How To Make A Dress Bigger In The Bust
Every woman reaches a particular stage when it seems that all the things in the closet have somehow shrunk – including that dress you plan to wear at a special occasion next week. So, what would you do when you notice that the bust area of your favorite dress is too tight for comfort?
The good news is that there are ways to make your dress bigger in the bust using simple methods, regardless of what the material is. In this article, you’ll get to know a couple of easy ways to make the dress bigger. So, before taking your dress to a tailor or seamstress, wait and give this a read.
How To Make a Dress Bigger in the Bust?
Contents
You can make a dress bigger in the bust by letting out the seams near that area. After using a seam ripper to take out the stitches, you will have to re-sew the part. Otherwise, you can choose to go with the no-stitch method and stretch out the fabric by soaking it in cold water. Finally, you can remove the darts in the bust area and sew or pin up the parts to fit the dress to your measurements.
1. Let Out The Seams
A seamstress will basically use this method to fix the bust area of your dress. ‘Letting out’ the seams adds some extra fabric while holding to the actual style and shape of the cloth.
However, there are a few downsides to this age-old method:
- It doesn’t work on any dress – only the ones that have a bit of additional seam allowance in the side seams. Nowadays, not many dresses have that extra seam allowance.
- In many cases, the fabric used in the seam allowance does not match the actual fabric of your dress any longer. It can leave you with mismatched brighter fabric stripes on the sides of your dress.
Thus, before you start this method, it is important to perform two tests:
Turn your dress inside out and look at the seam allowance. If it has over ¼” of fabric, you can go ahead with this method.
Match the seam allowance fabric to the outer fabric of the dress. Is the seam allowance fabric looking darker or brighter?
If your dress passes both the tests, follow the steps given below to complete your alteration:
Step 1: Measuring the dress the right way
Measure yourself around the bust and waist, and divide each number by two. After this, measure straight across your dress at the bust and the waist. Subtract the measurements of the dress from your actual measurements to figure out the amount of seam allowance to add to the width of the dress.
For instance, if your bust measures 36 inches and you get that divided by two to get 18 inches, but the bust of your dress measures 17.5 inches, adding half an inch of fabric from the additional material in the seams will do the job.
Step 2: Using the seam ripper for taking out side seams
Now, use safety pins for making the parts of the side seams that are a bit too tight. Then, use your seam ripper for taking out the actual stitches along the bust and waist areas of the side seams.
Seam rippers look like small sticks with a blade in one end. So, slide that metal blade below a stitch and pull upward to slice through the stitch. Many dresses have those fancy enclosed seams. For that, you will only need to take out the inner stitching and that’s it.
Step 3: Re-sewing the ripped-out parts
Next, it is time to re-sew those parts that you ripped out. However, you will need to sew farther in the seam allowance to put the additional fabric in the garment. After this, mark a line on the place you plan to sew, and follow the previous measurements to figure out how much fabric you need to add.
Ensure that the bottom and top of every new seam meets up with the old stitches to close up the ripped-out parts of the seams.
2. Stretching the Fabric
Dresses that are made of particular kinds of fabric might stretch out easily if you go by this method. In fact, this is one of the simplest methods you can try, though the results are pretty uncertain. There is always the risk of stretching the dress out of shape.
Moreover, some fabric won’t stretch, such as rayon, organza, silk, and organdy. The kinds of fabric that will stretch easily include all kinds of knit material, polyester, velvet, stretch satin, stretch lace, and cotton.
Now, there are two easy methods to stretch the dress.
Method 1
- Fill up the washing machine to leave the dress in cold soak overnight. Also, don’t run the spin or wash cycle.
- Next, hang that sopping-wet dress in the shower and let it drip dry. The weight of the water will considerably stretch out your dress.
Method 2
The second method is a bit more complicated than this:
- Fill your basin or sink with cold water.
- Put about ¼ cup of baby shampoo in the water.
- Submerge the dress and allow it to soak for a few hours.
- Drain away the soapy water and rinse the dress under running water, without wringing it out.
- Gently drain away some of the water by pressing your dress between your hands.
- Also, you can roll up the dress inside a big, clean towel for removing some more of the extra water.
- Next, hold out the opposite sides of that area you plan to stretch out. As such, hold on both sides of the bust area since you want that enlarged.
- Tug these parts as the dress stays damp.
- Finally, you can try your dress on while it is still damp and let it change its shape as it dries.
- You can also hang the dress and let it air dry to its new shape
You will find a number of other variations in this method, such as using fabric softeners or hair conditioners in that cold water. However, the basic idea remains the same. You need to go for a nice soak and draw on that fabric with your hands to stretch out your dress.
3. Remove Darts
Your dress might have shaping features, such as darts. So, to make your dress bigger in the bust, you can remove stitches from these parts. It will open up that folded fabric to get you a bit more space in the bust part.
Word of caution – removing the darts changes the style and shape of your dress to make it look loose or baggy.
Darts appear like small triangular folds that are stitched in the dress. Usually, they stay below the bust or go up at the waist. For taking out the dart, you will need to use the seam ripper for removing the straight stitching line along the darts, along with the waist or side seam that keeps the bottom part of the triangle together.
After this, use the sewing machine for re-sewing the side seams minus the dart. If you do not want to sew at all, use small safety pins for closing up the opening. Simply ensure that you get tiny pins and have them neatly set to avoid all obvious gaps or bulges.
The Final Note
You always have the option to take your dress to a professional tailor or seamstress to enlarge the dress by one or two sizes. But this depends on the style and type of the dress, regardless of how experienced the seamstress is. In that case, you’ll have better luck going for another dress that has additional fabric in the seams.
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Crafting has always been a deep-seated passion of mine, one that has flourished and evolved over the years.
I've dedicated considerable time to both studying and practicing in the realm of fashion and sewing, amassing a wealth of experience and skills.
It brings me great joy to share these insights and experiences with you all, hoping to inspire and foster a similar passion for the art of sewing.
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