How to Take in a Dress by Hand

Introduction

Do you have a lovely dress that just doesn’t fit as snug as you would like? Often times dresses will never fit perfectly right off the rack. This guide will show you how to tailor your own dress to be smaller in seven easy steps so you do not have to go out of your way to pay a tailor—you can be your own tailor!

As you complete this guide, take caution when using your sewing needle to make the new hem. Needles are extremely sharp so take extra caution when carrying out Step 5.

What you need

Step 1 How to Take in a Dress by Hand

How to Take in a Dress by Hand, How to Take in a Dress by Hand: step 1, image 1 of 1

Lay the dress flat on a table.

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Step 2

Measure the bust and waist of the dress with the measuring tape and write the measurements down.
Measure your own bust and waist. Subtract the your measurements from the dress measurements.
Divide these numbers by two.
This is the amount of fabric that will be removed from each side.

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Step 3

Turn the dress inside out.
Use the marker to mark the amount of bust and waist fabric that you are taking in for both sides.

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Step 4

Connect the marks with sewing pins (or safety pins) to make a clear path to sew along.

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Step 5

How to Take in a Dress by Hand: step 5, image 3 of 3

Thread the needle and leave plenty of excess thread for tying knots.
Start at the bottom of the new hem and weave the needle in and out of the dress until you reach the other side.
Tie a few knots at the end and cut the excess thread.
Now the new hem has been made.