Alteration: Vera Wang dress

Alterations

Got a call from an acquaintance who needed this gorgeous dress hemmed in a few days. She came by and we measured and pinned (Fig.1). In the future, I will insist that whoever needs a hem also bring the shoes they are going to wear for the event. Our estimate turned out fine, but would have been better with the exact heel-height.

Before hemming, I spent some time looking at the seams of the dress and discovered that there would have to be some pre-sewing before I could get to the hems of which there were three. On either side seam, the sheer outer shell of the dress was sewn into the body of it a few inches below the new hemline (Fig2). To preserve the look of the garment, I had to rip a few inches into those seams (Fig.3) and resew them freeing-up the sheer outer shell (Fig.4)

Fig.3

Fig.1

fig.2

Fig.4

Fig.5

In an effort to simplify the process, I came up with this sort of rig which allowed the dress to hang just to the left of my machine (Fig.5). This way I figured I could work on the hems without even having to completely remove the protective plastic, and without having to move a bunch of this delicate fabric around. To me, sewing is as much about planning and making things easier to accomplish, than it is about the act itself. Often, mistakes happen when good sewing is done out of order, or without adequate forethought.
       My next step was to sew a zigzag stitch around each of the three layers of fabric at exactly five inches from the original hem. To accomplish this, I actually marked on my machine where the 5" was (Fig.6), and went around each part of the new dress hem. This way, I would get a nice smooth even stitch, and the edges would stay together, with minimal fraying, while I sewed the fold around the bottom of each.

Fig.6

Fig.7

After I had made the zig-zag stitches around each of the skirt parts of the dress, I took my trusty sharp shears, and cut just below the new stitches about an 1/8" of an inch (Fig.7). From there, all that was left to do was to pin the fold around each hem, with the zig-zag stitch hidden neatly inside, giving added strength to the eventual single stitch that would hold each hem in place.

Unfortunately, my customer was pressed for time when she picked up her altered gown, so I don't have final pictures. Via text, I was told it was great but a little short. This is why shoes MUST be worn at a fitting of this kind. The learning never stops.