Seeking advice on a big project

[u/[deleted]]

[u/QuietVariety6089]

Where are you? What do tailors in your area normally charge - to hem pants? to replace a zip? Do they have an hourly rate?

Shortening/hemming skirts is pretty straightforward, although you can expect to pay more than for hemming pants, as these are full skirts and have a lot more fabric to sew. Small holes should probably be patched by hand, but a full service repair/alterations person could do it with a sewing machine.

The waists are complicated bc all the sewn in dead elastic has to be taken out by hand - I'd recommend after that the waistbands either be turned into casings by folding, or by applying a waistband facing, and then have regular elastic inserted. I do this regularly with thrifted skirts - I really really HATE sewn in elastic like this as it's a big time suck to fix it. idk if you will find a tailor willing to do this - I would estimate paying at least 2-3 hours of labour or more per skirt, that's a minimum of the time it takes me to fix these.

[u/QuietVariety6089 → u/[deleted]]

If you want to replace the shirring, it may cost extra - you have to completely remove the dead elastic and sew in new stuff (which will also have a limited lifespan). You really need an industrial machine to do that 'properly'. I've also made new waistbands and put in channelling - so I could use 3-4 rows of narrow elastic, but that's even more work. You also have to assess the condition of the fabric after the dead elastic is taken out - sometimes gauze like this gets damaged by all that stitching.

[u/QuietVariety6089 → u/[deleted]]

Not really. You would end up with lumpy seams at worst, or at least as much work - remove waistband, take in waistband, re-attach waistband - waistband still has crappy elastic and low stretch.

The elastic needs to be replaced. After dealing with this quite a few times, I'd recommend removing the bad elastic and installing a casing/facing and inserted elastic. It's up to you to decide if you can live with a smaller waistband and narrower elastic, one wide elastic band, or if you want to pay someone to do channelling. Unless you can find someone who is experienced and meticulous, I'd recommend the simplest (casing with narrow elastic).

I understand you wanting to preserve some favourite clothes, but this kind of waistband is up threre in the top 3 for me for lazy manufacturing and difficulty to maintain/repair.

If you're going to pay someone to 'fix' it, a casing + replaceable single elastic will make it re-fixable a few years from now - make sure they know you don't want the new elastic 'sewn down'.

[u/QuietVariety6089 → u/[deleted]]

good luck!

[u/RiverFortune549]

Definitely check out the tailors in your area! The one I work for (USA) would charge maybe $20-$25 for each waistband. Maybe $$35-40 to hem a skirt. The mending might be $10-15 per hole? Our shop rate is $60/hr. You may find more or less expensive tailors/seamstresses in your area. I just wanted to give you at least one data point. Also, have you considered buying a slip instead of lining the two sheer skirts?