It often happens that the dress you like seems so perfect that ladies don’t even feel any discomfort when trying it on for the first time. Already at home, when you can calmly examine the much desired purchase, it turns out that the dress is not enough. The size difference is small, but just enough to make wearing a new thing uncomfortable.
Fortunately, in most cases, a small adjustment is enough to correct the situation.
A new dress is not enough: what to do?
The first thing that comes to mind in such a situation is losing weight. But this is not always possible or advisable. Therefore, let’s focus on correcting the outfit itself.
First, you need to decide on the end result that you would like to achieve. It often happens that the original shape and style of the dress cannot be preserved. In other cases, the item cannot be altered at all and any correction will simply render it unusable.
The easiest way to remake a dress is one that has a lot of details, yokes, raised elements and embellishments, and seams. This will make it easy to rip it apart in places where it is needed. Sometimes you have to completely disassemble the product.
Causes of problems
It happens that clothes change size when washed. Cotton and wool often become smaller. Why did the dress shrink? This trouble is caused by two reasons:
- Poor quality processing, defects. The item shrinks if the fabrics were not pre-treated before cutting or low-quality materials were used.
- Care instructions were not followed. For example, the label indicated that washing is allowed at 30 degrees, but the item was washed at 60.
Dress transformation process
After the dress has been cut, it is necessary to iron the seams with an iron and remove all threads. Next, you should select the material from which the inserts will be formed, creating the missing volume of the item.
This year, contrast in both fabric texture and shades has become fashionable. Therefore, you can select a material that is identical in all respects to the main one used in the product, or buy a completely different one in quality and color. All kinds of mesh, guipure, and lace become universal in this regard. Denser fabrics easily tolerate proximity to leather and its substitutes. If guipure and lace make the outfit more feminine, then leather or jeans will add coquetry and bring the dress closer to simpler styles.
Good idea! If transparent inserts do not suit the style or purpose of the outfit, but you really want to use them, then you can put silk or satin under the translucent fabric.
This will add originality to the final version of the dress. The most popular combination remains flesh-colored satin with black lace sewn onto it.
Undercut barrel
Undercut barrels - matching or contrasting ones - can also save the situation. The sleeves can be expanded with the same fabric, removed or replaced with ones made of companion fabric.
This technique is also suitable for long casual and elegant dresses. The barrel can be contrasting or in the same key, but a little darker.
Options for altering dresses purchased in the wrong size
There are several relatively simple ways to turn a small dress into one that fits.
Method 1
The easiest and most obvious way to add volume to items is to use seam allowances. This means that in the places where the details of the outfit are connected, you need to move the seam itself a little further, leaving as little fabric as possible for the seam allowance.
Important to remember! The remaining seam allowance should be sufficient to keep the seam from unraveling.
If you go through each seam in this way, you can significantly increase the size of the dress.
Method 2
In situations where the dress is too short, you can add an original frill at the bottom. The fabric, just as in the first case, may differ or exactly repeat the texture of the base material.
Advice! To ensure that the fabric selected for alteration does not stand out from the overall picture, you can decorate the sleeves with it or make original details, bows, and ruffles from it.
Method 3
It is also designed to solve the problem of a dress having a skirt that is too short. This method will require a little more skill. In the waist area, you need to carefully cut the fabric or rip it apart along the seam and add an additional strip there. It can also be highlighted as decoration with another fabric.
Attention! Before using new fabric for alterations, it must be washed and ironed.
In this case, she will not be able to ruin the finished outfit due to shrinkage.
Are we going on a diet or changing?
The main dilemma that visits women in such a situation is: what is easier - to remake yourself into a dress or a dress to suit yourself. Let's be honest: not everyone has the desire and willpower to lose weight. Sometimes health problems become an obstacle. But even when a woman is ready to take care of her figure, she does not always have the necessary amount of time. For example, an outfit was purchased for a holiday that will take place in a couple of days. In any case, it will not be possible to reduce your volume by a size or even more within such a period.
Then there is only one way out: make the dress bigger. Just first you need to soberly assess this possibility: imagine what you would like to see the end result, understand whether this particular style is suitable for remodeling. If the dress has additional elements (ruffles, ruffles, yokes), then after alteration they will successfully disguise the new inserts. And if it has a strict straight cut, then you will need to act extremely carefully so as not to spoil the impression of the outfit.
If the dress is small in a separate place
When altering a dress, you need to consider all the little things like seam allowances and the elasticity of the fabric. In this case, the item will ultimately be comfortable to wear.
There are situations when a dress is too small in some part of it, despite the fact that other elements fit perfectly. In this case, you won’t have to completely alter the outfit.
If the dress is small in the hips, then you only need to insert fabric on the sides for volume. The item is ripped open in the area of the undercuts, pre-prepared pieces of fabric are inserted there and the outfit is put back together. This alteration allows you to visually reduce volumes if necessary. It is enough to choose a darker fabric and the desired effect will be achieved.
If the dress is tight in the chest area, then the issue can be resolved by deepening the neckline. You can also insert fabric into the sides of the bodice or add ribbon to the seam at the bottom of this piece.
Should be considered! A strip of fabric 5 centimeters wide will increase the volume of the dress by only 1 centimeter, 6 centimeters will give 2 centimeters of much-needed volume, and so on.
Sometimes, to increase the size of a dress, it is enough to increase only the front part of the dress. If you enlarge both main parts of the pattern, the neckline will expand significantly.
It is important to know how to decorate outfits. Not all alterations will remain invisible, so in some places the modifications will have to be disguised. Frills, ruffles, ribbons, bows, flounces, decorative buttons, locks and brooches are suitable for this.
Making inserts
Remember! A dress is a type of clothing that covers almost the entire body and is always visible. Therefore, you need to work with it carefully so that everything looks perfect.
To make inserts, you need to follow these steps:
- Prepare the dress: rip off the neckline, the lower part of the product. The thing definitely needs to be steamed.
- Before cutting the clothes, you need to fold them, aligning the shoulder and side seams, the hem and neck halves, reliefs and darts. Using special pins, you need to pin together all the combined seams and mark the half-skid.
- If one strip is used to increase the length of the dress, then it is worth cutting the front along the half-skid line. If there are two stripes, you need to attach a line to the half-skid, make a marking, step back a certain number of centimeters from it and cut off both shelves.
- Next, you should proportionally reduce the neck. To avoid making a mistake, it is advisable to use your own chest height measurement. The approximate formula looks like this: neck tuck solution - the width of the finished insert subtract 1/3 from the finished insert. The top of the dart should always be at least 2 centimeters above the bust line.
- Now you need to try on the product and cut off all excess. If you feel comfortable in such a thing, you can proceed directly to sewing.
- All that remains is to make the inserts, smooth out the seams and the bottom of the neckline.
Important! The fabric for inserts should be selected as similar in texture as possible to the main fabric of the product.
After such simple procedures, you can safely put on the finished outfit and feel irresistible in it! We also recommend watching a video on how you can make your favorite dress bigger if you have gained weight or if it has shrunk after washing:
Be careful with shawls
If you simply throw a shawl or pashmina over your shoulders, consider yourself to have scored an own goal against your own beauty. Yes, it’s warmer and this detail will add a romantic touch to the image. But why visually reduce already narrow shoulders? If you really like pashminas, learn how to tie them loosely around your neck. If you master a method that will create an additional horizontal line at the shoulder line, any look with such an accessory will automatically become stylish and harmonious.
How to stretch a knitted dress a size larger.. How to stretch shrunken knitwear
Many knitted items shrink after washing. There are several ways to return such products to their previous size at home.
You will need
- - washing machine;
- - iron;
- - ironing board;
- - vinegar.
Instructions
1
Soak the shrunken knitted item in warm water for 10-15 minutes so that the fibers of the fabric are saturated with moisture as much as possible. Then, without spinning, place the product in the washing machine and turn on the spin mode. After completing the procedure, remove the item from the machine. Hang the item to dry on a hanger or secure it with clothespins on a rope.
2
Do not dry shrunken knitwear by laying it on a horizontal surface. So, the canvas may shrink again. Stretch products are hung to dry so that they elongate under their own weight. To ensure that the stretching process occurs evenly, it is recommended to shake things regularly.
3
Another way to return shrunken knitwear to its original size is by steam ironing. Iron a slightly damp item with an iron at medium heating temperature, trying to stretch it on the ironing board. This procedure can be carried out with dry knitwear, but then the iron must have a steam function.
4
Make a solution of acetic acid based on the calculation of 1 tablespoon of vinegar per liter of water. Soak the shrunken item in this liquid. Lightly wring out the product without twisting it and lay it on a horizontal surface, for example, on an ironing board. Stretch the item to the desired size, secure with pins and leave until completely dry.
Selecting material for alteration
Much of the success when altering a finished product using a different fabric depends on the selection of material. Experienced seamstresses advise following the basic rules when looking for a good alternative:
- to model the yoke in the upper part of the dress, mesh, lace, and guipure are used;
- on the sides and hips it is customary to use inserts made of guipure, rigid lace, and satin;
- for inserts on the sides, it is necessary to select a fabric so that when sewing in parts it does not fray, create creases or pull the fabric;
- For the insert, over which lacing is made, thick knitwear is used, which holds its shape so that the lacing does not pull the edges of the insert towards the center.
One of the criteria is the choice of color. Stylists advise using combinations that are similar in color scheme or resorting to the contrast method. For example, for a white and black dress model, red or bright blue inserts would be appropriate, while milky beige or cream shades will make the outfit unclear.
Set-in detail
Do not look at the fact that the insert is wide; this way you can only add a few centimeters to the chest.
Similar idea, but slightly better. Cut the dress along the front, cut out a new “dress-front” from companion fabric and stitch it from the inside to the side seams.
Read about how to expand a blouse, blouse or T-shirt that has become narrow in the chest here. If you found this article useful, please leave a comment, click on the “thumbs up” icon and
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Taken from: https://zen.yandex.ru/media/id/5b438d3e6400fc00a93...-idei-5e87723268b5133828439bf7
Selecting material for alteration
Much of the success when altering a finished product using a different fabric depends on the selection of material. Experienced seamstresses advise following the basic rules when looking for a good alternative:
- to model the yoke in the upper part of the dress, mesh, lace, and guipure are used;
- on the sides and hips it is customary to use inserts made of guipure, rigid lace, and satin;
- for inserts on the sides, it is necessary to select a fabric so that when sewing in parts it does not fray, create creases or pull the fabric;
- For the insert, over which lacing is made, thick knitwear is used, which holds its shape so that the lacing does not pull the edges of the insert towards the center.
One of the criteria is the choice of color. Stylists advise using combinations that are similar in color scheme or resorting to the contrast method. For example, for a white and black dress model, red or bright blue inserts would be appropriate, while milky beige or cream shades will make the outfit unclear.
How to stretch knitted pants. Width
You can stretch jeans in width mechanically, using an iron or a special expander.
The simplest method is mechanical action, when the trousers just need to be broken in. You don't need any aids for this.
Algorithm of actions:
- 1. Pull the jeans over yourself and try to button them. If your pants don't fit together, you can lie on your back. The stomach will retract and the zipper will close.
- 2. When the pants are on, you should start charging. You can squat, bend over, do swings and perform other exercises.
- 3. At first, the pants will restrict movement, but after a while the feeling of constraint will go away. When the jeans become comfortable and light, you can remove the product.
You can speed up the process by wearing warm tights under your trousers.
You can use a special device called waistband extender. This is an expander designed to stretch shrunken items wider.
Instructions for use:
- The belt must be moistened with water;
- button up your jeans;
- insert an expander into the trousers;
- gradually increase the length of the device to the required width;
- wait for the pants to dry and remove the device.
Before carrying out the procedure, you should take measurements of yourself to find out how much you need to stretch the item.
The expander can be replaced with another item of suitable size. For example, a board.
The disadvantage of this method is the short-term result. After the first wash, your jeans may shrink back to their original size.
In addition, tight pants can be stretched using an iron. To do this you need:
- iron the belt in steam mode;
- when the jeans have cooled down a little, you need to put them on and fasten them;
- then you should wait until the pants are completely dry and stretched.
When exposed to high temperatures, the denim will become elastic and the trousers will fit well.
