How to Hem a Lace Wedding Gown: with Appliqués, Beadwork & Horse Hair
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- Опубликовано: 10 фев 2025
- Welcome to Christa’s Dress Shoppe !
Thank you for joining me! 🧵 🪡
My goal here on this channel is to create a great library of videos on different Bridal and Formal Alteration techniques.
I hope we can grow and learn more and more together.
✅ Please subscribe if you want to see more content like this. And, please 👍 Like, 💬 Comment, and ❤️ Share to help me build this channel.
Thank you so much for your Love and Support!
I am so very happy I found your channel. I too am a long time sewist. I feel like I am watching a friend and kindred spirit. I subscribed. YOU GOT THIS
Awe! That is a beautiful compliment. Thank you so much!
And thank you for subscribing! I appreciate that so much.
God bless!
-Christa
A friend of a friend just asked if I could make her wedding dress. I have 4 months and have been watching all of your videos to prepare myself as much as possible. Learning so much!!❤
Oh how wonderful! What an amazing friend you are. ❤️
I’m so glad you found me. And thanks for watching. 🤗 Please let me know how it turns out. I’m excited to hear.
I've found sewing from scratch is considerably easier than alterations ❤
@@christasdressshoppe ah, i forgot to update! but she actually changed plans and decided to buy a wedding dress instead. can't say i wasn't a little disappointed, but the one she chose was still lovely!
This video is superb! Your teaching style and content is easy to follow.
Thank you so so much!
I appreciate your encouragement more than you know.
God bless!
Wonderful video! Thank you for taking the time to explain everything. I probably would have run out of patience and hand sewn those appliqués 😅
Thank you so much for your kind kind comment! 🤗 Yes, hind sight is 20/20 and looking back I would have better on this one to hand sew it. lol 😂
But most of them are find to sew with the machine.
This was a well made video. Thanks for sharing. I learned something new! Just an idea: try putting a crib sheet on your table, securing the underside with elastic. The cotton cover may help the slippery table issue!😁
Oh I love that idea! I never thought of that. Thank you for sharing it!
And thank you so much for your kind words!
Thank you for this video ! It must be hard to do a video while figuring out someone’s wedding hem lol! I love your honesty about the whole thing . Yes I need to know more hems bc I’ll be making 3 flower girl dresses for my granddaughter’s and I’m using most of my daughter’s wedding gown which I’ve dismantled. So this video has been very inspiring!! 😊
Hello Marie,
Yes, it is very hard to video while figuring the alteration out.
Of course I picked one of the hardest ones I’ve done to be my first video on lace hems. lol 😂 Sometimes you don’t know until you’re in the middle of it.
I’ve been doing lace hems for many years and most of them are pretty basic for me. But then one comes along that throws all your experience out the window. lol
🤷♀️ I guess that’s what keeps it new and exciting. ❤️
Thank you so much! Wishing you lots of luck on your granddaughters flower girl dresses.
I do love little girl dresses. 🩷🩷🩷
@@christasdressshoppe thank you for your encouragement. I enjoy your videos very much.
Great video really tests the strength of bridal alterations. Fabulous job. Thank you
Thank you so much Terry! 🤗❤️
Yes, this one definitely tested me and shows how much work we all put into these gowns.
Have an amazing day!
May all your alterations be way easier than this one. 😊
-Christa
You do beautiful work.
Just found out my daughter is getting married this spring and we are going dress shopping this week. How long do big hem jobs like this take (she is short so odds are the dress will have to be hemmed at least 6 inches) and what are the usual costs? I can't find real info on this anywhere and wanted my daughter to know before choosing a dress. Thanks much.
Thank you so much!
Congratulations on your daughter’s new engagement! 🎉 🥂 ♥️
Time depends on how many layers, how many appliqués and/beadwork needs to be removed and then replace in the new location. And it could take a different amount of time depending on the seamstress.
I think I worked on this one off and on for a week. It was a much harder one than most. It had all the challenges possible. lol
Cost will depend on all those things as well, and also depend on your location and the cost of living in your location.
I’ve seen hems like this range all the way $250 to $500 and maybe more in big cities.
But whatever they charge, just know a lot of work went into it and it’s worth every penny when she walks down that aisle. 🤗😊
I understand what you’re doing 😊 I do bridal Alteration hems and and other alteration in bridal as well! Thank you
That’s awesome! Thank you so much!
I'm about to do this for my future daughter in law, thank you for helping with the mystery of applique lace hems! Great video and tips!
Thank you so much for watching! I am so glad it helps. I’m about to do a different, simpler lace hem this coming week. I’ll post by the end of this coming week. It might have tips on a different lace hem. ❤️🤗
Thank you so much for your kind comment.
Great and helpful video! And love your kitty Duke ❤. Thanks for the tips! I'm getting more and more requests for formal hemming and bustles for prom dresses and wedding dresses. Thanks!
Thank you so much Jennifer!!
Duke is a funny guy lol
That’s exciting that you are getting more formal alterations. 🩷 That is where the money is and there are not a lot of people doing it. Even if there are some around you, there will always be plenty of work for everyone. Almost too much at times. Lol
Thanks for the wonderful comment!!
Happy Sewing and God bless!
-Christa
Thank you learning a lot. Just got manican. Hope to fit a gown on it someday soon.lol
Yay!!! That is so wonderful!
Thank you so much for letting me know. Your comment made my morning. 😊
Thank you for hanging out with me!
Happy Sewing !
-Christa
Wow fantastic job
Thank you so much!
Thanks for sharing. I just subscribed.
Thank you so much for subscribing!!! 💗🤗
Hello Christa, I'm a new in your channel, congratulations for your exelent job!
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you found me!
-Christa
thank you so much for all the information
You are so welcome! 🤗 God bless! And thank you so much for watching!
-Christa
AMAZING!!!! thank you for the video
🤗 🥰 Thank you!
Happy Sewing!
-Christa
THANKS, Exelent tutorial!
Thank you so much for watching and commenting! 💗
Excellent tutorial. I just started a dress with lace like this. I will be using some of your tips. Great job! And I just subscribed!
Thank you soooo much for the sub and for the kind comment! ❤️❤️❤️
Let me know how it goes with your dress alteration. I would love to hear.
Thanks again!
Christa
What a beautiful dress! I understand why you chose to do it at the bottom. I was wondering why you weren't hemming from the waist, before I saw the entire dress. It's a lot of work to do this and you explain it really well. 😊
Yes! It was a bear of a dress. I think no matter which way I went it would have been a nightmare.
❤️❤️ Thanks for hanging out with me!
Christa, I have been thinking about opening up my own alternations, but I’m so nervous. 😬 thanks for these videos, they are helping my confidence ❤
Oh that’s exciting!! If you have any questions or need advice on any of it, feel free to reach out and ask.
You won’t regret it. Start small and build if you are worried. I started with a card at my local fabric store (that was before social media lol) and sewed out of my home. Then I moved into a storefront but it was tucked away in a building that did weddings.
Then I moved across the street in my own building and started selling bridal. Now I have “retired” from retail and I’m back at home in a studio my hubby made from our single car garage. 😄 full circle.
I couldn’t have done it all at once. It was baby steps for me.
Saying a little prayer for you!! You got this!
-Christa
@@christasdressshoppe thank you for the encouragement 🥰 I love that your story came full circle 💗
♥️♥️♥️
Christa what did you charge for the hem on this dress?? I have been altering gowns for 45 years (yikes) so I was totally understanding and agreeing with everything you were doing.
Isn't it fun when you have to blend the side seams so it doesn't drag when it's bustled?!
People have no idea what we go through Lol
Love blending those side seams!! 😂😂😂 You are so right. People have no idea.
I did not realize how difficult this one was going to be when I quoted it. So I charged $275. Not enough but lesson learned. I’m now changing my pricing to include a bump for horse hair and a bump for beads and maybe even a bigger bump for excessive beads. Which this one had. This one had all the “difficult things”. Ugh! Lol
What would you suggest charging for this bridal gowns hem? Very nice work! It's great of you, that you were patient even though it took 2 extra days of work! ❤
Oh my goodness! That’s a hard question because this one was a hard one. And it depends on where you are. I know a lot of seamstresses get a lot more for their work in bigger cities. I struggle in our small town. I probably should have charged $400 or $500 for this hem. Even in our small town. I’m sure in bigger cities they are getting $700 for something like this.
I definitely didn’t charge enough. Even though I charged more than I usually do for a lace hem. I just didn’t see how intense this one was until I got into it.
@christasdressshoppe Yes, it's really hard to figure out the best price, especially when such situations occur! Thank you for answering and sharing great specialty work, too!
God bless you!
❤️🙏
Thank you so much!!
God bless you as well. Have a wonderful day!
Such a great video! How did you combine the trimmed hem with the train without cutting the train?
Thank you so so much! 🩷
I fade it in towards the train. The front I have floor length, the sides are slightly longer than floor length and then I try to make the smoothest transition as I fade towards the train.
Thank you so much for watching and for such a great question. 🩷
Happy sewing!
-Christa
You're doing a great job. If you don't mind, how much do you charge for a single flower? Looks like it is very hard to move and put them back.
Thank you so so much!
I’m not sure about a single flower. I can’t fully remember what I charged for this hem. I do know that it was not enough. lol I reevaluated my pricing right after.
I give my price to the bride in her first fitting. I base it on how many hours an alteration similar usually takes and times it by how much I need per hour. I usually come out just fine from my quote to the actual work. But every once in a while I come across a “black hole” dress. lol one that takes WAY more time then you ever anticipated.
I chalk it up to experience and lesson learned and keep the original price I quoted. This makes for very happy customers.
I may have been blindsided. But I make sure they are not. ♥️♥️♥️😊
I did one similar to yours and I agree the way you did it. It was the most difficult project I have ever done. What would you charge for that alteration?
Oh boy, I’m sorry you had one this hard. 😢
Price is hard. I’m not sure I could officially charge how much time this one cost me. However, ever since this one I added an itemized extra charge for things like beads, horsehair etc.
Three questions:
Did you remove the beads from the bottom layer of lace you are covering up?
How did the needle get bent? Was that from hitting a bead in the bottom lace layer?
Why didn’t you cut off the under layer of lace? Apparently leaving the under layer of lace didn’t affect how it looks.
I’m in awe.
I’ve done one of these lace hems sans horsehair, and it caused me many headaches, blood sweat and tears.
PS I loved the bustle bonus video!
And I’ve subscribed.
Hello Annie, thank you for the questions 🥰
I removed as many of the large beads as I could from the under layer. But literally there were thousands of beads. I left the seed beads and other smaller beads. So I was having to go super slow (hand crank most of the time) and break lots of needles. 😱
I can’t remember why that particular needle bent. It was either a bead or a thicker part of the appliqué that caught wrong. Or I got excited and tried to actually sew at regular speed. 😂
I did cut the under layer later after I knew the length was perfect. ❤️
Thank you again and again for subscribing and hanging out with me. I appreciate you so much!
@@christasdressshoppe that all makes sense. Just curious. Haha. I love that you save your old needles to use for this purpose! Brilliant!
was this your most expensive hem to date? Also did you have her try it on before you did the finished hem?
This was my most expensive hem to date and yet I definitely did not charge enough. As I was doing this hem I realized I need to change my pricing and include a bump for beaded (especially extremely beaded) and for horse hair. The extreme width of horse hair and extreme beads on this made it so much harder. I have done hundreds if not thousands of these lace hems and I have never run across one that was so crazy. Lol
No I didn’t have her try it on before. I’ve gotten really good at dialing my mannequin in. On strapless gowns I even “chalk” the neckline on the mannequin so I put the dress back on in the exact spot. She came this week for her final fitting and it fit perfectly. She was so excited! I still get nervous however before every fitting. 😂 Always nervous. 😁
@@christasdressshoppe I haven't seen such a wide horsehair either, but I guess you need it to support the weight of the lace and the heavy beading. Thanks for sharing, looking forward to many more
@@kristiyourweddingdresser6716 I haven’t either, and hope I don’t for a while. Lol 😂
It was such a heavy dress with all that beadwork!
See you soon! Happy Sewing!
My wedding dress is similar to this with lots of lace at the bottom. My Mom left the hem and shortened the dress from the waist.
Hello Teresa,
Congratulations on your wedding and new marriage!
I have a lot of seamstress friends that would rather take these difficult dresses up through the waist. Usually I prefer doing the work on the hem because of having to reshape the skirt side seams etc. if done at waist.
However, in this case, part way through I wish I would have gone through the waist. lol 😂
Thanks so much for watching!
Do you hem the underlayers of the dress before you hem the top layer?
Yes, I usually do the under layers first so I can get a better handle of the outer layer.
you do take the motifs off the tulle first?
Are you talking appliqués? Some times I “fussy cut” it and leave it on the original tulle and other times (especially when the hem is smaller like only bringing up an inch or so) I unpick it from the tulle. But if there is beadwork attached through the tulle I leave it on the tulle and cut it away from the gown.
I hope that makes sense.
Do you sew down with single needle with needle foot up and nylon thread?
You can sew with the pressure foot up or, what I have is a free form pressure foot. It’s used in quilting, but works great for these hems.
I have a problem with how to seam embossed beaded tulle. Help
Yikes! Yes this one is hard. Sometimes you have to lift at the waist. Other times you can unbead and tie off the threads high enough to cut.
Feel free to send me a pic of the skirt at Christasdressshoppe@gmail.com
Maybe I could tell you what I would choose to do if I saw it.
How did you bend a needle?!?! Mine always snap in two!
Lol 😂 Mine usually snap too. In fact it usually scares me to death. Lol. But this one just bent. It’s happened a few times. Maybe because on this dress I could go fast at all. so many beads I couldn’t remove them all.
I was probably going very slowly. 🤷♀️
Thanks for watching ❤️
I just bought a dress with a lace edge at the bottom -- and due to my measurements, I have to bring the bust from a size 10 to a size 2 and the waist from 10 to 6! I'm so nervous that it will either be a terrible end result or cost like $2,000, and I'm just plain scared! D:
Yikes! 10 to 2. It’s a big size job but not impossible. Are you doing the alteration yourself or hiring a seamstress?
If you are hiring someone,
A good seamstress should be able to do it. Cost would depend on your region, how many seams have to be opened up to get the fit just right, and how much beadwork or appliqués need to be removed and replaced.
Ask a bridal shop who they recommend, ask around, get references etc
A good seamstress is worth spending the money because you get that perfect fit for your special day. Having said that, and not seeing the gown and fitting issues, I still think 2,000 is high.
How do you hem a mother of the bride lace dress. It’s kind of a crochet lace. It cannot be hemmed as it has a border
Well. There are a few ways. I would have to see it to know for sure. But here are a few ideas.
Some have to be lifted from the waist if the lace would fray.
Others can be fussy cut in a pattern around the lace and then moved up.
Some style we just cut off in the pattern of the lace. Or some straight across.
I usually try to mimic the original designers way
What would you charge for a difficult hem like this one?
I did not charge enough! LOL
What you charge depends on your experience, the amount of time you put into it, and how much you need to make per hour to cover your time and overhead etc.
I live in a small town in Idaho and cannot get as much as they are charging in big cities. However, over the years I have been slowly moving my prices up to better cover my costs and time. Brides have had no problem with the raise.
I charged $275 for this hem. It was not enough for my time. I under estimated the amount of beadwork and detail in this hem. I’m hoping to redo my prices soon and add extra charges for beadwork and extra for horse hair.
Many seamstresses around the country are charging $400 or $500 for basic lace hems.
Soon I am going to make a video on how to figure out your average time and costs on certain alterations. ❤️ I hope to make that very soon.
Thank you so much for watching and for such a great question. ❤️
@@christasdressshoppe I just found your channel. I'm a new subscriber. Thank you for the video! That dress definitely was a perfect storm of complications. 😉 I live in a smaller city in MT. I understand the pricing conundrum. Lower population. Lower wages. I've been doing bridal sewing for a while now. I really appreciate the tips and tricks other sewists share. I will be binge-watching your channel! ☺
@@loriarps4239yay! Welcome! I’m so glad to have you on the journey with us. ❤
What do I do if the lace is GLUED on? Please help.
Oh gosh!! Ugh! That is the worst!! I try to never work on those gowns. However, I have done a few because I had no choice. (A friend of a friend or relative. 😭)
I have tried to trim it away and I think one of them I couldn’t get my machine to sew it back so I hand sewed. 😱 I do not recommend. I was desperate.
I do know that there is glue that you can get to put it back on if needed. I think most seamstresses on sewing group site’s recommended E6000.
Gosh! I sure wish you luck. If you can take it up in the waist easier that might be the answer. Look at the waist seam.
How much is the cost for this alteration?
It’s been a while since I did this alteration so I can’t remember. However I do remember that it wasn’t enough. lol
I do similar hems on a regular basis but this one was the hardest I have come across. The combination of extreme beadwork, appliqués that were overly sewed down with the tiniest stitches and the volume of the skirt, created a perfect storm of madness. lol
This gown actually made me reevaluate my pricing.
If you look through the comments of this video I believe I shared how I figure out my pricing. 😊♥️
Thank you so much for watching and commenting!
-Christa
I was wondering if someone sent you a picture of a wedding gown and explained what they wanted to do do you give opinions on whether or not it will work? Your videos are so informative and easy to follow. I thank you.
Right
How did you remove the lace appliques without getting holes in the tulle?
Slow and steady. Lol 😂
But seriously, some dresses are easier than others. Some are really stuck.
I use a seam ripper.
So many of my seamstresses friends use a razor blade. I haven’t been daring enough to try that yet. I am going to try in the near future. They swear by it.
Thank you so much for watching and commenting! ♥️
Happy sewing!
-Christa
@@christasdressshoppe thanks again
I was wondering. When you are unpicking the lace appliques from the tulle. If you do put a hole in the tulle hoe do you repair it?
Why didn’t you just hem it by hand?
A very good question! Lol
Most of these hems are better and faster if I do them on the machine. It’s a very wide long hem. However, it did become harder than I originally thought.
I assess every gown at the beginning. And change my sewing technique accordingly.
I do however run across dresses that surprise me. Or dresses that we often call “black hole” dresses. Lol They suck you into a black hole of never ending work. Lol
Unfortunately, this was that dress. The rest of the alterations were extremely difficult as well. I was so glad to see this one gone.
Thanks so much for watching!
20:20 hindsight 🤓😵💫😉🤣
@@Sweepearyes! Lol If only I could see the future, this one would have been a bit easier. 😅❤
Never let your pet into the sewing room, not hygienic or safe