Upcycling & Thrift Flips · piece Nº 07 · 36 min
Crop a Long Dress into a Top with a Deep Hand-Sewn Hem
Turn a long dress you've stopped wearing into a cropped top by marking a new length on your own body, cutting away the skirt, and finishing the raw edge with a deep hand-sewn hem that stays hidden on the outside and holds through the wash.
The seam · 6 steps
Step 1
STEP 1/6Put the dress on right side out and stand in front of a mirror. Decide where the lower edge of the finished top should sit, then have a helper mark that line all the way around with pins or chalk while you wear it. Keep the line level by measuring the same distance up from the floor at the front, sides, and back.
Step 2
STEP 2/6Take the dress off and lay it flat on a table, smoothing out wrinkles. Below the marked line, toward the old hem, measure down 5.7 cm (2 1/4 in) and mark a second line parallel to the first; this strip becomes the folded hem. Recheck that the length matches front and back, then cut along the lower line with small sharp scissors and set the removed skirt aside.
Step 3
STEP 3/6Turn the raw cut edge under 6 mm (1/4 in) toward the wrong side all around, pressing the fold flat as you go; folding the raw edge under this way encloses it so the weave will not fray. If the cloth frays while you handle it, overcast the raw edge first — a row of stitches carried over the edge — then make the fold.
Step 4
STEP 4/6Turn the folded edge up again along the marked line, so the crease of this second fold sits exactly on the line: the hem is now a full 5 cm (2 in) deep, and the first fold's edge lies 5 cm above the crease, on the inside. Check the depth against a hem gauge as you pin, so it stays even all the way around, and baste the hem down with contrasting thread 3 mm (1/8 in) below the upper folded edge.
Step 5
STEP 5/6Thread a sharp needle (No. 7 or No. 8) with matching cotton thread, draw it across beeswax if you have it, and knot the end. Working from the wrong side with a thimble on your middle finger, hem the upper fold to the dress with small slanting stitches 3 to 4 mm (1/8 in) apart, taking up only a thread or two of the outer cloth each time so nothing shows on the right side. When you return to the start, fasten off with two or three backstitches worked into the fold so the hem will not pull out in the wash.
Step 6
STEP 6/6Pull out the basting thread and remove any pins. Press the finished hem with a hot iron over a damp cloth so the fold lies flat and sharp, and let the cloth cool before you move it.
