How To Hem a Dress Without Sewing: It’s Quite Easy!

Dressed are a very important garment and a fashion staple for any summery look, at least for me. The bad thing is, however, that since I am pretty short (about 5”2’) any short dress is already too long, and every maxi dress becomes unwearable without any alterations.

So, in case you don’t own a sewing machine you have to be creative. This is why I’m going to show you a few tips and tricks about how to hem a dress without sewing.

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How a Dress Can Be Hemmed without Sewing

No matter what the dress or what kind of occasion you’re wearing it for, undoubtedly you’ve at least once in your life had to make any kind of alterations when it comes to its length or size. Chances are, that is probably why you googled this in the first place.

Whether it’s a prom dress you really need to fix, it’s a dress you’re borrowing or a maxi dress that’s too long, there’s no need to fret. There are a few simple ways to shorten your dress in no time.

Also Read: How You Can Shorten Jeans Without Sewing.

Reasons To Shorten Your Dress

There could be a variety of factors at play when it comes to why you want to shorten and hem your dress.

• You could want to have your old dress altered because it no longer suits you as well.
• You need to wear a dress for a wedding, prom, or any kind of formal function.
• You might’ve just bought a new dress that would’ve fit you perfectly but you need to alter it because you’re short
• You might just want a quick fix because you’ve borrowed a dress and you need it to suit you nicely

Whatever the reason, we’ve got you covered. However, the method you should pick can vary on the type of dress you have.

Using a Belt

Using a belt is a great way to make your dress shorter. You’re not exactly hemming it, but it’s a good option for making a dress shorter. You can shorten any loose-fitting dress like this.

The best thing about this is that instead of a belt you can literally use any piece of fabric and wrap it around your waist. You can even use a shoelace. The only thing that is important in this method is that you tie some kind of fabric at your waist.

Pull some of your dress up as you would if you’re trying to make your shirt look good after you’ve tucked it in your pants and Voila, your dress is already much shorter.

Using Hem Tape

Hem tape is included in every method of shortening or hemming a piece of clothing that involves no sewing. This is especially amazing for hemming a dress because you don’t even need to cut it.

You could use hem tape to create a temporary fix and then when you want it back to its regular length you can just take it down.

This is great for fixing up a dress last minute or if it’s needed for a special occasion. But, that doesn’t need to be the case. You can also just use hem tape instead of sewing or cutting. It’s a great option to shorten any kind of dress.

What you want to do with this method is get a pair of scissors (if you want to), a few pins, a flat iron, and an ironing board will be needed. You can also get some fabric chalk if you want to mark the desired length you need.

Start by trying your dress on to see where you want to make it shorter. If it’s a long dress, for example, a long prom dress or a wedding dress you want to make sure you’re wearing shoes so you can easily determine its length.

The most you’ll need to fold is about 5 inches. You should leave some allowance of about an inch, just in case. After you determine the length of your dress you can get to work. What that means is that you can start outlining the length you’ve already measured and place the pins.You could cut the extra fabric and then make a new seam. After this is done, you can place the dress on an ironing board and get to placing the hem tape where you’ve folded the dress. Then apply pressure and heat with the help of the flat iron to make sure the tape stays in place properly.

Obviously, you want to be doing this procedure with the dress turned inside out, and be patient with the dress as well as be careful with your surroundings.

Where to shorten it?

You could do the process I just described at the end of the dress, however, the same can be applied if you want to shorten the dress in the middle, at the waist.

Also Read: How To Attach Patches Without Sewing Them.

Safety Pins

Another great way of shortening a dress, even though this is completely temporary, is by using safety pins.

This is perfect for you if you’ve borrowed a dress, and this is a dress you’re using for a one-time thing or you need to return it.The steps are pretty much the same as the ones I’ve listed before, with the hem tape, however, this time you will not be needing the tape. You will only need to make sure not to leave too much bulky fabrics on the inside, as this can make the dress look weird and uncomfortable for you.

The rest is the same, use chalk or a marker that won’t stay permanently on the dress, flip it inside out, and iron it along the hem where the pins are placed.

After that, you can turn it back around and wear it. Make sure it’s safe to wear and that the pins are sticking in place.

What’s great about this method is that you can relocate the pins even after you’ve already put them on.

Also Read: How You Can Hem Curtains Without Sewing.

Final Words

There are many ways you can hem a dress without a sewing machine. You could cut it, fold it in, or use pins. The most reliable method, however, is to hem your dress by using hem tape.

This adhesive device helps with sticking fabrics together and is very useful when you’re trying to shorten and hem your dress to the length you want.