How to Alter a Wedding Gown at the Waistband

wedding dress

One of the most common alterations needed on a wedding gown is an adjustment to the waistline. Knowing how to alter a wedding gown at the waistband can solve a number of fitting problems such as when a strapless dress slips down too low and the waist is too tight, which causes horizontal wrinkles. Additional problems like unsightly vertical wrinkles are caused by the waist being too loose. Knowing how to alter a wedding gown at the waistband can solve a number of fitting problems. The following instructions assume a gown has side seams and a waistline seam at the natural waistline. The alteration requires straight machine stitching as well as some hand stitching.

Things You'll Need

• Pins
• Chalk
• Thread
• Razor blade or seam ripper
• Sewing machine
• Needle

Instructions

1. Help the bride put on the wedding gown over all the undergarments she will wear with the dress. She should also be wearing her wedding shoes because they will affect her posture.

2. Pin any amount to be taken in at the side seams. Help the bride out of the pinned gown. Mark new seam lines with chalk, tapering back into the original seam lines at the ends of the area to be altered. Remove pins.

3. Pin side seams of gown together, keeping lining and gown layers separate. Remove any beads that lie on the new seam line or within the new seam allowance by crushing with pliers and carefully brushing away the residue. Crushing the beads leaves the stitching intact, keeping the remaining beads on the outside of the dress secure. If lace appliqués lie within the new stitching area, make them loose enough to not get caught in the new seam, then hand tack back in place after pressing the new seam.

4. Sewing comes next. Beginning and ending on top of the original seam line, stitch by machine along new seam lines, sewing one layer at a time. Remove the old stitching line that lies within the altered area. Press seams open.

5. Check the bead work on the gown and secure with a beading needle and thread any beads that may have come loose during the alterations process. Schedule the bride for a second fitting so that other alterations may be pinned if necessary.

References

• Threads: A Hand-Picked Zipper Is Worth The Effort
• W. Michigan University: Embellishments