How-to Fit an Ill-Fitting Dress Tutorial

I love finding a fantastic dress with it's own unique details. I was given this white and tan striped linen dress that was much too big for me. I learned this technique in a tailor shop, and it's a technique that I use over and over again. Here's a quick overview of how I fixed it.

I love the fun stripes and the linen texture. It's the perfect summer dress.

 

1. Cut off sleeves. Mark sides. I wanted to keep the skirt flared so I only pinned under the arms and at the waist. Mark where you want the sleeve seam.

2. Sew in sides and trim.

3. Finish edges and iron seam open.

4. Cut two armhole. I cut on the black dots.

5. Check width of sleeve to the new armhole. I had to take in my sleeves about half the amount as my sides. Trim and finish edges. Iron open.

6. Reattach sleeves. Finish edges.

That's it! You now have a new dress!