sambung: how to make a dress smaller~

Instructions

1. • 1
     Strip off your garments and put on the bra you plan to wear under your dress so you can make a more accurate adjustment to the waistline.
   • 2
     Turn the dress inside-out. Put the dress on and fasten it completely.
   • 3
     Stand in front of a full-length mirror, or a mirror large enough to give you a good view of your waistline. Using your reflection as a guide, pinch a side of the dress with the thumb and forefinger of your non-dominant hand, and secure a pin in the fabric with your other hand, placing the pin about 1/4 inch in from the side seam. Repeat this step on the other side, in the same spot. Adjust the pins until you get the correct fit. Be sure the gathers are equal on both sides.
   • 4
     Place additional pins up the sides of the dress, starting from the first pin. Be sure the adjustments make your waist appear smaller, but are not too tight. Use just enough pins to cover the waistline area, making sure you follow the contour of your body. Note that the line of pins should gradually taper off and end on top of the side seam so you can follow the pins and merge the alteration stitches with the side seams.
   • 5
     Take the dress off, being careful not to stick yourself. Use long hand stitches to baste the sides of the dress. When basting the dress, follow the line of pins. Knot the last stitch on each side of the dress, and cut the thread with the scissors. Remove the pins.
   • 6
     Thread your needle and sew over the basting with regular stitches. Try to sew as close to the basting as possible, but avoid sewing directly on top of the basting. End the last stitch on each side of the dress with a knot, and cut the thread.

Make A Dress Smaller

If you can make a dress bigger then why not you can make a dress smaller? It is quite simple to make a dress smaller in comparison to making a dress bigger. Sometimes all perfect dresses are not the perfect size. If you have larger dress you can easily make it smaller to fit you perfectly as you want. It is often called as ‘taking in’ a dress; it simple means you are moving the seam inward from its current position. Let’s find out how to make a dress smaller so as to fit you the best.

For making a dress smaller by yourself, you require things like measuring tape, medium seized sewing needle, thread closely matched to previously used in the seam, straight pins, scissors and seam rippers. Here are some simple steps and instructions to follow to make a dress smaller.

1) The first thing to do to make a dress smaller is to measure around your waist and hips. You also require measuring the front as well as the back of the dress at the waist and hips. Then you can calculate the difference on each measurement as this will roughly let you know how much you need to take in the waist and hips respectively.

2) The next step is to calculate a quarter of the amount you need to take in. For instance, if you need to take two inches, then you would mark ½” from the stitching on each side. Then you can measure in from the seam and mark where you will be sewing it by using a small piece of tailoring chalk.

3) Once you have marked it, you can begin sewing where the side seam crosses another seam, like at the armpit, bust or hips.

4) You have to sew straight down using or with the help of straight stitch. Moreover, you can leave the extra fabric in place as a very large seam. This way, you can let it out or make it bigger if you need to in the future. Finish the raw edges on the seam with a zigzag stitch to prevent the fabric from unraveling. This is how you can make a dress smaller as perfectly as you want.

source: http://takemydress.com