Tutorial: No-Sew Dress

The other day I mentioned having a new project that I needed to hurry up and finish.

It looks like a blouse hanging there, but it's actually a dress. I'm not in the habit of putting unflattering pictures of myself on the interwebs, but I'll do it now because you need to see what I was dealing with:

Why yes, I AM going to the Dynasty convention! How did you know!? Let me just get my white pumps and I'll meet you outside.

Thankfully, it doesn't look like that anymore:


Much better!


As promised, here are the full instructions for getting from Point A to Point B--and you don't need your sewing maching. At all.

First, I measured the new sleeve length and chopped off the rest. Huge improvement already, right?

I didn't hem the sleeves because the cowl neckline isn't hemmed, and I felt like two edges so close together should have the same finish. If you do need to hem (is that even the right sewing term for a sleeve?), measure an extra half-inch and fold it under with some Liquid Stitch.

Next, I tackled the too-long skirt. Using a tape measure and a basic No. 2 pencil, I marked where to cut.

My advice for this part: go slow. I don't know what kind of fabric this is, but it was temperamental and did NOT like it when I tried to zip along with the scissors. If you want a nice, clean edge (without having to re-do it), then take your time.

After it was the correct length, I busted out the Liquid Stitch to close the slit on the left side. You may not need to do this, but the bottom of my slip poked out when it was open.

Again, if you need to hem the bottom, leave a little wiggle room for Liquid Stitch to make a reappearance. Like all of the other edges, I left mine unfinished for now.

Finally, try it on and feel proud that you managed to fix it without your evil sewing machine squashing all of your fun.

Welcome to 2011, yellow dress. It's nice to have you.

Have you been doing any clothing revamps this summer? Anybody know why my sewing machine would go WHRRRRRR and then make a thread blob? Who else has joined the Liquid Stitch club? Feel free to link your projects in the comments; I've love to see what you've been up to.