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Jacqueline
Dedicated August 2020

Wedding dress Woes

Jacqueline, on June 24, 2020 at 6:40 PM Posted in Wedding Attire 0 16
After taking my wedding dress to be altered on June 5 I received a text from local seamstress stating “Good morning I spent hours trying to figure out how to shorten the dress and i am sorry to tell you that i can not do it, this is the first time that i can say that i can not alter a dress , the lace is kind of fused on the outer layer and impossible for me to take off .. I am so sorry that i can not help you. Let me know when you want to pick it up”. To say the least I was less than thrilled. All day/eve I’ve been in a funk and I don’t like this feeling. Everything was going SO smoothly and now it’s as if everything is “falling apart at the seams”. I’ve been unable to contact my event planner whom always has contacted me right back. I’m worried that with all the new cases here in Fla the venue is going to put a hold on things. Mind you our first venue did cancel so this is our 2nd venue. Just needing a little pep tAlk from y’all. As far as the gown, I am going to the shop I purchased it from and having them do alterations. Fingers crossed

16 Comments

Latest activity by Anna, on June 25, 2020 at 1:43 PM
  • M
    Legend June 2019
    Melle ·
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    Oh no ! i hope the shop can help you with your alterations. best of luck.

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  • J
    Master 0000
    Judith ·
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    Actually, you had good news. Bad news is a dressmaker who does not know what to do, tries, and makes a mess. Better she hand it off to someone who knows what she is doing!!
    What is the dress?
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  • M
    Master October 2021
    Mrs.a ·
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    It’ll be okay...at least she was honest. I would make some more phone calls to find a seamstress who is confident in altering your dress.

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  • M
    VIP January 2019
    Maggie ·
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    I was thinking same. I would be very relieved she was up front with you!

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  • Sharonda
    Super January 2021
    Sharonda ·
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    Try not to work yourself into a tizzy ... even though I know that is easier said than done. Hopefully, the dress shop that sold you the dress can work their magic and alter the dress. At least the seamstress didn’t try to make the alterations and totally ruin your dress before she realized she couldn’t do it. (That’s the flip side).

    Take a deep breath! Everything will be okay - you’ll hear from your event planner and you should reach out to your venue to understand their plans given all of the craziness in Florida right now. That will put your mind at ease. That’s my pep talk ... hope it helps. 😊
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  • J
    Master 0000
    Judith ·
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    Shortening dresses with lace and fabric layers, or shaped hems on lace, inexperienced people often try to separate the layers, and shorten each one independently. And charge an arm and a leg for separately hemming 2-4 layers, each 40-120 inches or more.
    When tge maker constructed them in units. So going up to a hip or waist or other seam place, and detaching all the layers where they are joined, taking out a little or a few inches there, all layers together, you effectively lift up the skirt till the edges are above the floor. Instead of turning up or cutting off extra fabric from the bottom. Makers who expect seamstresses to know to work this way, often fuse or sew together layers where they come together, making it easier to remove a whole unit, take inches from the top and put it back. And impossible to separate lace from fabric or lining. Since the wrong way to do it .
    From what OP says seamstress complained of, good she left it alone.
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  • Jacqueline
    Dedicated August 2020
    Jacqueline ·
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    Wedding dress Woes 1
    Does the pic help? LoL all that you see hanging is what needs hemming
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  • Katie
    VIP August 2020
    Katie ·
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    For what it’s worth you look gorgeous in the dress!! I have faith the store can alter it for you. I completely understand about the COVID. We moved our wedding to August, change rehearsal dinner location, and a cancelled honeymoon to the Bahamas. I am very grateful for our health and I remain employed, which is the most important thing and realize others have it so much worse than me, but I totally understand the bad days that come with planning a wedding during this time. Hoping a much better day for you tomorrow and that you hear back from the store and wedding planner 🙏🏻🦋
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  • A
    Master June 2020
    Anna ·
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    When I went to get my dress altered, my seamstress didn't want to cut any length off, because of the pretty pattern.
    So instead she folded it under and hemmed it that way. It turned out perfectly...just an idea.
    Good luck! I'm sure it will all work out beautifully!!Congratulations!
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  • Julie
    VIP February 2020
    Julie ·
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    It might be really expensive, but if you want to keep the beautiful scallops on the bottom, you're going to need someone to remove it, hem the skirt, and then resew/baste it back on to the bottom of the skirt by hand. They may have to cut the lace a little if the skirt is much narrower where the new hemline is. It's a lot of work but it can be done. I don't know about taking it in at the waist only because you have lace detail there too. It's a beautiful dress! They had to so the same thing with my skirt as with yours, so I get it. It is possible to do though!
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  • J
    Master 0000
    Judith ·
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    Yes, see the zig zag and pattern at the bottom of the shear part? If she had tried hemming from the bottom, you would have lost all of that.
    What should happen is that the seamstress does this
    Wedding dress Woes 2
    separates top and bottom unitsWedding dress Woes 3then looks at the top of the skirt, and lifts the embellishment, the embroidered part sewn on for decoration.Wedding dress Woes 4
    Then cuts out the upper skirt enough to pull it up so hem is above the floor. She cuts it, and sews top, to the lower part of the bottom.
    Wedding dress Woes 5Wedding dress Woes 6
    Just before attaching bottom to top again, she first takes in the top of the lower skirts at seam or by gathering, since fabric originally down by the hips was wider than what it needed at waist. You can see, top no longer matches bottom waist, til nipped in. Then she sees whether it is best to put on the removed embroidered embellishments now, or after the skirt is put together. Or do something different if you like, if you want to add any crystals or pearl or sparkly beads. Then sews top and bottom together again. So the finished skirt including the decorative bottom, is just above the floor, all details woven in to the lace, and shaping the bottom, preserved.Often when the length is changed this way, if a petite person feels the dress waist was lower than her natural waist, the lower skirt will be reattached a little higher on the bodice bottom. And then embellishments replaced, or new ones put on when beadwork or whatever is wanted. But all length changes made from the middle of the dress. If bust needed reshaping, or anything else, it would be done while gown was in two pieces. When you put on embellishments amd waist accent or belt, you cannot see where it was altered if done properly. Any salon should know. Or a more experienced seamstress. Ask if she knows how to remove and replace embellishments, or put on new designs or beads or sparklies if you want any. The classic bodice shape is very flattering on your face, neck and shoulders. Nice dress.

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  • Martha
    Devoted February 2024
    Martha ·
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    I love your dress, I'm glad the seamstress was honest with you. I hope you're able to find someone who can do the alterations for you.

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  • D
    June 2021
    Dj Tanner ·
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    Yes I third all of this. Thank god she didn’t ruin your dress! Phewf
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  • Brittany
    Super October 2020
    Brittany ·
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    Oh goodness! I know things can get a tidbit bumpy on this road we are on but at least you have options which is good! I hope things work out at the place you bought it from! At least she didn't try to hem it and mess it up! So here's my pep talk for you! You got this! You are awesome! You can do this! Things might look a little hazy right now but all that will matter is you coming together to celebrate a day of love between you and your SO. Okay so for the venue situation, is it possible to have a backup plan? Like going to a park just you two and the officiant just in case they cancel or anything like that?

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  • Dana
    Dedicated May 2020
    Dana ·
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    That's a gorgeous dress! you look amazing in it!

    I agree with the others, it's good that she let you know she can't hem it, instead of trying to hem it and ruining the lace. I'm sure that you'll be able to have it hemmed at the shop where you bought it. And if it makes you feel better, I bought my dress at David's Bridal and they did my alterations there and it turned out perfectly for me

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  • Anna
    VIP October 2020
    Anna ·
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    That dress is absolutely gorgeous and I would want anyone to hem the bottom of the lace off. Like a pp said, that’s one where it should be hemmed from the waist. I would hate to lose the detail of that lace.
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