How to make a short dress from a long dress

Most women at least once in their lives have a question: how to shorten a dress? There can be many reasons for this. Here are some of them.

• On a thinner figure, the item fits looser, making it longer.
• An outdated model can be revived by making it shorter.
• Boring length of the product.
• Change of style.

If you have chosen a dress to shorten and made a firm decision to modify it, you need to know the main points, using which you will get an excellent result. This is especially true when you need to shorten quickly. We'll tell you how to turn a long dress into a short one.

Materials and tools for shortening a dress

Before you begin, you should prepare the tools and materials that will be needed for shortening.

• Spool threads that match the color of the dress and match the fabric. For example, for a chiffon dress it is better to use thin synthetic threads with glitter.
• Sewing machine.
• Overlock.
• Ruler, square.
• Flexible meter.
• Chalk on the fabric or you can replace it with a thin piece of soap. Take into account the color of the fabric, since the mark left by the chalk may not be visible. You can use a special water-soluble marker.

Important! The line from a water-soluble marker can only be washed off with cold water. If you wet it hot, the mark will remain.

• Sharp scissors.
• Pins with heads for lining the bottom.
• Needles.
• Special adhesive tape (for certain cases).

How to properly shorten a dress made from different fabrics

Once everything is selected, you can start working.

Length Determination

First of all, you need to decide on the length.

• Put on the dress, make a mark for the future edge, and pin it with a pin.
• After removing the dress, fold the edge along the mark and secure it along the length of the entire hem.
• Try on the outfit again to make sure it is the right length. Then remove and mark the line with chalk so that it runs 1 - 2 cm below the desired edge. This is hem reserve.

Important! This procedure must be carried out regardless of what fabric the dress is made of.

• Cut the fabric along the marked line.

Slice processing

Lightweight natural fabrics

The easiest way to process the bottom of a dress is made of light fabrics (cotton, thin linen, etc.). It is necessary to make a hem and perform a machine stitch or overlock processing.

Dense heavy fabrics

If the fabric is thick enough, such as suiting or jersey, then You can sew trouser tape or bias tape along the bottom edge.

• Attachment is carried out on the front side. Then fold the hem inward and gently steam with an iron. It is better to carry out the procedure through damp gauze or thin cloth. This will prevent the dress material from sticking to the iron. The bottom can be reinforced by sewing a straight seam, or you may not need to perform this action.

Knitwear, silk

A knitted dress requires special finishing on the bottom. This will allow you to avoid stretching the seam lengthwise. Processing is carried out either with a cover (flat) seam or with an overlock stitch.

• Overlock processing quite simple. The only condition is that you need an overlocker. The product is cut 0.5 cm below the desired mark. Then a stitch is made along the edge, without any folds. It is better to use a medium stitch width for knitwear; for chiffon and silky fabrics, use a narrow stitch with frequent stitches.
• The cover stitch needs an additional 2.5 cm hem. Along the bottom edge of the hem, the seam is processed using an overlocker. Then a hem is made along the marked line. And along the wrong side, a second seam is made, spaced 1 cm from the edge of the product. Then, stepping back the width of the foot (0.5–0.7 cm) from the edge upward, the second seam is sewn. After this, carefully iron through a damp cloth or using a steamer.

Processing a dress with decor at the bottom

If there is a need to sew braid or lace to the bottom edge, thenStart cutting off excess fabric. Then the edges are processed and the lace is sewn on the front side., placing it on the fabric of the dress.

How to shorten a dress at the waist

For skirts or dress hems, where there is decoration with stones at the bottom of the product or pleats, shortening is done along the seam at the waist. The work is performed according to the following algorithm.

• Steam the belt or skirt.
• Measure the length at the waist on the cut piece, so that you can then combine it with the seam or waistband.
• Taking into account the seam allowances, markings are made.
• Trim off the excess.
• Try on the waist of a dress or the belt of a skirt.
• Subtract the smaller from the larger size and divide the result by two.The resulting number is the centimeters that need to be subtracted along the side seams. Otherwise, you won’t be able to match the top with the bottom of a dress or a skirt with a belt.
• After aligning the seams, parts of the product are ground down.

Universal method

The cut edge of the product is folded 1 cm and attached with a straight seam along the front side, departing from the edge by 0.5–0.7 cm.