1. Home
  2. Style
  3. DIY Fashion

How to Let Out a Dress

By Lorain Blanken, About.com

2 of 5

Inspect the dress

How to Let Out a Dress

First make sure there is room on the seam to let it out.

Turn your dress inside out. Use your measuring tape to see how much seam allowance you have. Some wedding gowns or cocktail dresses will intentionally have a lot of seam allowance to allow for letting out.

If your dress only has a 1/4" or less seam allowance, then there probably isn’t enough to let out the dress.

Once you have determined whether or not you can make your dress larger, move on to measuring your new seam.

2 of 5

Explore DIY Fashion

More from About.com

  1. Home
  2. Style
  3. DIY Fashion
  4. Mending and Alterations
  5. How to Let Out a Dress - DIY Fashion

©2008 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.