altering a jacket

Unless I am very mistaken I don't believe there's anything you can do to erase those former seam lines. If there is I hope someone will come along and share that secret with us. And I believe one reason the former seam line is so noticeable is because of fading but I could be wrong on this too.

well, one of the jackets is new and never been worn, white stretch gabardine, but the needle marks still show. even a dark charcoal jacket i altered is the same thing, the needle marks still show, it does not seem to be faded at the seams, just shows the needle marks. any help is appreciated, as the jackets now fit very well, and i would like to use them.

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It may be that the fiber (wool, silk, poly???) will _never_ recover from the needle marks and/or former press lines. You might try gently scraping back and forth along the former seam line with the edge of a spoon to force the fibers together where the needle went through. Pressing on the _wrong_ side with the hottest iron setting safe for the fiber and a damp press cloth and/or lots of steam _might_ remove the former crease marks.

All of that should have been attempted while the garments seams were opened out, _prior_ to re-stitching. Once you have re-sewn the garment seams and linings it will be nigh on impossible.

Janice is right. There are some fabrics that will not recover the needle holes.

As a rule (and remember there are exceptions to all of those) natural fibers with needle holes and crease marks can be fixed. Manmade fibers...you are out of luck. If these are all stretch fabrics, like the white one mentioned above, I'm terribly sorry, but you will never get those needle holes closed nor will you remove those crease marks.

For a lot of natural fibers (never tried this on silk, so I can't say for sure) you can try a spray of 50/50 water and white vinegar. Spray the creases with that and press them flat; hot iron. Will pull a crease right out on wool.

Pressing with a LOT of steam and then scratching over the needle holes with your thumbnail will often close needle holes; again on Natural fibers.

Letting out is a dicey situation at best. I always tell clients that I can make things smaller all day long, but bigger is often problematic. If it's anything other than a 100% natural fiber (and really wool is my favorite thing to do this type of work on) I will usually say no to the client.

Sharon

Many times, to make seam lines disappear, a person can dampen the seam lines with plain, clear vinegar and press with the temperature necessary for the fabric. *** Try a small place that can't be seen first to make certain it works. ***

I have never had a problem doing this over the past 60+ years I've been sewing. With 3 daughters, I can not even think how many outfits I've altered and used this to make the seam lines disappear. Emily