Life is Beautiful

Motherhood, Sewing, Family

DIY: lengthen a short dress part two.

~ SEWING

This week I’ll show you how to lengthen a short dress in a different way.
I bought this dress from F21(stripes and mint? how can I say no?) and put it through the wash cycle.  When it came out, this is how it looked.
I went back to the store to see if they would exchange it, but they pointed out that on the tag it said, “hand wash only”.  Shucks, my bad!  So I bought another same exact dress and took it home with me(the dress was only $10 each).
I cut the torn part off.
Then cut the bottom length of the other dress to attach it.
And sewed the bottom part onto the original dress.
Then I got a fitting dress and traced it with a disappearing ink pen.
And sewed along the traced line.  And you’re done!
The after:

What you’ll need:
– two of the same dress/fabric
-matching thread
-sewing machine/(or)needle
-disappearing ink pen
-scissors
-a dress you like the fit of.
Estimated time: 30 mins.
Project cost: moderate(mine was a little over $10)
Skill level: a confident beginner
the after photos by Jessica Peterson.
last week’s giveaway winner announced here.

Comments

  2. Erica Louise says

    Beautiful, thanks for the tip on how to do this, I need to get an invisible pen! Mint green and white look perfect on you, love your shoes too, where are they from?

  6. Sarah says

    So cute Sarah! And it looks so comfy too. I'm ready for some serious Arie drama tonight on the bachelorette!

  8. Tournesol says

    Very cute, the dress looks so much better after you fitted it to your shape and the added on length makes it look so much more interesting. Good job. Love the shoes by the way. Lucky woman, if I saw my husband vacuum i'd probably faint from the shock!

  13. FeltByRae says

    That is a fab transformation… I'm not currently the right shape (ahem!) for a fitted dress like that but you have inspired me to have good look at clothes I already have that could be altered in a similar way… hmmm, I foresee a fun weekend coming up:)

  18. Susan Chesney says

    You are just a beautiful woman with great ideas! Love that you contoured the dress…several of mine could use the same treatment. I always wondered if it would make the dress difficult to put on if I "slimmed" it…I guess it depends on how stretch the fabric is. Love that you are make a mini dress for your girl. Where did you get your gorgeous SHOES?!

  19. Sarah says

    Thank you, you are too kind! And if it's really stretchy or have a zipper, slimming it should be no problem. 🙂 and the shoes are from Zara.

  21. kimmie says

    I have been meaning to comment that I absolutely love the mint stripes and sleeves on this dress and I love that you were able to slim and lengthen it. Now im on the hunt for the same dress at f21 🙂 looks so good on you!

  22. Erin says

    found your blog searching pinterest for tips on how to lengthen a dress. OMG this is adorable! Your blog is awesome, all the sewing, refashion, modestify posts are so great! and I love how you're REAL about motherhood.
    Question if you have time to give input: I have a Polo dress that's just a smidge too short…I'm trying to decide if I'd be able to lengthen it kinda like this, if I found the same color fabric, or if I should just go for a contrasting look. Or if adding fabric just wouldn't work at all because the fabric is not like a normal dress, it's the unique meshy polo shirt fabric? Do you think there's anything that could work?

  23. Sarah says

    You are so sweet, I am so happy you found my blog! Thank you for your sweet, encouraging words as well, it means a lot to me.

    About the polo dress, I personally would prefer a same color fabric to lengthen, but if you can't find the same color fabric, a colorblock would work as well, but just make sure it's the same mesh fabric or it would look tacky. Best luck with your DIY and I would love to see pictures when you're finished!

    Sarah

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