I love getting cheap clothes online, however often this leaves me with something that doesn’t quite fit. The straps always seem to be too long for me. I don’t know if this is a common problem or if I just have freakishly flat shoulders, but I’ve put together a tutorial on how to quickly shorten the straps yourself at home.
First put on the top/dress/playsuit etc. In this case it’s a playsuit. Make sure any fastenings are done up fully so it fits how it would when you wear it.
Now measure how much you need to take off. Be careful not to take off too much. Make sure you move your arms around to check it isn’t too tight at any angle. I needed to take off 6cm, so I pinned 3cm from the top, as it’s folded in half it will be doubled. Pin the strap in place like shown in the picture. I have turned the garment inside out so the seam will be on the inside of the strap instead of being visible. Ie. In this photo, the fabric that is shown is the inside of the garment, the fabric that isn’t shown will be the outside of the garment, the part that is visible when worn.
Do a straight stitch on the strap. I did it 3cm from the top because I want to shorten the strap by 6cm.
This is what the strap looks like now. If the garment was the right way around the loop would be on the inside, against my shoulder.
I then cut off the extra fabric, now the loop has been removed which will make it comfier to wear and neater. Make sure you still leave a little fabric after the straight stitch.
Next you do a zig zag stitch along the edge of the extra fabric, this makes the seam more secure and prevents the fabric fraying.
I turned the garment the right way around again. This is what the finished strap should look like. Now it fits.
This is what the strap looks like on the outside. For a DIY job it’s reasonably neat and not too noticeable. I wouldn’t use this technique on an expensive dress that was very important to me, but it works well for cheap eBay purchases and other cheaper items of clothing.
*~*Hope this has been helpful*~*
Amilocks and the Three Arpakasso 