Lengthening and Shortening the Dungiven Dress

The Dungiven Dress has a longer midi skirt, ideal for wearing as a regular dress and styling as a duster. The finished length is very intentional in design due to zipper lengths. Since we’re using a two-way separating metal zipper, the length needs to work with the average available zipper lengths. While you can get a custom one or adjust the length (at the top only!), that can be annoying, so do consider carefully any dress length modifications before diving in. 

Consider the Zipper

The prescribed zipper for the Dungiven Dress is a 36” (91.5 cm) two-way separating zipper, with brass teeth or aluminum teeth. There’s a notch at the top of the zipper and the bottom of the zipper on the front edge of the pattern pieces.

If you want to adjust the dress length, ideally you’d do that BELOW the bottom notch of the zipper.

We did not include a lengthen/shorten line on the pattern, since the notches are graded. On some sizes you’ll have more leeway than others. Keep in mind that you’ll need room for the seam allowance below the notch, and for the zipper pulls to extend below that.

I prefer the hem to be even with or below the bottom of the pulls, so the absolute minimum distance between the notch and the cut line of the pattern piece is 1” (2.5 cm). If you really, really want to shorten the dress more than this, here are some things to consider:

• The zipper must be shortened at the top, not the bottom. With metal teeth, this can be tedious and difficult! So be warned. 
• Another option is to source a shorter zipper. We do our best to recommend notions that are readily available, and the next most common zipper length is 30”. That might make the closure higher up the leg than you are comfortable with! It’s personal preference. You may be able to source a zipper that is 32” or 34”, depending on what’s available in your area. 
• We recommend keeping the Hem Facings as the “fixed” portion of the dress for lengthening or shortening, to avoid changing the hem sweep and causing the fabric requirements to get overly wide and impacting the layout possibilities. 

Here is how the Dungiven Dress looks with 1” (2.5 cm) added length: 

Here is how the Dungiven Dress looks with 1” (2.5 cm) removed length:

The Hem Facings are unchanged, and provide a template of sorts to preserve the hem shaping, and guide a cut line for lengthening or shortening.

Step by step, the process is simple, and similar to the average lengthening/shortening process.
1) extend the grainline, so the pattern piece has a fixed point on which to move the piece up/down.
2) use the Hem Facing pattern pieces to mark the cut line.
3) cut along the lines and add or remove length, making sure that there is a minimum of 1″ (2.54 cm) below the zipper notch! Refer to the tips above, and to the diagrams, to make sure you’re adjusting the length within the parameters of the zipper you have.
4) tape the pieces in place and blend the seams, from waist to hem.
5) double check, using the facing pieces, that the hem remains unchanged.

TLDR: the zipper is a fixed length! Adjust your dress with caution. But if you must, review the tips and process above, and you can do it!

Happy sewing!