Seamstresses - help! Creative solutions sought!

Helena

Hi all, hoping one of you talented ladies can help me! My daughter has a dance competition coming, and her costume no longer zips! It's a romper and fits everywhere else, but the zip (waist level) only goes about half-way up as her hips have grown a little in the last couple of months. I have already paid to have it altered and really would like to avoid shelling out more money (dance is so bloody expensive) ...

I am wondering if there is any make-shift solution for this? It doesn't have to be perfect - just needs to stay on her for a 4 minute performance and not look like a total disaster. Elastic? I'm almost thinking something akin to the elastic thingy used to keep a bandage in place. I'll try any creative ideas you might have! I'm not a good seamstress but can manage with a needle and thread. thank you so much!

4 years ago

Off Topic

12 replies

Latest reply was from RobinF

Anonymous

Could you convert it from a zip to a lace up?

4 years ago

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Break a leg in the competition, young Toronto Girl!
Helena, i hope you find a good solution—body shame is sooo rampant at that age! Having the end result look as similar as possible to what everyone else is wearing is key, IMO. Sending her love & support (but telling her that from an old lady online who she’s never heard of would probably sound creepy).

4 years ago

Helena

Veteran

Phoebe, oh, that's a good idea and would work with the look of the costume too ... I might be able to do something just over the top of the zipper - thank you!

FI, thanks - yes, it's tough navigating it all with young teen girls especially ... luckily, our dance community is extremely body positive, and the girls are ridiculously supportive of each other (actually, I wouldn't have her at this studio if that weren't so). In this case, it's a solo, so there's no compare and despair regardless ... actually because of the pandemic, they are letting the kids just dance in black bodysuits if they so choose, so at this point the costume is all about fun for her ... so if it doesn't work out, we'll scrap it! Thanks for the kind words I'll pass the sentiments along for sure! She knows all about the forum so she'll get it!

4 years ago

Chris987

Veteran

Without knowing exactly what the construction of the item is, let me suggest a trick I've seen mentioned for expanding the size of a buttoned waistband. Even if it doesn't work the idea might lead you to something that does ..... Thread a regular-size elastic through the buttonhole, push one end through the open loop, pull it tight, then loop the open end around the button. Maybe if you add a button to the costume it would work.

Another possibility is to open up the BACK seam enough so the zipper will close in front. (Or the opposite if the zipper is in the back) If you open it up and stitch around the opening enough to secure it, then wear something underneath in the same color, you might get away with actually having a "hole" in the back. Or do this and add a piece of elastic to fill in the "hole".

4 years ago

Helena

Veteran

Oh Chris, that's a great trick and sounds doable for me - thank you, much appreciated!

4 years ago

Chris987

Veteran

Let us know how the costume turns out , and more importantly how she does in the competition

4 years ago

rachylou

Veteran

I just did this sort of thing with a dress… but it was button up… but moved buttons over and added ‘eyelet hooks’ in a couple of places…

4 years ago

L'Abeille

Veteran

I'm sure all the clever folks on here will have you sorted. Good luck to your daughter.

But, it reminds me of a story...
When my youngest daughter (#3) had her senior prom, daughter #2 offered to make her a prom dress. This was a big deal, because since DD2 taught herself to sew, she "learned" each item from one pattern (pants, blouse, corset...) and then modified them or made her own. Her own prom dress was a tulle full skirt and a multi-beaded strapless corset top, based on something by YSL she saw in Vogue.

DD2's dress began with a tour of the designer gowns at Holt Renfrew in the West Edmonton Mall, to get an idea what she liked (it was crisscross pleated bodices, that year.) Then a measurement session and drafting of patterns. Later, the muslin prototype was mailed to us for fitting and modifications. And finally the dress arrived in the mail: 24 hours before prom night.

Problem: the zipper would not do up. I phoned DD2 in a panic. She recommended I sew eyes (from hook and eye sets) along both sides of the zipper, find a skinny satin ribbon that matched the dress, and convert it to a laced-up back. So I stayed up late doing that.

Next day... DD3 got her period. Her bust deflated by one size. The zipper would have done up just fine, but now the eyes were in the way... Still, it looked fantastic!

Good luck.

4 years ago

Runcarla

Veteran

Could you sew her into it - just for the performance? A SIL was sewn into her wedding dress!

4 years ago

Gigi

Veteran

Could you buy some skin-colored elastic, cut it into strips, and then use those strips to join the two pieces of fabric together (so the elastic would form a ladder)? You would use as many strips as you need. The back of the costume would still be open, since the zipper won't close, but the elastic would hold the outfit on. You would only have to sew the ends of the elastic to the fabric, so it wouldn't be too difficult. Here's an example of what kind of elastic I'm thinking of. I'm not sure if I'm explaining it well.

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4 years ago

Helena

Veteran

Thanks everyone! Heading to Fabricland today and I'll pick up some various accoutrements and see what I can make work ... Really appreciate! Carla, she's got four competitions so I might have to use that as a back up plan, but it's a great idea ... There is also something called "butt glue" that any dance moms will be familiar with (fwiw, I'm a pretty amateur dance mom but doing my best!) ... Yes it's exactly what it sounds like; it's for gluing their bodysuits to their butts lol ... I shall be applying liberally to this costume ha!

4 years ago

RobinF

Veteran

Is there any room in the side seams? Maybe they could be let out a little bit. I do this often because of my thick waist and it's amazing how much difference even a little bit can make.

4 years ago

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