A dress alteration is a great way to be budget-friendly and resourceful, making the most of the material you have in your closet. If you have an old dress that you never wear simply because you don’t like the way it looks or fits, you’ve come to the right place. This post will walk through a very specific type of alteration.
The goal of this project was to change the sleeveless portion of an old dress into a more closed shortsleeved style perfect for a summer outfit. The old version was more formal; the new version is something more suitable to be worn with flip flops or to the beach.
You can use this post for a very similar strategy for yourself, or as a way to get ideas for how to do your own dress alteration ideas. You’ll be able to see for yourself the before and after, and just how stunning and casual and old dress can become!
What you’ll need for this dress alteration
- Sewing machine
- Scissors
- Black Thread
- Measuring Tape
- Paper
- Pencil
- Ruler
- Dress
- Pins
Dress alteration step-by-step
The dress this post focuses on is seen in the picture below. The goal is to make it more modest and less open, something more appropriate for a summer day at a picnic than a formal dinner party.
1. Cut Bands
Start but cutting only the pleated bands that go from the front wast over the shoulder and to the back waist, placing those pieces to the side.
2. Sew Bodice
Once you’ve cut the bands and placed them aside, use a sewing machine to sew the bodice of the dress back together.
3. Alter the Shoulder
Now remeasure the shoulder seams and sew them lower down.
4. Sew the front of the bodice
Next, sew the front of the bodice where it crosses following the seam line to the waist. This part makes the dress more modest in the front rather than having the pieces of the outfit more open.
5. measure Length & Sew Bands
Measure your shoulder height to the point where you want the length of the dress to be. Then align that with the dress, adding an inch for a seam and fitting the bottom of the dress off at that point.
At this point take the pleated bands, sew the two ends together and sew them to the now bottom of the dress all the way around.
Before sewing the last three or so inches, stop and sew the other two ends of the pleated band together at the point where they would join sewn to the dress.
Now finish sewing it to the dress.
6. Cut Sleeves
Now cut out the sleeves.
First make a pattern for the sleeve by measuring the height of the arm hole, multiply it by three, and then divide it by two. You can use a spare piece of paper and draw a straight line on it with the final number you get.
The final number for this dress was nine inches.
Now draw a straight line horizontally at the top of the first line. The line for this dress was approximately seven inches, but you can make it bigger or smaller depending on your preference.
Go ahead and draw a curved line, attaching the two points.
Cut out the paper and attach it to a folded section of the cutoff bottom of the dress. Leave room for a seam on the straight side edge.
Then cut the piece out, only cutting the curved side of the pattern. The top of the pattern should be right against the folded line of the fabric. Do the cutting step twice to get two sleeves that have an equal measurement.
7. Add Sleeves
Use pins to attach each sleeve to the armholes of the dress. Once this is done, sew it up.
Now hem each sleeve.
Your dress alteration is complete! Enjoy!
With Warmth & Love
Silas & Elisabeth
