How To Alter A Bridesmaid Dress That Is Too Small

Finding that your bridesmaid dress is too small, just a few days before the wedding, can truly be nightmarish. This is more terrible than a loosely fitting dress because the former may not have enough wiggle room to work on. But with the latter, you can easily cut out excess fabrics and re-sew parts. But all hope is not lost. Here’s your guide on how to alter a bridesmaid dress that is too small.

How to Alter a Bridesmaid Dress That Is Too Small

If you find yourself in this situation, here’s what you can do to save yourself from unnecessary stresses. Plus, you can even gain a skill or two in dress-making. Let’s begin with the more practical ways on how to alter a bridesmaid dress that is too small.

• If you still have enough time before the wedding, avoid all the worries of alterations and order a new one that's one size bigger than your size. As said earlier, it's easier to deal with an oversized dress than a tightly-fitting dress.
  
• If you’ve little time to order a brand new one, bring in the dress to your seamster. They surely have extensive experience on how to alter a bridesmaid dress that is too small, and they’ll be glad to help.
  
• If you have what it takes to deal with the problem on your own, then altering the dress should be easy with this guide. Check the seams of the dress for extra fabrics that you can work on. Thank God if the seamstress left a considerable room for adjustments.
  
• Take your exact measurement once again. Do the fitting a few days before the wedding, so you don't gain weight and make the dress fit smaller after the alteration is done.
  
• If the dress is just a little too fit, replacing the closure with an invisible zipper may do the trick, so you can use the last inch of the fabric to make more space. But if it’s still too tight to fit, you will have to do the following tips.
  
• Release the seams on the problematic areas. With the right measurement this time, mark the site to be adjusted. Sew it back.
  
• If there's little extra fabric to work on, you will need to find a filler fabric. Look for a similar cloth to serve as your extension. If you can’t find any, you may choose a cloth that complements your fabric's color. This way, it may appear like an accent on the dress and won't look off.
  
• If the dress is too little to comfortably close the zipper, make the adjustments on both sides of the dress. Halve the needed extra measurement and add it on each side. Release the seams on the side and sew your filler cloth. If the design is pleated, you'll have to do the same with your filler fabric to blend naturally with the designs. Since the adjustment is made on the sides, your arms will cover the altered parts, and this shouldn't look catchy from a distance.
  
• Work on every layer of the dress if it’s multilayered. You can add other articles onto your dress if need be to hide the imperfect extension. Go creative and find stuff from your local dress shops that you can match with your dress so that it's the accent and not the seams that will catch onlooker's attention.
  

You’ll find these steps on how to alter a bridesmaid dress that is too small effortless if you’re handy with sewing, but if the task is too challenging, hand it over to your local seamstress. You might add more damages to the dress if your attempt at sewing fails.

How to Prevent Problems with Dress Sizing

Even if you managed to alter the dress on time, it could still be stressful on the get-go. So how can you prevent a troublesome experience when it comes to bridesmaid dresses? Check these tips we have for you.

• Make sure to order the dress as early as possible, once the wedding day has been set. It's best to allow a month or two as the time for dress alteration. Have the seamstress turn in the dress two months before the wedding, so there's plenty of time to adjust it. Remember that the seamstress could have other clients, too, so you don't want last-minute changes.
  
• More than one round of alteration may be needed, so you'll be needing that much time as leeway for adjustments.
  
• You may also want to choose simple designs that can easily be altered should changes need to be made. This goes especially true if you’re ordering the dress from overseas, where sending the dress back can take some time and extra money. With simple designs, you alter the dress yourself, or your local seamstress can do the job easily and at a much cheaper rate. You can expect to be charged $75 to $150 for uncomplicated adjustments.

Conclusion

Related Articles