A New Web Page is Live: Shorten Shoulder Straps on a Casual Dress

You'll find the latest web page here at LearningAlterations.com .

There are many ways to shorten the straps on a dress. Here I take you through the steps for shortening straps on a casual dress. Even if your dress is constructed differently, you will be able to use these pictures to guide you. You'll find a world of difference in the fit of your dress, doing this simple alteration. Give it a try next time you have a problem with the fit in the bust area, the armholes or the neckline. You'll be surprised at the difference it will make.

Cutting the Sleeves and Redesigning Laura's Dress

The dress has been fitted on Laura and it only needs a minor adjustment. In order to keep the sides flat against her body, I need to take in the side seams a little bit. Below you see the steps I have taken so far. My next post will show you how I finish the dress. Woohoo, we're almost there!

	Since this dress is lined, the first thing I did was baste the lining and outer fabric together. I made my basting stitches right on the line that I marked with pins. This created the finished "seamline". Then I cut away the sleeve bodice area. I cut about an inch to the outside of the basting thread, so I could have a 1" seam allowance.
	I marked the lining with tailor's chalk. This line is also the "seamline". I couldn't mark the outer lace with tailor's chalk, since it was so bumpy. So I used thread to trace the new seamline. Next I removed all the basting thread, so the two layers could be separated.
	The easiest way to attach these two layers for the fitting was to fold each one inward on the marked line. Then I pinned, using many pins and adjusting so the curved line was symetrical.
	I think Laura would be reluctant to try the dress on with all those pins, so I basted the two layers together, then removed the pins. Here you see the white thread marking the new seamline. The pink thread is the basting.

Reworking a Vintage Dress

Today's post includes a "live model"! My friend Laura has a dress for me to rework. She has such vision when shopping that she can pick out something that the average shopper would gag over, and turn it into a work of art.



Join me and watch as we transform this vintage beauty (the dress, not you, Laura!)

	Eeek, look what this 80's dress looks like before we alter it. The ginormous shoulder pads have already been removed. Laura wants to remove all evidence that there have been sleeves on this dress. The neckline will bear the weight of the dress, instead of the shoulders.
	Here I have pinned the new line where she wants the dress to end. The challenge will be to keep the dress from gapping along the bust/underarm area. I may have to add some clear elastic or a dart.
	Here you see the front of the dress. The clasp at the back neck will likely need to be tightened, since it is going to be asked to support the whole dress.

Finally Back, and with a New Webpage Too!

After a short trip out of town, I am desperately trying to get caught up. My first job was to create a new webpage. It is now live. It is called:

Shorten a Pants Hem with a Cuff

Let me know what you think.

I am also in the process of rescheduling one or more of my classes. If you are thinking about coming, but haven't signed up yet, could you let me know what date you're considering? It's not a commitment, you understand. I'm just trying to figure out the best alternatives.
You'll find the sign up sheet here and the flyer with the information and schedule
here.

Thanks so much for being patient. I have lots more stuff in the works, including possible classes for those who don't live in the Cincinnati area. Leave a comment if that might interest you.

Move a Side Seam Zipper in a Dress

This dress was a little big across the top edge and chest area, but not in the waist. The front had no seams to take in, so the only option I had was to take in the sides a little. The problem? The zipper is a side seam zipper. I took in one side the standard way. I took in the other side by moving each half of the zipper slightly inward, without removing the zipper entirely. The bottom half of the zipper stayed where it was and I coaxed the top half slightly off-line in order to tighten the sideseam. The alteration was not even noticeable.

	To begin with, I took the zipper stitching out, but only about halfway from the top edge down. The dress has a facing at the top, hiding the raw edges and the ends of the zipper tape. I had to remove a few of the topstitched stitches in order to free that edge.
	I then realigned the zipper and pinned it into place. As you can see here, the zipper is moved in about ½". Then it gets tapered back into the original stitch line. I had to stitch the zipper into place using the invisible zipper techniques I explain in step 6 in the Invisible Zipper Tutorial
	I then folded the facing back down, right sides together and serged the excess seam allowance off. (The black you see here is the ribbon for hanging)
	This shows where I need to replace the topstitching. The picture is deceptive. The ends really do meet evenly at the top of the zipper!

Sometimes, messing with the zipper sounds like a scary thing to do. It may be hard to get it to look right. In this case, though it was quite easy and took very little time.

I've created a tutorial on how to replace a jeans zipper.

Replace Jeans Zipper
It is live on the site, now. Click on the link above or on your left.
There are a lot of steps. Don't be put off by that. I included them to make it clearer.
I can usually replace a jeans zipper in about 30 minutes. With practice, you will be able to also.
Don't be afraid to give it a try. There is no cutting involved, so you really can't mess up your jeans. Just rip out your mistake and start over again.
With the price of jeans these days, it's worth a little practice to save those favorites.
Let me know how you do. Email me or leave a comment and I can help you if you get stuck.

I'm Offering Classes in the Cincinnati Area

Learning Alterations Classes

Here is a link to the page with information. Click where it says to view the July Class Flyer if you want information about which classes to take. You can take as many as you like. They're all different. Don't delay, though. There's a limit of 5 per class.

Please fill out a registration form first. Then you can pay through PayPal or send me a check.

I hope to see you in July!