Have you ever been 20 minutes from needing to leave home only to realize the straps on your outfit are too long? This is the fastest and easiest way temporarily fix your straps. Ideally you want to open the seams to have a more professional finish. However, when you're in a pinch this is a quick and easy way to get the job done.
1. After determining how much material needs to be removed while wearing the garment, mark the measurement on each strap with a pin. For this piece I determined that I needed to take up 2" of each strap. *Be sure to measure with a measuring tape or ruler. You don't want to remove 1.5" from one strap and 2.5" on the other.
2. Take the portion of the strap that needs to be removed and fold it in half so that the pen is now at the top of your garment(in my case a dress). Ensure the excess strap (what you are removing) is on the inside of the dress so it is hidden when you are done.
3. Insert the needle between the excess strap and dress. Pull your needle and thread through until your knot catches.
4. Pushing from the outside of the strap through the inside of the strap, push the needle through the strap perpendicular to where you brought the needle through the seam in step 3. In this step, be sure to push the needle through the strap at the same point you brought the needle and thread between the excess strap and the dress (i.e. don't perform step 3 on the right side of the strap and cross over and do step 4 on the right side of the strap) This is crucial in keeping your strap straight and even.
5. Pull the needle and thread all the way through this side. Insert the needle a few millimeters from the spot you just came out.
6. Pull the needle and thread all the way through again. Run your needle through the tunnel that was created between your dress and the excess strap, then pull your thread through. You only want to go a few millimeters to keep your stitches even. Repeat steps #4-6 until you reach the end of your strap.
7. On the back side of the dress, pick up a millimeter of the dress and a millimeter of the strap as shown.
8. Pull the needle through, but do not pull the thread all the way through. This will leave a loop to tie your knot.
9. Stick the needle through the loop 3-4 times. Pull the needle and thread through the loop to finish your knot. Keep the loop pulled tight as it gets smaller to keep it from knotting up on itself.
10. Clip all threads for a clean finish.
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