1. **State the problem:** Harriet bought $t$ meters of fabric. James bought 8 times as much fabric as Harriet, so James initially had $8t$ meters. 2. James returned 63 meters of fabric, so the amount of fabric James has now is $8t - 63$ meters. 3. We are told James still has more fabric than Harriet after returning 63 meters. This gives the inequality: $$8t - 63 > t$$ 4. Solve the inequality: Subtract $t$ from both sides: $$8t - t - 63 > 0$$ Simplify: $$7t - 63 > 0$$ Add 63 to both sides: $$7t > 63$$ Divide both sides by 7: $$t > 9$$ 5. **Interpretation:** Harriet must have bought more than 9 meters of fabric for James to still have more fabric after returning 63 meters. **Final answer:** $$t > 9$$