Have you ever come across a thrift store dress, and fallen in love, only to get it home and realize it looks like this on you?
Believe me, these pictures don’t show the full extent of the bad fit of this dress, because they were after I had removed the collar band and started pinning out the excess fabric. See that cinched in part? That was falling right across my mommy gut, and the shoulders were still loose and almost falling off. Cute dress, my size, but not a flattering fit. I often have this problem since I have a very short torso, so I’ve become pretty good at taking dresses up at the shoulders to correct too-low waists.
But this was a raglan sleeve dress, so no easy shoulder seam to alter. What to do?
Well, start by taking off the collar, and as pictured above, pin out the excess fabric.
Cut the sleeves off.
Cut the excess fabric off of the front shoulder seam…
And the back shoulder seam…
And reassemble. MUCH better.
This is me happy – a $2 dress rescued!
Heather Feather
Great alteration tip!
Jess
it looks SO much better! I have a super short torso, so it’s great to see some tips on refashioning for our shape!
Rachel
Great rescue!
brenda
well, I have to admit most ready made looks as bad or worse for me.
Casey
I just have to say how much I enjoy and appreciate your blog! The tips and tricks you write about have helped me grow as an avid sewer/crafter! Thanks so much!
Mamun hossain
I face lots of problem to remove excess from raglan seams , once i pinched it out the excess it slightly reduced but always looseness is present those area. i want to know how could i get better fit raglan sleeve.