How to Add Tucks to a Wedding Dress

Many wedding dresses require a perfect fit.

Every bride is concerned with her appearance on her wedding day. The first step to a beautiful bride is usually the perfect wedding dress. However, if a bride loses weight before the wedding, that perfect dress will be too big. The easiest way to take in a wedding dress that is too big is to create tucks, commonly referred to as darts, in the fabric to make the dress smaller.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• Pins
• Sewing machine

Instructions

Sizing the Dress

1. Place the dress on the bride. Have the bride wear all of the undergarments that she will wear on the wedding day.

2. Have the bride take and hold a deep breath to expand her abdomen before measuring, to prevent your taking in the dress too much.

3. Grasp the excess fabric quickly at the waist of the back of the dress and measure the amount of excess fabric, while the bride holds her breath. To get a proper measurement, pinch the excess fabric together against the bride's back and fold the excess fabric to one side. Measure the fabric that is folded over. This measurement is half the amount that the dress needs to be taken in and the amount of fabric that will be taken in with each tuck.

4. Remove the dress from the bride.

Creating the Tucks

1. Turn the wedding dress inside out.

2. Measure the back of the dress at the waist. Use pins to mark the midpoint between the center and the side of the dress on either side of the back. Each pin marks the center of each tuck.

3. Divide the measurement from Section 1 by 2 and place pins that distance from either side of each pin.

4. Lift the fabric at the midpoint of a tuck, matching up the outer pins. Pin the fabric together where the pins meet. Repeat this for the second tuck.

5. Remove all pins except the ones holding the tucks in place.

Securing the Tucks

1. Measure the distance from the bottom of the shoulder blade to the bride's waist. Subtract 1 inch. Mark this distance above and below the waistline of the dress where the tucks are being placed. Place the pin on the fold of the fabric. Repeat this for the second tuck.

2. Stitch from the center pin to the top pin with a straight stitch.

3. Stitch from the center pin to the bottom pin with a straight stitch.

4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for the second tuck.

5. Turn the wedding dress right side out and confirm the fit on the bride.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep pins inside the dart area to prevent holes in the visible areas of the dress.

• Baste the darts into place and try the dress on the bride before final stitching to avoid irreversible mistakes.