Wednesday, May 31, 2023

Add Shape With an Elastic Waistband

Hello Readers. I fell in love with this white floral dress when I saw it. The giant flowers in retro colors were so fun. It was a little loose but loose dresses are in, right?

Before and after.

The loose flowy fit was something I liked about this dress but.. it felt like it was too much of a good thing. It needed to fit better but I didn't want a fitted dress. 

This dress had a seam around the middle. I thought I could use that to change the shape of the dress just enough to make it more flattering.

Here is a look at the inside of the dress. That seam is going to help me out.

I had some 1/4 inch elastic and I thought I could stitch the elastic to the seam. I would not need to alter any other part of the dress. I could just add some elastic and get a better fitting waist to this dress.

I folded the dress in half so I could access the seam from the inside of the dress and look how the size of the elastic matches the size of the seam. This will work well. 

I tugged on the elastic gently as I stitched with a zigzag stitch. I didn't need to make the waistband my exact measurements I just want to bring the waist band of the dress in a little so this will work out well guaranteed. I sewed around the waist seam of the dress and kept gently pulling the elastic. 

When I had sewed all the way around my dress at the waist seam. I stitched back and forth for a few stitches to secure the elastic. I cut the elastic off and I was done.

My dress was done. The waist fits closer to my body but it's not tight anywhere. The new more fitted waistband  makes the whole dress less overwhelming. 

This dress was perfect for a fun birthday dinner at my favorite Thai restaurant. Yes, I had a birthday. I am 51 now. Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about it. I know how I feel about this dress though. It turned out really well. Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.

***Year End Update- I love this summer dress. The big flowers are fun and the dress is easy to wear. It's a winner for me.








No comments: