So you’ve just bought your favorite dress. You’ve been eyeing it for years and you finally bit the bullet to buy it. You go out to your fancy event and then accidentally toss it into the dirty clothes. A day later after doing your laundry, you realized to your dismay, that your dress now no longer fits.
You may shed a few tears and do a little bit of Googling to see what you can do about it. Can the dress be saved!?
Luckily, before you give up, we are here to tell you that there are some simple and easy dress alterations that you can make on your own! Whether you need to hem the dress, let the hem out, or loosen the dress if it shrinks in the dryer, there are options.
Ready to learn about some simple and easy dress alterations that you can do yourself? Keep reading for some great ideas to improve your wardrobe!
Make the Dress Yourself
Although you may be in need of alterations, you may also be happy to know that you can make the dress or a dress that you love yourself. As long as you find sewing patterns that are of interest to you, you can pretty much make any type of clothing article that you want.
Using various sewing patterns will allow you to create clothes in the exact way that you want them to be made rather than a dress you find in the store and need to alter. Although it may seem like more initial work, if you get the hang of it, you may end up loving it! Not to mention, everything is going to fit you better!
If you want to be fashionable and stay up with the current trends, making your own dress is the perfect way to do that.
Hem a Dress
One of the simplest and easiest dress alterations that you can make and do yourself is hemming a dress. You would usually hem a dress if it is too long for you or if you simply want to have a different fashion style with it being shorter.
The easiest type of dresses to hem are the ones that have visible stitching on the hem of the dress already. All you have to do is simply cut off the excess and do a new hem on the sewing machine.
However, there will be times when you do not have a dress to hem that is this easy. If that is the case, you need to ensure that you measure and mark exactly where you need to hem the dress, otherwise things will get messy quickly.
Shortening the Straps
If you buy a dress and the straps don’t fit but everything else does, you do not have to worry! There are a few things that you can do to fix this easily.
Although it is a bit more complicated than just cutting off the bottom of the dress to make a ham, it is some basic hand sewing required to make this simple alteration to address that can make a huge difference. Think about it. If the dress at the side is gapping or your entire brought is shown in the back of the dress, it is definitely time to alter the straps. It will look like a completely different article of clothing!
So how can you shorten the straps without making them noticeable? Follow the steps below to fix your straps:
- Put the dress on to take a guesstimate of how much you want to take off
- When you know how much you want to take off, put a pin in its place
- Take the dress off and then confirm with a measuring tape that both straps are the same measurement
At this point, you can start to ham the straps. However, how you hem it may be a bit different depending on the dress. If the dress is lined, you can fold down the access inside of it so it is tucked into the lining. However, if it is not, you are going to need to cut the dress and sew it back together.
Loosen the Dress
If you’re dealing with a dress that is too tight, this may seem problematic. You either bought the wrong size or you’ve grown out of it, or maybe you shrunk the clothes in the dryer – none of which you want. Luckily, you do not have to say goodbye to the dress just yet – especially if it is still in style! There are a few things that you can do to alter the dress at home.
If you want to loosen the dress, you are going to have to let out a few seams or darts. The most straightforward solution is to loosen the side seam and then restitch it. However, in order to do this, you need to make sure that there is an extra seam allowance on the side of the dress.
If you do not have a big enough seam allowance on the side, you can also add an extra piece of fabric to let it out. To do this, you will need to find matching fabric. You also need to ensure that it has the same care instructions otherwise it may shrink or stretch differently.
Simple and Easy DIY Dress Alterations
If you have a dress that you know does not fit correctly, there are a few different things you can do. And the good news is that you can do it yourself – there’s no need to take it to a tailor to have it done professionally! You can simply do it in your own home whether you need to hem the bottom, loosen it, or take in the straps!
Or, on the other hand, you can start showing your own dresses with sewing patterns. This way, they will fit you perfectly without any alterations needed!
Did you enjoy reading about the simple and easy dress alterations that you can do yourself? You can find several other articles like this one about fashion and current trends on our site!
