To ask if anywhere has this service for making dresses?

[Summertime89]

So I’m roughly a size 10 but have trouble getting dresses to fit really well. I have 2 dresses( same style, different colours) from the shop Quiz that I bought more than 5 years ago that fit completely perfectly. The dresses are a long, straight style. Is there anywhere that would use these dresses as a template as it were, if I knew what material I wanted other dresses made in with exactly the same dimensions? If so, could I just send photos and measurements rather than one of the dresses which are like gold dust to me now 😁
Thanks

Yes, lots of tailors would be able to do this for you. Do you have a tailors/alterations shop nearby where you could take your dresses in and discuss? If they can't do it themselves they might recommend someone who can.
It will cost you a lot though. Just the fabric will be far more than the whole dress you bought from Quiz. Then their time on top of that.
Worth asking though!

FeistySheep- thank you very much-I will google tailors in my proximity.
Any ideas where to best source the material?
I would want it to be the same type of fabric and have the colours I would wish in mind.
Thanks!

There are loads of online fabric shops. Flamingo fabrics are nice, Pound Fabrics are budget end but good, Etsy have several sellers as does EBay.

You will likely need to get there for a fitting and for them to take your measurements as it’s not just the basics - you’ll need all kids of random measurements for the perfect fit.

If you could take the dress they could make a basic template easily and then adjust further with measurements.

Yes, Merryoldgoat is right :)
Definitely find the tailor first and once they've done the measurements etc and you've got a price for labour, they'll be able to tell you how much fabric to buy and what the fabric is called. Then you can shop around for that.

Jordan wake owner of wake on Facebook amazing dresses tailor made

Thanks so far for the advice, that’s great!
Any more advice is welcome!

All I’d add is that you could give making it a go yourself?? It would take a bit of work but lots of people offer sewing lessons and it’s a great skill.

If you look on you tube you can see people doing exactly what you want to do... I have just made my daughter a new t shirt with Among Us fabric! I had never made any clothing before.
This link explains the process in quite a simple way
www.made-by-rae.com/blog/2018/06/trace-and-make-shorts-pattern

Thanks so much for the suggestions and links re making it myself. I don’t feel confident enough to do so being honest. I reckon if I can get someone to do it for a half decent price, I would do that.
Will need to research the best place to buy the material once I’ve found a tailor. Not at home right now, but think the material must be straightforward polyester/ cotton.

Someone local that advertises as doing alterations etc maybe able to help

I've made a lot of clothes for myself. Poly cotton is the cheapest you can get online. Depends on the pattern you want of course, but you can usually get it for £5 a metre on eBay. I usually buy cotton or linen, which cost more, but maybe up to £10-15 a metre from eBay? Or online shops like Minerva do a great selection.

(Sorry I don't know much about tailors, but I'm certain there will be people who can do this for you. Seeing alterations cost £20-30 for minor things, it might get expensive.)

Don’t scrimp by buying cheap fabric. The finished dress won’t look anywhere near as nice or wear well.

I’d speak to your seamstress first then source the fabric or let her suggest options for you.

I think you’d be looking at upward of £200 for the first dress. There’s at least 10 hours of work in the pattern making and sewing, and someone with those skills isn’t going to be working for minimum wage. Then the cost of the fabric.

Thanks again for the suggestions! Wow.. £200 for one dress. I would go ahead if they could possibly do 2 (or 3) dresses for that. I wonder if the first one would be the most work and then it would be quicker to do a second?

Depends on the dress I think - I dabble a bit in dressmaking, so if it was me I would ask,

• what style is the dress?
• is it a knit fabric or woven?
• What’s the style? Darts and other fitting methods, how many and where?

If you post a pic of one of the dresses we could give you an idea of how complicated or otherwise it's likely to be to replicate.
To be honest, if I'm copying a ready made simple style garment, it's not going to take anything like 10 hours to make up a toile sample. And I'm doing it as a hobby, not as a professional seamstress who is likely to be much quicker than me.

Thanks so much, yes I’m not an expert but I don’t think it will be complicated. Long, straight, short sleeves and no frills or anything unusual 🤞

They would need to get their hands on the original dress to make an exact replica but they could probably make something similar with your measurements and the measurements of the dress.

Ideally use someone local-ish as then they can use your existing dress as a template (they don't need to take it apart or anything).

I went on a sewing course that taught us to do this exact thing - remaking a dress from an existing dress we liked

Thanks- yes I’ll look into some local places. Wonder how long it will take to make.
I’ll report back on the cost etc if I do this

Look for a seamstress or alterations person. I used to do this with and charged £15/hour. You would probably be looking at around £70 for s simple dress as they will need to make the pattern as well, but after that it would be a bit less as they don't need to make the pattern again, they can keep it on file for you.

Plus the fabric cost, on top.

Maybe you should be looking at some tailoring options overseas who can ship to you. I'm shocked seeing a £200 price tag!

If you post a picture of the dress someone on here may be able to find an existing dress pattern, and you could then get someone to make it up and fit it to your measurements. I think it's okay to use published patterns that way, correct me if I'm wrong. It sounds like it'd be worth the cost if it's a dress you'll wear for years. As PPs have said, don't scrimp on the fabric.

If one of the dresses was well worn, you could take it apart and use it as a template.
I did this for DD’s school dresses, which were monstrously expensive for a cotton dress ( £50+ for age 5). I bought the cheapest most washed out dress in the second hand shop and used an end of line remnant of a few yards which I found in a fabric market in Northampton; a lucky find as it wasn't gingham or stripe.
I saved about £75 on two dresses and no-one was any the wiser 🙂