Adapting Clothing for Easier Dressing
Being able to dress ourselves quickly and easily is a daily activity that most adults take for granted. For people with a limited range of motion, however, this activity can be uncomfortable, difficult, or almost impossible to manage.
Adapting closure on garments can allow more independence for people who have a limited range of motion. Hook-and-loop tape can replace many unwieldy closures. It can replace buttons or snaps on waistbands, as well as zippers on pants, skirts, and jackets. A back-opening bra can be converted to front opening by using hook and loop tape.
Clothing with buttons should have buttons large enough to grasp and slip easily through buttonholes. Buttons with a slight texture are easier to hold than smooth buttons, and using elastic thread to sew on the buttons allows for flexibility while manipulating them through buttonholes.
Zippers are another closure that can be adapted for easier use. A commercial zipper lubricant, candle wax, or graphite pencil rubbed on the zipper teeth will often make the zipper slide better. The addition of a large plastic or metal ring, ribbon loop or leather tab to the zipper pull is easier to grasp. Attaching a fabric tab or loop to the bottom of a garment's zipper will allow the wearer to keep the garment taut while it is being opened or closed.
Any of these adaptations can be made with little or no sewing expertise, and can make dressing an independent activity again.
Click here for a 22 page booklet, Clothing for People with Physical Handicaps, PNW0222.
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