How to Add a Corset Back to a Dress That’s Too Small

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Can’t zip up your dress all the way? Here’s how to add a corset back to a dress that’s too small.

A friend of mine asked me to help alter her daughter’s dress for elementary school farewell. The dress was beautiful, but way too small. The wearer of the dress could not zip it up much past the waist.

She loved the dress – so how do we salvage it so that she can still wear it? The solution is to add a corset back. What I mean by that is the lace up back, often seen in corsets.

Supplies Needed to Sew a Corset Back

You will need a few items to do this alteration.

Not much is needed for this procedure. If you also need to hem the dress, you can use the extra fabric to create the loops and ribbon to lace up. This dress happened to be the perfect length so I didn’t need to hem and so I went with ribbon.

Prepare the Dress for the Corset Back

Mark the highest point where it can be zipped up. Make sure the wearer can sit down in it.

If there is a hook and eye at the top of the zipper, remove it and keep it to sew back on later.

Remove the zipper down to the spot where it can no longer be zipped up – this is where you marked it. The dress I worked on had a lined bodice and so this step took the most time.

Cut the zipper a good 1/2 inch above where it needs to stop. Fold over and sew.

I personally found it easier to hand sew this as it is only a few stitches and it will be topstitched later. It’s a small area and it can be fiddly with your sewing machine – hand sewing is just quicker. Be sure to attach it to the fabric.

Sew the hook and eye back on at the new place where the zipper goes up to now.

Make the Loops

First, you need to determine how many loops you need. Typically they are spaced about 1.5 inches apart. There is a bit of wiggle room here depending on the amount of space for the corset back. It’s okay if it’s not exactly 1.5 inches apart.

Don’t forget that you will need loops on both sides, so once you figure out how many you need on one side, double it.

I had 7 inches of space that needed the corset back and so I figured that 5 loops (a little under 1.5 inches apart) would work. So for both sides, I would need 10 loops.

I used 5/8 satin ribbon because I wanted it substantial enough to hold. But keep in mind, that it’s not really meant to withstand a lot of stress so you can’t lace it up too tight.

Some of the loops would be enclosed between the main fabric and the bodice lining. For those, I cut 2-inch strips.

There was one set of loops, however, that would not be encased in the lining and I didn’t want the edges to fray, so I cut this one 3 inches long instead. I used wonder tape on the end to make a loop so that the raw edge was enclosed. That said, you could also serge the ribbon to the edge of the fabric as well. I think the loop looks nicer.

Fold in half and pin or clip in place on the back of the dress. Notice that it is the right side of the fabric and that the loops are facing away from the centre. Make sure both sides match.

Baste into place. Make sure it is only the fabric and not the lining (if the dress has lining).

Fold over so that the loops now face toward the centre of the dress and topstitch. Be sure to include the lining, if there is any. The loops should be sandwiched in between the main fabric and the lining. Sew all the way down to the zipper.

Add the Ribbon

I wanted a wide ribbon for lacing the corset back because I wanted more coverage and modesty. You could certainly use any width of ribbon you prefer.

I couldn’t find any actual ribbon that matched so I ended up making my own out of fabric. I found a fabric that matched and cut two, 4.5-inch strips. I joined the strips together to make one long ribbon and then folded it in half (right sides together – it helps if you press it) and serged the long seam.

Then I turned it right side out and pressed. I wasn’t too sure about the length, so I left the ends open.

I like to use a long length of ribbon and make a big bow at the back. Remember that too long is better than too short. You could always trim it afterward. I kept the length as is and simply folded under the raw edges, pressed and hand-sewed it closed.

Now lace the ribbon through, as you would lacing a shoe. If you are using a wider ribbon, like me, you may find it easier to pull the ribbon through with tweezers.

Wearing the Dress

It is easiest if you just loosen up the ribbon on the corset back, rather than unlace it. Loosen it up so that the wearer can get it on and off easily.

When cinching up the corset back be careful to not put too much strain on those loops. They are not meant to be tugged on really hard.

Look how beautiful this turned out. With the matching ribbon, you’d never know that this dress was too small.

In general, this was not a difficult alteration to do. It is not particularly hard either and I believe that anyone with sewing experience would be able to do this. While I don’t recommend buying a dress too small, it is good to know that there is a workaround.

Using ribbon for the loops and for lacing up certainly cuts down on the time to do this. As mentioned, I couldn’t find the right coloured ribbon to lace it up to match so I ended up sewing a ribbon which added more time to this project.

Want to remember how to add a corset back to a dress that’s too small? Be sure to save this to your favourite Pinterest board.