sewing alterations question. (cheap, cost, great)

[Jude1948]

I have a size 8 Dorthy from Wizard of Oz costume, that I piked up at a garage sale cheap. I need to size it down to a size 5. Not sure if it is possible, and if so where do I start. My granddaughter is looking forward to wearing this for Halloween.

[sskkc]

Look in the yellow pages (or even Craigslist possibly) for a good tailor.

It should be possible, for a good tailor.

[Jude1948]

I am looking to do it myself. I do sew, but never have done extreme alterations.

[mytimenow]

How patient is your GD? I would start by retrofitting it on her, pinning (CAREFULLY) pinning, pinning. Try to space evenly all around, for example, at the armholes, don't just pull up at the shoulders and pin, fit it around her arm, adjusting evenly above and below. Good luck with your project.

[46Barb]

I just looked online to find out what the dress looks like. I'm thinking maybe sewing darts in the back and front so it brings the waist size in. You could also do a pleat/dart at the top of the shoulders so it's not as wide. I hope this helps some.

[tilli]

It is possible. If you want to do it perfectly with a minimum of stress on the fabric (if the fabric is fragile), completely dissasemble it, trace the pieces, and make a muslin mock-up from the pattern. Then fit it to the child by pinning. At this point you can adjust the seam placement as needed and mark the muslin. Then use a french curve to draw in the seaming and baste the mock-up to do a final check. Once you are happy with the fit, dissasemble the mock-up and use it as a pattern to trim the real fabric and reassemble. If the fabric is sturdy you can skip the mock-up and just adjust the dress directly in the same fashion.

If perfection is less important, a few carefully placed darts may be enough - it depends on the design.

[Jude1948]

All great advise. I am gong to try pinning today. I will let you know how it turns out.

Many thanks