Thread: need help from other "shorties" :)

okay...i'm short (5 foot to be exact ) and i always see G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S costumes on bhuz that are way to long ..cr.: i have always made my own costumes because i'm tiny, but there are so many beautiful costumes that i see here and i HAVE to have them. i'm tempted to buy a couple, but i'm afraid about not being able to fix them to suit the length i need especially since now a lot of the belts are attached to the skirt. (i'm really concerned about adjusting bellas....)
Does any one have any good advice on tailoring their costumes that they bought on bhuz? Has adjusting longer costumes worked well for you? any tips, tricks, suggestions would be soooooooooooooo appreciated!


thanks!!

I'm excited to see what is said. I am only 5 feet with shoes on but I'm also a 34D. So, I totally feel your pain. I know some folks have hemmed their skirts well and I think that some actually cut the waist off of circle skirts and remake the waist - it is easier than messing with the bottom. The problem is all the sparkles - I love them but I can't hem them.

For some lycra skirts that have edging bead work, I've cut that off, shortened the skirt from the bottom and sewn the beadwork back on. This worked well for my sim which had about 3/4 inch of edging beadwork along the bottom.

For the lycra top/chiffon bottom, I'll usually roll and tack the chiffon upwards from the inside. this usually works as long as you don't get a bump/wrinkle. I use the cross cross stitching to help make it relatively flat.

Another thing that can work for chiffon is picking up certain points and then stiching it. It kind of gives you a layered/bustle look that's really neat. With this one, less is more though- so it's good for sutble adjustments.

At 5'5 i'm not really a shorty but I do have a disproprotionate torso to leg length ratio.

Somakiss-I forgot the wings on my counter this morning and yesterday :( Promise I will ship tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!

There are some costumes that I won't buy because shortening them will interfere with the design. You have to look at the individual costume and decide if you'll be able to hem it. Ask how many inches are free at the bottom of the skirt before beadwork starts.

I'm 5'0 also and might be selling a few costumes in the near future; I also keep a lookout for fellow shorties who are selling costumes. You learn who has costumes with measurements that work!

Originally Posted by JasmineRose

Somakiss-I forgot the wings on my counter this morning and yesterday :( Promise I will ship tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!

ohmmmm....just kidding :) fyi--i bought the watermelon veil--not wings. just want to make sure that you don't send me someone else's wings (although i would put them to good use )

Originally Posted by Safiyah

I'm 5'0 also and might be selling a few costumes in the near future; I also keep a lookout for fellow shorties who are selling costumes. You learn who has costumes with measurements that work!

YEA!!! i'll keep my eye out for your posts!!!

anaydance--that's great advice!!! i am always so worried about cutting out the sparklies that are typically at the edge of skirts or ruining a pattern.
i've heard of people taking their costumes to a good tailor and i've thought about that as well, but i'm just afraid that their work won't match the image i have in my head .w.:

I took my first Bella to a tailor (the chiffon skirt needed to be detached and shortened which is easy to do) and she refused to work on it because she was afraid of ruining it. Then I took it to another tailor who was really hesitant to do it, but did. She did OK work but it was hard to convince people that they wouldn't ruin the garment! Of course I live in a small town, so there aren't any costume designers or anything fancy that I can go to...

Originally Posted by KelsNasim

I'm excited to see what is said. I am only 5 feet with shoes on but I'm also a 34D. So, I totally feel your pain. I know some folks have hemmed their skirts well and I think that some actually cut the waist off of circle skirts and remake the waist - it is easier than messing with the bottom. The problem is all the sparkles - I love them but I can't hem them.

Hey, that's me! Short and pear-shaped with a large cup size.

Originally Posted by Safiyah

I took my first Bella to a tailor (the chiffon skirt needed to be detached and shortened which is easy to do) and she refused to work on it because she was afraid of ruining it. Then I took it to another tailor who was really hesitant to do it, but did. She did OK work but it was hard to convince people that they wouldn't ruin the garment! Of course I live in a small town, so there aren't any costume designers or anything fancy that I can go to...

i find that the best people to trust, are other dancers who sew (well of course). they seem to get what other tailors might lack. ie: i asked them to tack up the edge and they cut it off.

Yay, more shorties to swap notes with!!

I am just over 5' also, and am about to shorten my first Bella (yikes!) Am planning to shorten temporarily by tacking some excess to the bottom of the belt part of the skirt/belt. Thank you for the criss-cross advice, Anyadance.

I have also added ruching to the top of a lycra skirt/bra set, which so far so good, has held and doesn't appear too "altered." It all depends so much on the design and the beading doesn't it?

I am 5'2" and the only thing that has really felt right are bras and belts with custom made L.Rose skirts. I hate rolling skirts and I can't sew which means I can't "fix" a lot of heavily beaded costumes. Plus, I never have felt right in lycra skirts, even though I love how many of them look.

Originally Posted by anyadance

i find that the best people to trust, are other dancers who sew (well of course). they seem to get what other tailors might lack. ie: i asked them to tack up the edge and they cut it off.

Yep! However, of my dance friends (sorry to those who are on here!) I have equal or slightly better skills. I do all alterations myself now, it's not hard at all. It was too much worrying and a hassle to have the tailor do it, and I can shorten a skirt in a night as opposed to the week or more it takes a tailor to get to it.

I'm hoping to be able to buy my first "real" costume this Christmas. I do worry about fit. I'm hoping at least one of the vendors at the HOHOHO Habibi this year will have something I can try on. Since I've never had anything I didn't make - I have no idea what style would look OK. So far all I know is that I can't wear white.

I have shortened a skirt with mega beading at the bottom. It was for a friend that is about 5ft tall. I had to shorten it about 7 inches.. It was impossible to do it from the top..

I did not want to cut it in case she ever wanted to sell it...
So I brought the bottom edge to the proper length and tacked it all around the skirt..(folding the beaded bottom edge toward the outside)
Then i had about 6 inches of overhang .I folded that back up ( inside the skirt) and tacked that..
It looks great and you would never know.. The design is in tack and it can be let back down if needed..
Hope you can understand this... It works great...

Originally Posted by ghostz

I have shortened a skirt with mega beading at the bottom. It was for a friend that is about 5ft tall. I had to shorten it about 7 inches.. It was impossible to do it from the top..

I did not want to cut it in case she ever wanted to sell it...
So I brought the bottom edge to the proper length and tacked it all around the skirt..(folding the beaded bottom edge toward the outside)
Then i had about 6 inches of overhang .I folded that back up ( inside the skirt) and tacked that..
It looks great and you would never know.. The design is in tack and it can be let back down if needed..
Hope you can understand this... It works great...

YEA!!! i was wondering if anyone has done this and made it work well :) i've thought about hemming skirts this way, but i was afraid you would be able to see the hem around the middle of the skirt inplaces where it wasn't beaded. do you have any pics? thanks, again!!!

I'd be interested in seeing pictures of how this is done too if you have any

You can also try shirring or ruching (I'm sure they technically mean different things, but see dancers using them the same way). At Rak West this year (I think at the dinner show), I noticed that Ma'shuqa had done this on the dress she was wearing. I complimented her on it since it looked so nice.

Originally Posted by bintbeled

You can also try shirring or ruching (I'm sure they technically mean different things, but see dancers using them the same way). At Rak West this year (I think at the dinner show), I noticed that Ma'shuqa had done this on the dress she was wearing. I complimented her on it since it looked so nice.

GREAT IDEA!!!!! thanks :)

mieldance, pm'ing you :)

To be honest, I am so bad with anything but basic alterations that I just wait for the right costume that's close enough to come by. I'm afraid to ruin the beadwork on most costumes that are embellished around the hem and hips!

Yeah, this is something that I come up against as I'm 5'2" with a very short torso. The way I've got around this is to buy bra and belt sets and to get a skirt made that is the right length for me.

I have two complete costumes as well. One came from our local costume designer who is more than happy to re-jig anything that you buy from her. Luckily I haven't needed to use this service because my costume from her turned out to be an ok length.

I have had a costume taken up though. I was a Turkish job with a very full and very long chiffon skirt. Whichever way you looked at it it was going to need at least 5 inches off the bottom for me to be able to even walk in it and it was going to look quite ridiculous to turn it under and sew it up. I took it to a local professional dressmaker and she cut the bottom off and re-hemmed it (30yds of fabric apparently).

Of course, this will make the costume harder to sell on, should I choose to do so.

I a 5ft2" also. Is the long costume problem more of an issue in the US? I regularly try costumes on (in UK and Egypt) and find they are the right length. A long time ago I promised myself to only buy things (any clothes) if they fit properly, and I only make an exceptions for very special costumes. I vote with my purse !!!

A long time ago I promised myself to only buy things (any clothes) if they fit properly, and I only make an exceptions for very special costumes. I vote with my purse !!!

I quite agree. What I generally find is that I can get a good fit on everything with a bit of perseverance. The only area I've ever had any trouble was with the length, and that only in the one case.

Mind you, I regularly read the hip measurements in the Swap Meet and I'm seriously scared - you ladies are soooooo tiny!

Originally Posted by somakiss

ohmmmm....just kidding :) fyi--i bought the watermelon veil--not wings. just want to make sure that you don't send me someone else's wings (although i would put them to good use )

Doh-I meant to say veil! Silly me!

Originally Posted by bintbeled

You can also try shirring or ruching (I'm sure they technically mean different things, but see dancers using them the same way). At Rak West this year (I think at the dinner show), I noticed that Ma'shuqa had done this on the dress she was wearing. I complimented her on it since it looked so nice.

This is also super easy with large safety pins!

Originally Posted by Azhia

This is also super easy with large safety pins!

Seriously? And they won't wreak the fabric?

I'm 5'0" also--I dance in heels. I still have to hem, roll, tuck, you name it--just not quite as much.

I am with you Mish Mish, I cant sew to save my life and it almost makes me cry when I see skirts I know I can never have coz I am short.

I am another 5 footer with a D cup and love handles lol

Originally Posted by Stratasphere

II am another 5 footer with a D cup and love handles lol

Welcome to the club!