ALTERATIONS vs PATTERN CORRECTIONS

There's a difference between altering something and actually fixing the problem underneath it, even though people lump them together as the same thing.

Taking in a side seam, hemming a skirt, letting out a waistband — that's alterations. You're working with a finished garment, making it fit better, more comfortable, more wearable.

Pattern correction is a different job entirely. That's fixing the actual block or draft before you've even cut the fabric — getting the proportion, balance, and structure right at the source, the way I did with my own bodice block.

Here's the thing though: if a garment keeps pulling in the same place no matter how many times you alter it, that's usually a sign the problem isn't the garment, it's the draft underneath it. Taking in a seam might help for a bit, but it won't actually fix what's wrong.

I do both kinds of work — alterations for clients on stuff they already own and love, and pattern correction on my own blocks when something's not sitting right. They're related, but they're solving different problems, and once you can tell the difference, it genuinely changes how you think about fit.