Elaine Terrell: Hi! I am Elaine Terrel; I am the owner of Elaine Terrell's Dressmaking and Alterations in Santa Fe, New Mexico where I do all types of fine custom sewing including dressmaking and pattern making. Today, I am going to show you how to do some basic alterations like sew a button with a shank onto a jacket, hem a pair of pants, hem an uneven skirt, replace the elastic in the waistband of a skirt, take in the size of a blouse and take in the back inseam on a pair of pants.

To do these alterations you will need a needle and matching threads, scissors, pins, marking tools, a seam ripper, a sewing machine, an iron and an ironing board. Now before we get started, let me tell you just a little bit about myself. I worked for 18 years as a professional dressmaker, tailor and pattern maker. I teach individual classes and I specialize in custom fitting and dress making. I do a broad range of sewing from the simple alterations that I am going to show you today to much more complex alterations like restyling jackets, custom fitting Armani and restructuring vintage wedding dresses.

So lets get started on those alterations. The first one we are going to do is sew a button with a shank onto a jacket. So let's go next door to my sewing room and we will get started.