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How to Change the Look of a Prom Dress

Simple additions make last year's dress look like a brand new outfit. Add royal blue satin sleeves and a matching sash to give a plain black dress a jolt of eye-catching color. Appliques made of silver sequins and crystal beads turn a demure white dress into a glamorous gown. Change a dress from frilly to simply elegant by removing fussy ruffles and fabric flowers. Remove tulle underskirts or overskirts to give a dress a straighter, slimmer line. Choose the alterations that make the dress suit your individual style.

Things You'll Need

Seam ripper
Scissors
Sequined or beaded appliques
Needle
Thread
Trim
Fabric
Tape measure
Sewing machine
1/4-inch elastic
Large safety pin

Instructions

- 1
  Remove any appliques with a seam ripper.
- 2
  Lay the dress flat and arrange new beaded and sequined appliques so that they follow the lines of the dress. Turn the dress over and repeat the design on the back. Pin the appliques in place and sew them on by hand. Appliques are available in fabric and costume-supply stores.
- 3
  Remove fabric ruffles or bows to give a frilly dress a simpler line. Cover any remaining seam lines with trim. The trim may match or contrast with the color of the dress.
- 4
  Remove tulle overskirts and underskirts by cutting open the seam that attaches them to the dress with a seam ripper. Remove the tulle and repair the seam. This will reduce the fullness of the skirt. You may need to hem the dress after you remove underskirts.
- 5
  Make pull-on sleeves for a strapless dress by sewing together the short ends of two 27-inch-long, 16-inch-wide rectangles of fabric to make tubes. Finish the raw edges on the top and bottom of the tubes with a narrow zigzag stitch. Fold down a 1-inch casing on both the top and bottom of the tube. Sew close to the finished edges to make the casings, leaving a 2-inch opening for the elastic. Use a safety pin to thread a 9-inch-long piece of half-inch elastic into each of the casings. Sew the ends of the elastic together and sew the openings in the casings closed.
- 6
  Hem a 5-foot-long, 6-inch-wide strip of fabric to make a sash for the dress.

Sewing