Difference Between Alterations & Tailoring?

June 11, 2023

Tailoring and alteration services are the saving grace that keeps many of our clothes from gathering dust after a mishap. There are way too many cases in which homemade methods are not enough to fix a garment when the fabric gets frayed or stretched. Some stains can only be removed after mixing the right ingredients, and it can be hard to replicate a specific material when a part of the outfit needs to be replaced.

Instead of giving up on your clothes altogether whenever one of these issues comes up, you can enlist the expertise of professionals. This is what makes tailoring and alterations so advantageous when we need an easy fix and quality results.
While the services involved can sometimes overlap, there is a clear difference between alterations and tailoring. We tell you all you need to know so you have a clear idea of what you want when asking for an alteration or tailoring service.

What Are Alteration and Tailoring Services?

Many companies provide both services in tandem as they can complement each other in various cases. This also means that people see little difference between each of these practices when they have to make a request. To clear things up, let's define each concept separately.

Tailoring:

Let's start with the most comprehensive concept. Tailoring encompasses all the necessary modifications to customize a garment to the client's specifications. This can mean designing and making a garment from scratch or applying multiple alterations to an existing piece of fabric. Because of the wide range of steps involved in tailoring a piece of clothing, these services require advanced sewing skills and ample knowledge about different fabrics.

Clients usually hire a tailoring service to work on bespoke suits, nightgowns, wedding dresses, theatre costumes, and other exclusive pieces.

Alterations:

When we talk about alterations, we mostly refer to a series of adjustments meant to improve a garment. They can make a piece fit more seamlessly, repair tears on the fabric, replace buttons and decorative pieces, adjust the hemming, or put a modern touch on an old outfit.

If you're making alterations, you don't have to make a piece from scratch, but this doesn't mean that you can get away without a professional's input. Making the necessary alterations requires a high skill level because the goal is to preserve a garment's practical value for much longer. It should also enhance the garment's appearance as a whole instead of drawing all the focus to recent modifications. This means that you need a trained eye to make the process look natural without getting sloppy in the execution.

What Goes Into Providing the Best Alteration & Tailoring Service

The people in charge must have enough sewing experience to remain productive regardless of the nature of the request so, if the situation demands it, they have what it takes to finish a custom piece within a strict deadline. Tailoring involves fitting, padding, hemming, lacing, and other tasks that come together to bring a specific result. The type of fabric and the level of damage sustained by a piece in the past will make a difference in how the tailor/seamster approaches each request.

Common services include:

• Waistline adjustments.
• Reinforcing/replacing buttons, zippers, and other fasteners.
• Shortening sleeves, pant legs, and the hem of skirts/dresses.
• Sewing new pockets, lace, frills, or padding.
• Tapering and other measurement adjustments, mostly to downsize pieces that fit loosely on the body.

Sometimes, seamsters and tailors only need to shorten some hems to make a garment fit you like a glove. Other times, they need to make multiple minor alterations to fully reduce a garment's size accordingly. If a custom piece is a couple of sizes smaller than what would comfortably fit you, the best course of action is to have it redone with the right measurements since adding more fabric to make the adjustments would ultimately compromise the whole piece.

Between that and the excess materials needed to work on a smaller piece, it's best to be on the safe side and buy an item that's one or two sizes larger. That way, you can have specific adjustments made later on without wasting more fabric in the process.

We Help You Keep Your Clothes in Perfect Condition

Puritan Cleaners & Laundry brings all the assistance you need to keep your clothes and fabrics looking as good as new for years down the line. With decades of experience serving homes and businesses in South Florida, we set the standard when it comes to laundry and dry-cleaning services.

Our facilities have the most advanced equipment to bring the best results in all types of fabrics, and we promise a fast turnaround to help you save time throughout the week. Our expertise extends to our alteration services, so you can come to us for any adjustment you need. Don't risk lasting damage while trying your hand at fixing rare materials and bespoke pieces; you can leave your most cherished garments in our specialists' care and they will follow all your specifications to the last detail.


Whatever you need, Puritan Cleaners & Laundry can help you! You don't have to watch your clothes lose their charm while sticking to the same subpar methods. We can undo the damage caused by generic cleaners and detergents, and you can get better results without letting your dirty laundry take over your chores. If you have specific adjustments to make on an outfit and want specialized assistance to deal with fine fabrics, you can count on us to provide the best care.

We can also give you more information if you want to know about our pick-up and delivery so you don't have to take time off your schedule to collect your order. Contact our specialists today, and get the best company to help you manage your laundry and alteration needs. Your clothes will be in the best hands with Puritan Cleaners & Laundry.