How To Fix A Sweatshirt That Is Too Short

Larn how to add length to a too-short top with this easy sewing tutorial!

How to Lengthen a Too Curt Top

Does your little one have a dearest height that'southward just a piffling bit too short for your taste? Maybe when they raise their arms, a wee chip besides much abdomen shows?

My little missy must be in a bit of a growth spurt, because we take quite a few tops that fall into this category, lol.

Sometimes I can size up on a top to go a bit more length. But unfortunately, that doesn't always work, since sizing up tin cause the neckline or underarm area to be huge! Plus nosotros have a ton of tops I bought terminal yr that technically all the same fit, except for the length.

I have a couple of other posts you lot might be interested in that are a similar theme:

Upcycle a Favorite Too Small Shirt into Something They'll Honey!
How to Turn a Too Brusque Swimsuit into a Tankini
How to Make a New Dress from an Erstwhile Sweater

Our favorite meridian is likewise short!

My lil missy has this adorable sequined cat sweater I gave her terminal Christmas. (from Target, just now sold out) The sweater is definitely on the short side, and she still wants to wear it.

My solution to this problem? Just add a few inches with a strategically placed ruffle!

Just add a ruffle

For the added ruffle on this sweater, I used a very lightweight (and oh-so-slippery) ivory chiffon I already had in my stash.

The outcome is absolutely amazing, but working with that chiffon was definitely a bit of a challenge. So if you choose to use chiffon for your ruffle, yous might want to opt for a textile with a bit more weight. But if yous love the await of the lightweight chiffon, just be prepared to fight the material.

Even though it'due south tough to work with, I'll probably make some other one or two with this chiffon, because the final result looked so good. (Plus, I have some other yard of this fabric in my stash.) But I'yard definitely going to be on the sentry for another ivory material that will be slightly easier to piece of work with.

I'd dear to find a lightweight knit cloth that doesn't curl at the stop. (no hemming, yea!) Or maybe a sturdier rayon polyester type fabric – I'll know it when I see information technology, lol.

My missy and I are pleased equally punch at how this top turned out! (So much, she wore it on our little Saturday girl's day adventure, slept in it that nighttime, and connected to article of clothing it until I fabricated her take it off before nosotros went to the neighborhood chili melt-off.)

While we were outside taking pictures, my son decided to bring together us and goaded her into "playing catch" with the pumpkin!

He caught it, thank goodness. I would not have been a happy camper if he dropped it, as that is our last pumpkin!

(Legging pattern found hither: Free Bones Legging Pattern

how to add a bit of fabric and extend the length of your favorite top:

Products used and recommended in this mail service:

Favorite fabric suppliers: Knits: Funkalicous Fabrics and NR Fabrics on Etsy, Girl Charlee and for Cottons: Textile.com, Joann's and Fat Quarter Store

My Sewing Machine: SINGER 9960 Quantum Stylist (600-Sew Machine with Extension Table, Bonus Accessories and Difficult Encompass)
My Serger: Brother 1034D 3 or four Thread Serger or y'all can simply utilize Pinking Shears
Rotary Cutter
I love my large ruler and big cutting mat, simply you may prefer to showtime off with a smaller Cutting set
Dritz Dual Purpose Marking Pen and Fray Check
Ball Bespeak needles (simply if working with knit textile)
Wonder clips (I didn't apply these in the postal service, but they are just awesome!

Materials needed:

Too short summit
Cloth ( lightweight knit or rayon-y woven fabrics, chiffon. Something with good drape and period)
Ruler, scissors, and other basic sewing supplies

Step 1: Make up one's mind how much length yous desire to add together to the acme.

Use a record measure or ruler and decide how much length you want to add together to your top.

To that measurement, you lot want to add boosted length for the top and lesser seam allowances. (in my example, I added .25 to the superlative seam and no length to the bottom seam since I just serged the bottom.) Don't forget to take into account where you will be attaching the layer to the existing top. (Since I sewed forth the top of the bottom ribbing, I needed to add an extra inch to my length.)

To get the width needed, measure around the bottom of the top, multiply this by ane.five, and add together in .5 for seam allowance. (If using a sturdier textile, you may want less ruffle, in that example, multiply past 1.3 or i.4.)

Cut a strip of textile to your calculated width and tiptop.

Step 2: stitch the ruffle together at the ends

Using your preferred method, finish the height and bottom of the strip. Line upward the side edges, sew together and finish the seam. (In my instance, I did a rolled hem on the bottom, and I finished the top edge and gathered at the same time with my serger.)

Step iii: Gather the ruffle

Sew a gathering stitch along the top of the textile and get together the ruffle until it is the same width as the bottom of your top.

Stride 4: Adhere the ruffle

Line up the ruffle with the bottom of your shirt and sew together in place with a stretch sew together or a double needle.

That's it; yous're done! Doesn't information technology look great? And I'm certain your little 1 volition dearest it too!

If you end up trying this out, be certain to come back and share your finished project to my Facebook page or tag me on Instagram @scatteredmom, using #scatteredmompatterns

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