How to Make a Dress Shorter in a Just a Few Quick & Simple Steps

Tools and materials:

• Pins
• Measuring tape
• Sewing machine
• Scissors
• Dress

1. Pin the dress

The first step to shortening this stunning maxi dress was to mark the point I wanted to cut. I pinned the point by my knee, taking seam allowance into consideration. 

Another one of the dresses I would be altering was a bit too revealing, I pinned the chest so that I could sew it closed later. 

I also pinned the fabric by the knee so that I would know exactly what length I would shorten it to. 

I repeated the same for the next dress making sure to take seam allowance into consideration when pinning. 

2. Cut the fabric

Finally, it was time to start making the changes. I started with the first dress. I cut along my pinned line to make it shorter. 

For the next dress, I folded and measured to make sure when I cut, it would be along a straight pinned line. 

Before I could get to cutting the next dress, I made sure to remove the label on the inside. I measured, as I had done on the previous dress, and cut along my pinned line.

3. Sew the dresses

Once I had cut all my dresses, I moved to my serger and serged the bottom of every dress to make sure they would not fray. I then hemmed the bottoms to give the pieces a nice, clean finish.

If the dress had a corner at the bottom, I folded it on both sides to make sure it would be hemmed as a perfect corner. 

I made sure to also sew closed the bust of the revealing dress. I sewed to where I had pinned it so that I would feel comfortable wearing the dress. 

How to make a dress shorter

Totally love all my newly shortened dresses! What do you think of this tutorial on how to make a dress shorter? Let me know in the comments below!