I was asked to do this for a friend. The dresses were purchased last Christmas when all the girls were in town together and could go to the shop. Now, almost 9 months later, with the wedding in September, the bride's sister is almost 9 months pregnant! I am fortunate that the design of the dress includes a very full pleated skirt, and the girls wanted about 6 inches chopped off the bottom of all the dresses, to take them from mid-calf to just above the knee.
One of the other bridesmaids dresses, shortened to knee length. (the black ribbon is only to hold the dress on the hanger, it should have been tucked in for the photo - sorry)
This gives me plenty of fabric to cover the bump and plenty of extra fabric to add panels as needed. First I cut the zipper out of the back and opened the back seam of the dress and the lining. Then I cut the snug wide waistband to one inch and re-attached the skirt so that it sits right below the bodice.
On the lining I had to also cut the boning to only the length of the bodice (it went all the way down to the waist) and remount the underlining higher to match the skirt.
We are now ready for the first fitting, where I will determine how much extra fabric needs to be along the back seam, and it I need more fabric for the top of the bodice (maybe even shoulder straps if required to hold the dress up).... stay tuned.
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