0:05 hi my name is Heather Clark and I am a

0:07 Brooklyn based fashion designer I have

0:10 my own eponymous label I'm also a

0:12 personal wardrobe stylist as well as a

0:15 personal shopper how to alter swimsuit

0:18 to make it smaller altering the swimsuit

0:20 to make it smaller is quite easy if

0:22 you're comfortable in a sewing machine a

0:24 few good rules of thumb is to use

0:26 polyester thread or really strong thread

0:29 use a ballpoint needle because it's

0:31 specifically designed for the knits and

0:33 almost all bathing suits are made out of

0:34 knit fabric and also to use a zig zag

0:38 stitch you're going to want to use this

0:39 somewhat narrow zig-zag stitch if you

0:41 have an overlocker or a serger that'll

0:44 also help you as well but for the

0:45 altering a zig zag stitch will be just

0:48 fine on a bikini top usually your trick

0:51 is to go underneath the arm at the side

0:53 seam here for example this bikini

0:55 doesn't have a side seam but you can

0:57 just kind of eyeball it and fold it on

1:00 the inside take it in there similarly do

1:04 the same on the bikini bottom and I'm

1:06 going to show you on a one-piece

1:07 swimsuit how to make it smaller side

1:10 seams are what it's all about that's

1:12 where you want to get your fit the nice

1:14 thing about altering a swimsuit is that

1:16 because it is so stretchy you can just

1:18 take it in in one fell swoop and you'll

1:22 get most of your fit there you don't

1:24 have to get into tailoring or anything

1:26 like that so just take your machine get

1:30 it on and ready on your zig-zag stitch

1:32 and then find your side seam on your

1:35 swimsuit you're not really gonna have

1:37 any seam allowance to work with but

1:39 that's okay you can just kind of fold it

1:40 over and start on your machine

1:46 so get it under your machine and start

1:48 small maybe only take in a half an inch

1:50 at a time so right here I have it lined

1:53 up with the side of the presser foot

1:54 which means it's going to be a quarter

1:56 an inch doubled because it's on the fold

1:58 of the side seam remember you're on your

2:02 zigzag

2:13 so as you can see I've gotten my zig-zag

2:15 stitch done not much taking it in but

2:19 it's nice because now I can just try it

2:20 on and see if it fits better and work

2:23 like that if you want to cut the seam

2:25 allowance after you're done go for it

2:27 but make sure that you're very happy

2:29 with the fit before you do that

2:32 I'm Heather klar and that's how to alter

2:34 swimsuit to make it smaller