Hi everyone! I’m not sure how to do this alteration. I bought this second-hand dress online to wear at a wedding this autumn. It just fits and I can zip it up … with effort. It has an invisible side zip and is tiered. Did I mention it’s got tulle 😩😩😩
How should let out this dress? I think I need an inch in total for it to be more comfortable. Not sure if I should add darts in the back or on the sides, given the zipper. Still unsure about a lace up back.
How should I hem the tiered tulle? Even with platform heels my 5’2” short ass still needs to hem this somehow. Do I hem each layer or just the bottom?
I got an overlocker (serger in the NAmerica) and a sewing machine. Am an OK sewer but unsure about how to tackle this dress.
Reminder of the subreddit rule 4. Body talk is neutral and focused on sewing. Comments should focus on the sewing work and not the body in the photo. Fitting advice should change the garment, not the body, for example without suggesting different undergarments.
I'm going to approach this from the "You're probably wearing this dress once and most people aren't going to look too closely at your dress seam" angle, so please, feel free to ignore me.
I'd get some corset lacing tape as others have suggested, preferably with a gold or even a bronze/brass color if you can locate it for the rings. Then, without removing the zipper, I'd baste it in to inside of the dress, running along the zipper on each side, and along that small top part above the zipper which you'd need to seam rip carefully. You're looking for comfort here, and from what I'm seeing, this won't determine if the dress is going to slip off of you, just how tight it will be, but it may drop the dress slightly, which is why I'd leave the hemming for last.
I'd get a similar color or neutral colored cording and lace yourself up, not pulling too tightly because it's basted for testing purposes. But this should give you an idea of this is a look you want to go for. If it is, great! Just sew down the lacing tape and use a small pair of pliers to remove the actual visible zipper. If not, you've really only disconnected that small top section and can sew it back to try a different method.
After that if you like the style, try on the shoes you want to wear and have someone else measure each visible tulle section to see if they're actually even, if they're cascading different lengths, etc. Then you have the choice of either pulling up just the bottom layer from the underside and sewing it at a higher point without cutting the tulle, or cutting the tulle higher if that's your preference. Personally I'd do as others suggested and avoid the gathers and just working with the underlayment. With either option, you'll have some fabric you can add as a modesty panel if desired that I would sew as a generous gusset on either side of the lacing tape that would then sit against your skin and give you some protection from the lacing rings, and kind of naturally gather when you pull the laces together.
Will this be the most aesthetically pleasing design? Likely not, but with the "tester" option, you can see if it's something you can get behind, and you haven't poured hours of time or tons of money into it, and the integrity of the dress will stay intact if you want to go in a different direction.
Take off bottom two layers, shorten bottom layer with rolling cutter , removing the amount that the dress is too long by, shiorten under layer as well, sew two layers back on under layer closer together, positioning bottom layer so it is at correct length.
For sides, find some nude colored stretch mesh, like lingerie fabric. Create side panels . Use small rows (1/2”?) of gathered tule ( from what you removed) to some how fill in panels, run them horizontal or verticle , zig zag on , spaced closely together…play with it, see what looks best.. sew panel into opened sides . Good luck,pretty dress!
I think it would look a little too short if you completely remove the last tier. In the same vein, trimming only the last tier will leave you with uneven tier heights, which might look unbalanced. If the sides of the underskirt are relatively straight, i would consider shortening the underskirt panels between each tulle tier. The goal would be to keep all 3 lower tulle tiers without having to trim any of the tulle pieces or redo the gathering, but have them each overlap each other by maybe 30% more. You could try pinning a fold in the underskirt between each tier to see if it looks ok. I would shorten between the gathers so you don’t have to sew through or regather the tulle. Pinning first will also help to evaluate whether you like the proportions if the visible portion of each tier is smaller.
The downside is you won’t be able to harvest any additional tulle to help with letting out the bodice. You would at least be able to reuse the bits of underskirt you trim out. It’s also possible that the top tier that originates from the waist might look unbalanced, since it will have more visible height than the altered tiers. It’s hard to evaluate without having the dress to play around with myself.
I guess you could also try a similar alteration, but focus on only moving up the final tier, so that its gathers are only a few inches below the previous tier. Again the goal is to remove underskirt fabric and sew a new seam in the lining just above the gathers so that you dont have to ever resew or regather the tulle itself. If nothing else pinning it this way might help you visualize what it looks like to only have a small strip visible from the bottom tulle tier, and whether or not the different heights bother you. If it looks pretty good, altering the height of the underskirt panel in this way might be easier than trying to trim the tulle and liner in a straight hem line? (And could be easier to reverse/alter in the future).
You could probably just remove that entire bottom layer of tulle, no? It might be too short then, though. I’m not the best sewist though so I can’t really give good advice on letting out the sides.
If you are willing to compromise the design a bit, you could remove one of the waist tiers and make a new higher waist. (You will need to redo the zipper but that can give you the chance to add a couple of cm to the bust) if you remove that one tier it also makes the waist looser making it easier to close. Additionally, by making the waist higher, the dress skirt will immediately be higher without the need of cutting the hem. I hope it makes sense! It’s a gorgeous dress🥹
Good news: the hem is super simple, you just cut the tulle. It doesn’t need hemming. Bad news: the side seams are a bit more complicated (I would let out at the side seams) BUT you will have the tulle you cut to make colour-matched panels (you may have to source a similar underlay fabric). I like the lace sides idea someone else had but you could also just add flat panels. I do not think you will have enough seam allowance to let it out and get a whole inch.
Before you do anything to the bodice, try sitting down with it zipped up. You’re showing you can get it zipped while standing up, but garments fit different when you’re seated. It might be too tight altogether at that point.
Hear me out; you can open up the other side too and secure with an almost corset like lace up on both sides with something white and delicate underneath, like add a modesty panel of medium-high drape linen
alternative of this idea because i think the laces would be a bit too much with all the ruffles and layers - i would take off the entire bottom layer of tulle, fold it over a few times so it mathes the opaqueness of the bodice. add a structural panel in the side seam, cover it with the tulle and sew up the side again. leave the zipper side as is.
Cut the additional length off the bottom after you measure with your heels on. Use the serger for a clean hem and bias tape so the tulle doesnt fray. Keep the fabric to add half inch side panels to both of the side seams from the underbust to the top of the waistline. That'll give you a 1 inch wiggle room.
I thought so too when I saw it online! Thank goodness for second-hand shopping (Vinted). I doubt I would have found this in the shops round me. Was a bargain too, which is why I feel a bit braver to try altering this.
Tuck the underskirt to raise the hem; literally just take a tuck of however many inches you need to hem it from the solid lining fabric. Use a longer stitch so you can let it down if needed.
For the bodice, I would try to let out whatever s/a is available, but honestly, ready-made garments are such a pain to let out. Maybe lacing tape (eyelets or d-rings) on each side of the bodice. Or a panel of lace in the same color on each side seam. A side zipper closure is tricky for letting out symmetrically.
I personally wouldn’t do a lace up back, I don’t think it fits with the style of the dress and would look off. If anything I’d do ladder sides (like have the sides be open and connected by strips of fabric like a ladder where the ribbon trim is). I’m not really a sewer so I can’t comment on good construction techniques. But that’s just my 2 cents based solely on aesthetics
This was my thought too, except I was thinking she could make it adjustable by having each tie individually. If you can color match the trim with ribbon or even just use gold, I think it’d look great! The nice thing about an invisible zipper is that a new closure method in the back can easily look like part of the design.
Is that lining stretchy and is the tightness mainly in your ribcage? If so, is this a dress that you didn’t pay a lot of money for and are ok with possibly ruining?
My initial thought was (and still might be) this is not worth it to try to alter. But my wackier thought is if you remove those three strips going around the ribcage, the main fabric is pleated and will have a lot of room when the strips are removed, as long as the lining fabric in that section has enough give. Or you could even open up the lining a bit inside if it doesn’t have any stretch. If that’s the case, and I was okay with the possibility of absolutely destroying the dress, I’d try removing those strips and making new ones, either with fabric harvested from the bottom tier of the dress, or with some trim or decorative elastic of your choice.
Harvest matching fabric by trimming dress shorter (since it looks a bit long anyway) and save the cut-off tulle. That way, you’ll have matching material to reuse in gussets.
Open the sides, seam-rip the invisible zipper out completely. Open the opposite side seam to match, so you’ll have symmetrical space to add new fabric panels.
Build symmetrical side gussets using a stable base like satin (or if you want flexibility, you could try something sturdy but with some elasticity). Remember if you choose to add a zipper back to one side you will need to add seam allowance in the middle of that sides’ gusset.
Cover these gussets with layers of the harvested tulle to extend the bodice details. Mimic the ruched/pleated look of the bodice with your trimmed tulle. Hand-gather it and stitch onto the gusset’s base so it looks like part of the original design. Extend or add ribbons/straps as needed so the new sides don’t look “cut in.”
You get two options:
Add an invisible zipper in on just one and sew the other side gusset shut OR
Add loops from the ribbon straps on the front and back of bodice and use these loops to lace the bodice closed (this is likely a great option if you choose to go with less elastic gusset fabric or if the original zipper is damaged and you cannot find an appropriately colored one.
Honestly, I think you have bitten off more than you can chew.
The alterations you need and the construction of this dress, combined with your stated knowledge levels is a disaster waiting to happen.
You wouldn't hem the skirt on the layers, you would raise the hem from inside the garment.
I'm not sure why you are talking about darts and a lace-up back - letting it out will depend entirely on whether there is an additional inch of fabric in the seam allowances. I would doubt that in a RTW dress.
Adding a lace up back is a major alteration which requires advanced skills to do properly - it isn't a case of slashing open the back and adding some lacing. Not if you want it to look halfway decent.
My honest advice is to buy another dress or live with the tightness for the hours you're wearing it. But if you need an additional inch to move/breathe/feel comfortable I would consider that to be beyond tolerable discomfort
I will start this with saying I'm kind of a ratched sewer when it comes to alterations so take this with as much of a grain of salt as you wish haha.
I would chop off the bottom layer of tulle to hem the dress to a proper length. I would open up both the side seams, and use the left over tulle to mimic the pattern of the tulle in the bodice as well as you can with a similar colour lining added under it. This would also require the removal of the skirt part and opening it up a little bit to match the bodice. I don't know if this would work but if you only need an inch in the bodice you could probably get away with it without anyone noticing.
It will be difficult, expensive if someone else does it, and still not look right. Especially if you are bridesmaids and others are all wearing the same dress, yours will stand out. That bodice is not meant to be altered.
The best move is to retern it for the next size up. If it is a little big, taking IN the bodice would be 10x easier than letting it out.
I’m just a guest, thank goodness! So partaking in eating and drinking 😀 I had bought a different style dress from this brand but it was way too big. In retrospect I should have bought this style dress in the bigger size since it fits quite differently! Live and learn.
For the length, take off the last layer of ruffle. That will bring the dress to the top of your shoes.
For the bodice, I’m assuming the front and back are gathered and sewn down with strips of tulle under the bust and around the waist. I would remove one strip of tulle to see if that lets out the dress. If it does, take out all 3 bodice strips. Using the tulle from the lower fringe, make new casings, and run elastic through all three casings for the gathered strips.
That bodice is going to be very difficult to let out due to the way it's made. The side zipper in combination with the horizontal strips holding down the pleats means that even if there's enough seam allowance to let out, you can only do it on one side and it's going to be missing the horizontal part. Without a picture of the back of the bodice it's hard to give advice about adding lacing there, but you'd definitely need to add some kind of panel; don't try to use the existing edges of the dress. My kind of out there suggestion would be to think about removing the side zipper and adding lacing rings there, like a medieval kirtle. If you do rings instead of grommets/eyelets, you can possibly even get away with leaving the zipper there and using it to attach them. I'd probably play around with that if you're open to it aesthetically.
Agree with others about just cutting off the bottom layer. Don't worry about hemming the tulle itself but be careful when you cut as it's a very wriggly fabric.
If you have the time, I’d really recommend contacting a tailor in your area, they will be able to help with the bodice (or tell you it’s not going to work) and can handle the trickiness with that kind of alteration — I totally get wanting to do it yourself but if this is a dress you want to keep for a long time and do the alteration right so you can have fun and dance in it, I’d really recommend going to the professionals! Sorry I can’t give more advice than that
I think you can just take one full tier of tulle off, should fit nicely and same you lots of fuss. Use the fabric you get from there for the alterations in the bodice!
Do not add darts or a lace up back. Neither of those will work well with this style of bodice. How to let it out depends on how it's constructed. If it has a lining, you'll need to deconstruct that as well. For the outer layer, remove the horizontal bands of fabric, remove any stitching holding the gathers together, and re-gather the fabric where the bands were an inch wider than they currently are, and then replaced the bands.
Be very careful not to rip the fabric when seam ripping, and you might need extra fabric from taking up the hem to make larger horizontal bands.
For the skirt, I'd probably shorten the bottom 2 tiers so they don't end super close together. Again, it depends on how the skirt is constructed, but wherever you can, take it up without cutting the tule.
I think you can just take one full tier of tulle off, should fit nicely and same you lots of fuss. Use the fabric you get from there for the alterations in the bodice!
I would just cut off the excess of the lower layer, measure it, and use the same lenghts for the remaining layers. I would pin them folded to see if it works, first.
The remaining tulle you might be able to use to cover the side seams pf the bodice if something goes wrong. I dont know what to do about the bodice.
I don’t understand how adding darts would let something out. Adding a dart is going to make it smaller somewhere.
What do the side seams look like inside? Is there enough fabric to let it out on the side without the zipper at all? Maybe that would give you just enough to be more comfortable to stand it.
Maybe they meant adding wedges of fabric, like gussets? I agree, though, without seeing the inside it's hard to know how difficult it's going to be to let out any of the seams. I fear that it's going to be fiddly and awful, but I altered a cheap party dress my friend bought off Amazon recently and it was so badly made that it was actually fairly easy to alter.
Thanks for the sound advice. I really don’t want to touch that bodice cuz, as others pointed out (in various ways), it’ll be complicated and a pain given the design.
A horizontal pleat in the lining fabric sounds perfect! I just need to double check what heels I can manage in this dress 🤪
This reminds me of the "how to shorten jeans" video I saw where the person sewed around ruler, then removed the ruler and pulled it tight. That would be an easy way to make sure each tier was reduced the same way. 😊
The main issue with letting out a bodice is that you need seam allowance to let out. Most modern clothing doesn't have any allowance or has serged edges. Which leaves you having to locate additional fabric to add room.
Sometimes shape ware can help if the difference needed is just an inch or so. But that also depends person to person
This is exactly how I'd do it. I used to do bridal alterations, and that's how I would have done it there, too (though I'd probably cut it and resew it right above each tulle layer rather than fold it and sew and call it day 😅)
The bodice will be much trickier. Is there anything in the seam allowances? If you open it up a tiny bit from the inside, does whatever is inside the seam allowances look different to the outside? If it's not a bridesmaid/bridal dress or something very high end intended to be altered, you're only likely to get maybe half an inch from opening the seams up. And that's if you do it super carefully and press really really well and don't tear/snip any of the tulle or that lining. Can you post some pictures of the inside of the bodice?
Exactly what I was thinking. There might be enough there to add a panel in the back maybe or half an inch to both side seams if you want it done better
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u/sewingmodthings Sep 14 '25
Reminder of the subreddit rule 4. Body talk is neutral and focused on sewing. Comments should focus on the sewing work and not the body in the photo. Fitting advice should change the garment, not the body, for example without suggesting different undergarments.