styles of trousers.  The first would be the box leg style, which means the trousers are wide from the thigh area to the hem.  The second would be trousers that are flared, and the third are trousers that are tapered in towards the ankle.

So for the box leg trouser, using the pin at the knee technique would be ok.  Because when the trousers are shortened, the base of the trouser will not be altered.

However the flared trouser and the tapered trouser will be different.  To pin at the knee then take up at the base, means that the flare will be less, and or the taper will be less.  That means the trouser will sit differently at the shoe area.

Happy sewing

Judith aka genie