﻿How To Tailor Your Suit Jacket (Made EASY!) [0:00:00]
You buy a suit jacket, you put it on expecting it to feel like this. [sound effect]
But, instead, it feels more like this. [sound effect] What’s the problem?
Gentlemen, it’s too baggy around the waist. The secret to wearing a suit
like James Bond is a closely tailored fit. Strap in, gentlemen, Thomas with Real Men
Real Style here. And today, I’m going to show you how to slim up your suit jacket at home.
Here’s what you need to get started – a sewing machine, a sewing needle,
thread that closely matches your fabric, sewing pins, safety pins, a fabric pencil or a chalk,
a ruler, a seam ripper, and an iron. Step number one. Measure and pin. There
are two ways we can get the right measurements for how much fabric we need to take in. The
first and easiest method is take a perfect fitting jacket you already own and use it as a template.
Lay your jacket on the flat surface making sure the top button is fastened. Now,
put your perfect fitting jacket on top, lining them up at the shoulders. Take your ruler and
measure the difference at the thinnest part of the waist. Make a note of the number,
you’ll need to remember it for later. I’ll be taking in four inches on this
jacket spread across the back seam and the two rear side seams. But, what do you do if
you don’t have a perfect fitting jacket to use as a template? If that’s the case, you need to
figure out the measurements for yourself. Put on the jacket and fasten the top button.
Pinch the fabric near the rear side seams until it fits as closely as you like. Then, secure it with
a safety pin. It should fit close to the body, but if the front button is pulling and forming an
X shape, then you have it too tight. Now, take your ruler and measure how much
fabric you pinned. Remember this number for later. Go ahead and remove the safety pins.
If your jacket has lining, you’ll need to use your thread ripper to untuck it from the bottom.
From there, turn the jacket inside out and lay it down flat. Using the measurement from earlier,
I’m going to mark three quarters of an inch in the middle of each side seam.
This jacket has double vents, so we’ll taper the side seam into the top of the vent.
We’re going to continue the line upward smoothly tapering it into the armpit.
If it was a single vent jacket, we would taper to the very bottom side seams. We will repeat
this on the center seam, marking half an inch and tapering down to the bottom of the jacket
since there isn’t a center vent. Now, taper to the upper back,
make sure all your tapers are smooth and gradual. Sharp lines will cause ugly dimples.
Remember the fabric is doubled over, so we end up with one and a half inches total from each side
seam and one inch from the back seam, getting us that four inches total we wanted. This will
vary based off your own measurements. Put in sewing pins, so the fabric will
stay in place. Make sure you have the pins oriented in the direction you’ll be sewing,
so they can be easily removed as you go. How do you know which direction you need to go?
Remember the bulk of the fabric will go on the left side of the sewing machine.
So, gentlemen, is this a suit jacket, a blazer jacket, or a sports jacket?
Let me know in the comments below. Step number two. Let’s sew. Install
your matching thread and prepare your bobbin. Let’s do this. You’ll be sewing with a straight
stitch. Go with the 2.5 mm stitch length. Lay down the first few stitches. Now, make a couple
of back stitches. This locks in the thread and prevents the stitch from coming undone.
Carefully stitch down the line you drew with your fabric pencil,
removing the sewing pins as you go. Be sure to sew in a straight even line.
You don’t want to zigzag back and forth. Once you reach the end, finish off with a couple
of back stitches and you are set. Now, just repeat the process on both the other seams.
Time to try on the jacket and see if you’re happy with the fit. If it’s still too loose,
try again removing more fabric. If it’s too tight, then take out the new stitches and start over.
Step number three. Cleanup. If you’re satisfied with how it came out, it’s time to press the
jacket. Take your thread ripper and open up the old stitching. Set your clothing iron to
the correct temperature for your fabric. When ironing wool, it’s advisable to use a
pressing cloth to protect the delicate material from heat damage. This is a linen cotton jacket,
so it can handle the heat of the iron. Press all the seams you worked on,
so they lay nice and flat. Turn the jacket right side out again. It’s time to reattach the liner.
Take a needle and thread and form a knot. We’re going to hand sew the liner to the jacket.
Use the needle to grab a few threads from the liner,
then do the same with the jacket material. If you do this right, you will not see your thread poking
through the outside of the liner or the jacket. Work your way down the entire liner, then create
a knot at the end by forming a loop and pulling your needle through that loop. Do this twice to
make sure it’s good and secure and you are set. There you have it, gentlemen. Your jacket looks
awesome. James Bond would be proud. But, what should you do about your baggy
dress shirt underneath? Can that be tailored too? Don’t worry, gents, I’ve got you covered.
Check out this video here, where I show you how to easily slim a baggy dress shirt.
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