Start mending and altering your clothes

Sew on buttons, fix hems and seams, shorten trousers and take in a side seam.

Who it's for
Anyone who wants to fix, shorten or take in clothes they already own instead of replacing them.

1. Sew a button back on
   The most useful repair of all.
   Sew on a button
2. Close a split seam by hand
   Ladder stitch closes it invisibly from the outside.
   Slip stitch
3. Re-hem by hand
   A catch stitch suits trousers and skirts.
   Catch stitch hem
4. Shorten trousers
   Mark with the right shoes on.
   Shorten trousers
5. Shorten jeans and keep the original hem
   Keeps the worn factory look.
   Jeans hem
6. Take in a side seam
   Pin evenly on both sides and taper.
   Take in a dress
7. Replace snaps and hooks
   Small fastenings take minutes.
   Press studs
8. Explore visible mending
   Darning and patching turn repairs into features. See the darning and visible mending crafts.

Sources

All checked 1 November 2026. We read these; we did not test the products ourselves.

1. The Sewing Directory: Jeans Knee Repair Technique
2. The Sewing Directory: How to take in trousers at the waist