Be extremely cautious when you do this because to shorten long knit dress to short dress can end in disaster.
I would recommend doing this in two stages. The reason for this caution is this –
- When you fold the fabric up on the customer to find the right length, the weight of the knitted fabric pulls the garment lower on the body.
- When you cut the excess off, the knit will spring back up and the garment will be way too short.
So what I do is find out where the customer would like the new length, put a pin at this measurement. Then I would cut the majority of the fabric off, leaving about 15 cm or 6” hanging down longer than she wants or even longer if the fabric is springy.
Get her to try the dress on again and fold the excess up but remember that even with this little bit of weight it will spring up a little, so be cautious.
Happy altering
Judith Turner