How to Hem a Dress with a Train

Hemming a dress is kind of like baking a cake. There may be a lot of steps, like mixing, baking, and frosting but each step in itself isn’t difficult. Hemming a formal gown at home can be really easy, even if it has a train! Trust yourself. If you take your time and follow the directions below you will be on your way to a gown that fits your height.

I’m going to be a bridesmaid and our dresses are gorgeous! 😍 It may have even been my suggestion to try it on initially. But somehow, someway this dress was made for someone 10 feet tall. I’m more like half that. Hayyyyy to all who share my view out there!!

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The cost to get this dress hemmed, by the same tailor as the other bridesmaids, was going to be $75.😳 For a hem! To me, that is just nutty. Maybe I have no concept at all of what things are actually worth but I did not feel comfortable giving someone $75 for what I could probably do myself. I have basic sewing skills and I figured hemming a dress can’t be that difficult.

AND YOU KNOW WHAT? IT’S NOT!

All you need to do is take your time (at least the first time!) Following each step in the order that they are listed will give you results that you will be proud of. Hemming your own gown is a great way to save yourself some serious coin and it is a skill you will be grateful to have in the future, trust me!

I’m going to teach you how to simply and easily hem your formal gown when it has a train. Without further ado, let’s get started!

Equipment & Supplies Needed:

• A Too Long Gown
• Rotary Blade & Cutting Mat
• Serger or Overlock Machine (Optional)
• Fray Check (Optional)
• Sewing Machine
• Matching Thread & Bobbin

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Step 1: Try the gown on

It is important to try the gown on with the undergarments and the shoes you will be wearing for your event. This will give you the most accurate results. 

With the help of a buddy, have someone place a line of pins in the front of the dress. Make sure the line of pins marks where the dress hits the floor. It may still seem too long right now but when we are done it will be the perfect length for you! 

Now that the front has been marked by pins very carefully take off the dress.

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Step 2 of 12

Step 2: Measure from Pins to Hem

Lay the hem of your dress flat on a table. Using a seam gauge, determine how much of the dress will need to be taken up. You may need to use the average length of the pin markers as the pin line won’t necessarily be straight. 

• If you have less than 2 inches, you only have half the work! Since the train is intended to drag behind you, you can actually only hem the front of your dress by tapering at the side seams.
• If you have more than 2 inches to take away, like me, then you’ll have to hem all the way around. I have approximately 4 inches to remove from the bottom of my bridesmaid dress.

Today I will show you exactly how I took off more than 2 inches from my bridesmaid’s dress.

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Step 3 of 12

Step 3: Mark the Cut Line

Using chalk mark a line of the same height all the way around on the wrong side of the fabric. Options other than chalk include a tailor’s pen or pencil. Every fabric is different so you’ll need to see what works best for you. I am using a water-soluble marker in a complementary color.

Tip #1: Keep your seam gauge to the edge of the hem to ensure you mimic the original shape of the hem.

Adjust the dress on the cutting table as necessary to allow you to mark around the entire hemline. After you have marked all the way around, remove the pins in the front.

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 Step 4 of 12

Step 4: Cut on Drawn Cut Line

Using a rotary blade cut along the drawn dashed line. Take your time. Make sure to follow the line as best as you can. Sewing depends on every step being done to the best of your ability. A finished product you can be proud of relies on it.

While it is possible to use scissors I highly recommend investing in a rotary blade and cutting mat. It literally changed my world. Cutting all types of fabric with accuracy has been worth making the switch!

Tip #2: Always close your rotary blade while adjusting the fabric. Don’t make that rookie mistake! Unintentionally cutting your fabric or even yourself is never fun! Closing it as soon as you set it down is a good sewing safety habit to have. 

Once you have cut off the un-needed bottom part of the dress, cut the excess piece into smaller pieces. Use the extra fabric to test out stitches before beginning. Get in the habit now and your future self will thank you! Doing this every time ensures you are certain you’re using the right stitch for your fabric.

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 Step 5 of 12

Step 5: Serge your Hem

Using a serger and a complimentary color thread, finish the raw edge of the dress hem all the way around.

Please note: Gray thread being used for demonstration purposes only.

Always cut strips from your project scrap fabric to test the serger stitch in advance. This is so very important. I do this every single time and I sew nearly every day. If you don’t know what you’re doing, like I didn’t before, try to cut lots of strips of fabric from your fabric scrap. In the beginning, I would just start adjusting one dial at a time and test it on a strip of scrap fabric until I found a stitch that didn’t bunch or stretch my fabric. Eventually, you will start to understand what settings are best for different types of material, just by experimenting!

After a little trial and error, find the best stitch for your particular gown fabric. Remember to always test the stitches in advance when using a serger! You don’t want to accidentally use the wrong settings for your fabric and figure it out on your beautiful dress. Trying to removed serger stitches is seriously a nightmare. Take my word for it. 💀

For this particular fabric, a burgundy stretch velvet, I’m using these settings:

After you have serged the entire length of the hem, secure your tail with a little fray check. Allow it to dry for at least 30 minutes before clipping your tail. 

IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A SERGER: Zig Zag stitch the raw edge to help prevent fraying. The hemline won’t look the same as a serged hem but it is a generally accepted alternative in practice. 

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Step 6 of 12

Step 6: Press Up Serged Hem

Next, take your dress with the serged hem to the ironing board. Using a press cloth to protect your fabric, iron up the hem of the gown. You only need to press up the width of the serged stitch, ensuring that it’s an even width all the way around!

Be sure to iron at the appropriate temperature for your material, even while using a press cloth! Don’t accidentally ruin your fabric while ironing. Ironing is supposed to be the easy part! I’m speaking from experience of course. 🙈

Pin or clip in place and continue pressing all the way around. 

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Step 7 of 12

Step 7: Stitch Hem Up

Next, take the pinned dress to your sewing machine. Using a complementary thread color (and a fresh needle appropriate for your fabric), make a simple straight stitch all the way around the hem.

I like to sew on the ‘wrong side’. Doing so allows me to make a straighter line by sewing through the center of the serged hem. Using the serger stitches as a guide ensures that the stitch appears to be even all the way around, even though there actually might be some slight variances.

I like to use a stitch width of 3.5. IMHO it is short enough to be secure but long enough to also be decorative. But you do you boo.

Just don’t forget to backstitch at the beginning and at the end! It is super important if you want your stitches to actually stay in place! Serious face. It’s so frustrating when a project starts to unravel. 🤦‍♀️

Tip #3: Keep a tiny bowl next to you while sewing.

• As you remove pins while sewing, place the pins in the bowl for easy storage. Sticking your pins into a pin cushions takes way too much time. By using a bowl instead of a pincushion my sewing speed has greatly increased. Since my focus doesn’t have to leave the machine to toss a pin in the bowl!

Begin sewing at the seam.

You should start here because it isn’t as noticeable as say, some random spot you chose that also happens to be very front. Definitely done that before. 🙋 Don’t be like me. Start at the seam! Look it even rhymes! But really, starting on the seam easily hides the thicker lines of overlapping stitches and backstitching.

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Step 8 of 12

Step 8: Hem the Lining

After you have hemmed your dress the next thing will be to take up the lining. Again, put your dress on and mark where the lining meets the floor. Make a small pin line as you did before.

p.s. I’m like 90% sure there is a more official way to do this but hey this is a DIY tutorial. This method is easy & it works!

Using your seam gauge measure the placement of the pins. Take the average height of the pin measurements. For me, this is 2 inches.

Measure and mark 2 inches around the entirety of the skirt.

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Step 9 of 12

Step 9: Cut Marked Line on Lining

Using a rotary blade and a cutting mat, cut off the bottom portion of the lining skirt by following your marked dashed line.

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Step 10 of 12

Step 10: Serge Lining Hem

Take it your serger and finish the hemline (without the cut knife) using a stitch appropriate for your fabric. Remember to always test your serger stitch before beginning on your dress! It is so crucial to know you are using the correct stitch/tension/differential feed for that specific fabric. 

While you will be using the same method as before, the serger/overlock settings will not be the same. The lining fabric is usually a polyester type of fabric and is typically very different from the fabric of the top layer.

K. I’m going to say it one last time. Again, always save the extra cut fabric to cut into smaller strips to test the different stitches before starting! I can literally go on and on about the mistakes I’ve made by not testing first. 

Serge all the way around the hem of your dress and secure the serger tail

Securing your serger tails is a matter of preference. I like to cut the original tail just before meeting back at the beginning with the serger and serge over the beginning area. I then use a little Fray check on the single remaining tail. Finally once the fray check has dried fully, clip the tail. There are other ways to secure your tails but this method is my preference.

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Step 11 of 12

Step 11: Fold Up & Pin

Same as before, take the lining with the serged hemline to the ironing board. Using a press cloth (and the correct iron temperature for your lining fabric), iron up the serged edge of the dress. Pin in place and continue all the way around.

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Step 12 of 12

Step 12: Stitch Lining Hem Up

Next, take the pinned dress to your sewing machine. Using complementary thread make a simple straight stitch all the way around the hem. Sewing on the ‘wrong side’ allows me to make a straighter line by sewing through the serged hem. While also using a longer stitch width of 3.5 conceals the fact the bobbin thread is the one facing outward.

After you have gone all the way around, repeat the process of folding up and sewing a straight stitch through the center. This will give you a perfectly finished hemline! 

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Hemming a gown at home is a great way to save yourself money on that big event.

Taking your time is essential to a well-made finished product. But don’t worry about it being perfect either, it is just the bottom of your dress. No one hardly looks at your hem anyway – unless it is too long!

Wearing a dress that is too long for you looks sloppy and is kind of a faux pas. Don’t be that girl. Hem your dress yourself and spend that money on something more fun instead, like getting yourself a fancy hairdo. 💁

So now it’s your turn! If you try this, tag me at @goldengluegun