Discover the perfect hemming technique for bridesmaid dresses made of satin and sheer polyester. This comprehensive guide provides step-by-step instructions and tips to achieve a flawless and professional-looking hem. Whether you’re a DIY enthusiast or a professional seamstress, this tutorial will help you create beautifully tailored bridesmaid dresses that will make your bridal party shine. Say goodbye to uneven hems and hello to picture-perfect dresses that will leave a lasting impression!

Let me tell you right off that this article on How to Hem a Bridesmaid Dress is not the original one.

I originally made this post in 2015 and it was one of my first blog posts ever.  Three years later, I realized just how awful it was.  LOL.

So, I gave a bit of an up date in 2018 and in 2023, I decided it needed a little polish.

However, you must know that all the photos are the original photos from 2015 as this dress no longer exists and, of course, has already been hemmed so I cannot repeat it.

Thus, please bear in mind that these pictures are from before I understood the value of good lighting and good photography.  The tutorial itself, however, is still sound and valuable.

So hopefully, you’ll continue to follow along and learn something new despite the poor photography!

NOTE:  The color of the dress is blush, but does seem darker in some photos due to lighting differences.  I promise every picture is in fact of the same dress.

*This post may have affiliate links. See my full Disclosure Policy for details.

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Project Summary:

This is a  tutorial I made in 2015 because I had to hem a bridesmaid dress pronto and wanted to share with others how a sewing beginner (at the time) could do this.

Here’s the background:  

My step-daughter, Alex, was getting married and all her sisters were bridesmaids.

Unfortunately,  one of her sister’s bridesmaid dress was almost a foot too long!  

This is because the sister in question, Dakota, is uh… I’ll say “vertically challenged”.  She stands only 4’91/2″ tall.

Now, I am not a professional seamstress.  

I am an experienced sewer, but that’s not the same thing.  

And in 2015, I was a sewing beginner who only had one week to hem this dress!

 

Difficulty  Level:  Level 1, Beginner

Materials:

• Sewing machine (For beginners I recommend this Brother Sewing Machine I bought for my daughter to learn on)
• Coordinating thread or Clear Invisible Nylon Thread
• Measuring tape
• Disappearing Ink Marking Pen
• Quilting/Sewing ruler
• Straight pins
• Fabric scissors (I use Fiskar’s Easy Action Scissors because they reduce hand strain)
• Rotary blade & mat

Additional Notes:

This dress had three layers.  The bottom or inner layer was made of satin and the two outer layers were made of sheer polyester.

If you are hemming a bridesmaid dress with only one layer or layered similar to this, then this tutorial should work quite well for you.

 How to Hem a Bridesmaid Dress Tutorial

Step 1.

I needed to take nearly 9-1/2 inches off the inner layer, so the first thing I did was measure.

Step 2.

Using a fabric pen, I marked the bottom edge and the sides of the inner layer where I wanted to make the cut.  

The marks fade and ultimately disappear from 30-minutes to several hours, depending on the type of fabric.

Step 3.

I used a large ruler to draw a line from each marked edge all the way across the fabric.

Step 4.

I used a ruler and a rotary blade to slice along the marked line.

Step 5.

The top or outer layer was sheer polyester and there was a TON of it.  I found the easiest thing to do was to lay the front part of the outer layer over the newly cut satin layer and repeat steps 3-4.  I cut the sheer layer about 3-inches longer than the satin layer.

Step 6.

I laid the cut portions of the dress on top of the back part of the sheer polyester layer that still needed cutting and repeated steps 3-4.

 I cut the back part of the sheer layer right along where I made the cut for the front part of the sheer layer so that both the front and back portions would be exactly the same length.

Here is the dress after all three layers, the inner satin, and the two outer sheer polyester layers, have been completely cut.

It’s lookin’ good, right? But, of course, it’s not finished.  

The newly cut edges had to be sewn so they would not fray.

Step 7.

I double folded the edges of the dress.  All the way around, both the satin and the sheer polyester layers.  I started with the satin layer, but only took pictures of the sheer layer.  The process was exactly the same.

Step 8.

As I folded, I pinned the folds down with straight pins.

Step 9.

I used a zig-zag stitch on both the satin and polyester layers to keep the edges from fraying.  

Since I was on a time crunch, I wasn’t able to run to the store to get matching thread so I decided to use clear nylon thread instead.  

It worked out just fine.

The dress is complete!  

It took three hours just to fold and pin the sheer polyester layer and an entire day to finish the project.

You can see that the hemmed edge is not perfect, but also not bad for my second sewing project ever.

I wanted to correct my errors, but Dakota steadfastly told me, “No way.  You’re done.  They give the dress character.” LOL.

What she lacks in height, Dakota makes up for in attitude!

Until next time…  Happy sewing!

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