Any way to make dresses longer...after they've been hemmed?

LolitaLove

Really hope someone can help.

I work in healthcare and my uniforms are made to order and take 8 weeks. After 8 LONG WEEKS my dresses arrived. I could not wait to wear a dress. Especially now summer is here. The dresses are supplied unhemmed. I asked a friend that's handy with a sewing machine to take it up to knee level, from calf level.
She fit one dress, as they are all the same...it was really long, and we agreed five inches to come off. I then left the dresses with her.
I got the dresses back and they are WAY too short. They are just above the knee rather than knee level/slightly below the knee like I asked for. It looks ok when on but when I bend, etc it rides up.
I still have the material from when my friend butched the dresses. She literally just cut a load of material off then sewed it to hem it. She says there's absolutley nothing anyone can do and it's my fault for agreeing five inches.
I am sure she did it on purpose. I have lost all the money I had to pay for the dresses, and I have to wait 2 months to get more. Summer is very near so I will be roasting in my trousers.
Is there any way I can make the dresses longer? I have all the matching material cut from the dresses. PLEASE help! Thankyou!!

westcoastscot

Hi,

If you have 5 inch wide strips then you can make a double hem with those that will bring it down 2 inches - sew one long edge to the bottom of the hem - turn under and sew the other long hem to meet the join iykwim - that will just look like a deep hem, no one will know the piece is re-attached.
Otherwise depending on the dress code you could re-attach the piece and put ribbon/bias tape or something over the join in the same colour.
I'd go with the first idea for preference - will make the dress hang nicely too!!!!

angeltreats

I think flat-felled seams would work well. That's the double row of stitching you see on jeans. There's a tutorial HERE.

What sort of fabric is it?

charlies-aunt

Grrr! Cross her name off your Christmas Card list!!:eek:

Is there any turn up at all? If so you could let it down and sew bias binding all the way round to make a blind hem to turn up ..... might just give you a couple of inches.

Could you go the whole hog and get them shortened to tunic length and wear them with cotton trousers / cropped trousers?

My NHS uniform used to drive me crazy - I have long legs so could never wear the trousers as they were wide legged and only came in standard length ....so looked a right berk with them flapping above my ankles! They were very high waisted so when you sat down in them, the waist bands ended up in your armpits! :rotfl:

oldtractor

Cut at the waist insert the material which was cut off , as a band round the middle. Sew "skirt" to "top".

Smokemeakipper_3

If it were me I'd unpick the hem first and see how much they're turned up by. If it's a lot see if you can make a shorter hem. If not then do as westcoastscot suggests and sew the piece back on the bottom.
Just line the cut edges up on the front of the dress, edge to edge, and sew there. Then turn it over to the reverse side and carefully hand stitch the piece to the back.
Other than that get the dress murderer to stump up for some new ones!

snowleopard61

oldtractor wrote: »

Cut at the waist insert the material which was cut off , as a band round the middle. Sew "skirt" to "top".

I agree - especially as you may very well wear an elasticated-type belt as many uniformed NHS staff do, which would cover the join.

ragz_2

She probably took 5 inches off, THEN hemmed them. Easy mistake to make, unless you're a professional, I really doubt she made them short on purpose. I would probably have not done better and obviously neither would you or you would have done it yourself.

I would go for the deep hem as that would look nice and hang well, adding bits to the centre could easily go wrong if you can't sew well and then you'd have a totally unwearable dress.

Other than that get the dress murderer to stump up for some new ones!

Unless you paid your friend to do it for you it was a favour so in my opinion it would not be right to ask her to pay for a new one.

Smokemeakipper_3

ragz wrote: »

Unless you paid your friend to do it for you it was a favour so in my opinion it would not be right to ask her to pay for a new one.

I was only joking really.
I understand that it's an easy mistake to make, though if you're doing something for someone else you make sure you get it right.

babyshoes

I can't really sew so I can't comment on which lengthening technique would be best (though at least there are some options to hopefully rescue them - perhaps try one of each technique).

I do have a suggestion for the future though, which is to do just the one first, try it on, and then if it is a bit short/long/wonky/whatever you can adjust for the next ones accordingly! At least then you will only have one which isn't quite right.

Also, remember the old saying - measure twice, cut once!

Do come back and let us know what you tried and if it worked!

terra_ferma

I can't help you with sewing, sorry I'm useless, but just a tip, if you pay for your uniforms you can deduct the expenditure from your taxes.
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/uniform-tax-rebate