Hello, my loves! It’s been a while. I hope everyone has been well, staying healthy and hydrated. I’m in a transitionary phase of life at the moment. School is in limbo for me, as the fashion department undergoes changes from retirements. I’m only 4 classes away from my degree, so it’s a bit sad to feel like I can’t quite reach the end, but I’m taking a page from my mom book and being flexible because it’s out of my control. This means teetering between wanting to create more content on my blog, wanting to get more into video, wanting to find more work, and also wanting to still learn a whole bunch of new things to next level myself and my skills. We shall see what the future holds for me…in the meantime, I have an easy tutorial for you!
Maxi dresses are fantastic additions to wardrobes. They are perfect in pretty much all seasons, they hide my legs when I don’t feel like shaving but want to wear a dress, and they easily dress up or down. One of my favorite types of maxis is one with a split, though oftentimes, one is not included in the patterns I sew or the few I have bought from the store. Today, I am gonna show you how to add a slit to ANY maxi or any dress for that matter….one you made or one you bought. This technique is awesome because 1) no extra seams needed in the pattern 2) you can add it after you’ve tried on the completed (even RTW) dress and decide on exact placement and height. I am using the newly released Mariza Garden Party Top and Dress from Ellie and Mac* in maxi length to demonstrate these steps.
What you need:
* Completed dress (including the hem)
* Ruler
* Chalk or marker
* A strip of fabric at least 1″ wide by the length of the desired split + 1″
* Pins
* Patience
How to do it:
Step 1) If you’re using a store-bought dress, you can get right into it. If you’re adding this slit to a dress you’re sewing, complete it…yes, that even means the hem! Try it on and decide where you’d like the slit, including where you want it to stop. I just used a pin to determine where I wanted it to stop on my thigh.
Step 2) Remove the dress and then draw a line on the right side of the dress connecting the lines where you want your slit. You can also use pins or some other method to mark (as I did), just as long as you know where the final slit will be.
Step 3) Next, we prepare the slit facing. Cut a strip of fabric about 1.25″ wide and the entire length of the hem (with 1″ extra for the top and bottom). I like to make it a little longer because I can always trim excess, but it’s a hassle to re-cut if it’s too short. You can do more or less narrow, depending on your personal preference. I suggest looking ahead to see how it’s completed to determine your own width. I will be folding each edge under about 1/4″ for hemming, which is why I chose 1″. You can also finish the raw edges with a serger or zigzag stitch, instead. Serging step is recommended if your fabric is slippery or will not hold a press. It may be very tricky to fold such a tiny amount of fabric if it handles difficulty.
Step 4) Place the facing right sides together with the dress, centered in your marked slit area. Pin it well in place, and make sure it’s straight and exactly where you want it. Leave the 1″ excess at the top and the bottom. Transfer your slit mark to the wrong side of the facing with chalk or marker. Your ruler comes in handy here. The little purple mark shows where I want to the slit to end.
Step 5) Starting from the bottom, sew 1/8″ away from the slit line. For the top 1″ of the facing, reduce your stitch length to less than 2mm, then sew across a couple stitches until you’re on the other side of the marked line. You can also sew a soft rounded U shape, if preferred. Sew back down to the hem, staying 1/8″ away from the line. Backstitch at the beginning and end on your hem.
Step 6) Using a sharp pair of shears and taking your time, cut from the bottom of the hem all the way up to the top of the slit.
Step 7) Press facing seam toward the facing, away from the dress.
Step 8) With the facing still pressed away, fold the hem up to conceal the raw edge. You can trim this down to 1/2″ or so if you had excess.
Step 9) If you serged the raw edges, you don’t have to fold the seam under, unless you want to. Fold the raw edge under (whatever your seam allowance is), first at the top of the slit and then at the sides, and press/pin in place. Make sure the bottom is neat and even with your finished hem.
Step 10) Topstitch around the edge of the facing to secure it. This is what I meant about the width of your facing being personal preference. Some may wish to stitch close to the slit and some may wish to stitch a little farther away. I chose 1.25″ so that I’d be stitching ~1/4″ from each edge. Slightly roll the seam a little toward the facing side so that the seam doesn’t show on the front of the dress.
Step 11) After stitching facing in place, give a final press. Your new dress is ready to wear!
This is such a truly easy hack to do to any skirt or dress and I do hope you will give it a try, Please let me know if you do! Until next time….
*Any links containing asterisks are affiliate links. This doesn’t make the product cost any more to you, but I earn a tiny commission from your purchase. Thanks a bunch for all your support ❤️