This beautiful bride was given her mother’s vintage Niki Livas
gown to wear for her wedding. The gown
needed about 5 sizes added to fit comfortably.
In this post, I'll show you how to upsize this wedding gown
or any other gown by adding side panels. When a
gown does not have fabric in the seams to let out, the only alternative is to
add fabric. The solution was fairly simple. It was only a matter of getting the fit
right, then finding matching fabric.
It may look odd to upsize a size 4 dress to
this size because the shape and seams may start looking out of place. You would have to use your discretion whether it can be done or not. If I remember correctly, this gown was originally a size 12 or 14. We could not close the zipper and it was rather
tight in the waist and hips. I thought
of completely opening up the side seams and basting cotton muslin panels in the
sides. This way, she can slip into the
gown with ease, and I could easily fit
her with pins at the side. From that
fitting, I made custom satin panels so the dress would be a custom fit.
Here is a back view of the completed gown.
Here's where we started. I had her mom help me hold the back open so I can make measurements. I needed to determine how much muslin fabric to add to the sides. I measured across the opening here.
This is the bottom of the zipper. It should be at the hip location. Adding muslin side panels will help me get a proper fit.
This is a quick sketch of how I think the finished side panels may look.
Here are the exposed seams underneath I must open up so I can add the cotton panels.
I purposely made the cotton panels wider than I measured. I needed her to slip right in the dress even if it was too big, then I can pin up the sides as shown here.
After the fitting, I got my paper and pencil ready for notes. I determined the size of the panel by the length first. Then I measured the width at the top, going down to the hip which is the widest. Finally I went down to the very bottom which is the narrowest and comes to a point. It almost resembles an upside-down diamond shape.
Here is my custom panel pattern. The left side you see is the top. I couldn't get a full view because the pattern is so long.
This is the bottom of the pattern which comes to a point.
I cut out 2 each of the satin fabric and lining fabric. 2 for each side.
I attached the satin fabric to the sides and pinned in place.
Stitched the satin fabric to the sides of the gown first.
I then stitched the lining to the sides of the gown last. The dress is turned inside out to do this.
I under stitched by hand the lining to the satin at the top. I made sure to reattach the hanger loops. The under stitching can be done by machine, however I decided to hand stitch at this time.
Here is a close up of a completed side. I was lucky to find matching satin fabric at Joann's. This off-white shade seems to be a common color and not hard to find in bridal fabric.
I have to say the fit was perfect on her and we all felt it did not look off because of the panels. If you're ever handed a dress and alteration like this, you'll have to use your best judgment if it can be upsized without anything looking out of place. Fortunately, it worked out well for this vintage gown!
I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, thanks for viewing and see you next time!
Happy Sewing! - Diana
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