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Prom dresses can cost as low as $100 to as much as $600 or more.

Prom alterations can add another $100 to the cost.

There are a variety of things to consider when buying a prom dress. The number of layers can greatly increase the cost to have the dress shortened.

If you sew some you can alter the dress yourself with a little skill. Or you can make a few extra dollars altering dresses for others during prom season.

Tip #1 Always pin the hem while the dress is on the wearer.

Most of the time I recommend pinning all the way around.

Tip #2: Alter the layers individually.

Notice the dress above has three layers. Each layer has to be altered separately. Start with the outer layer of tulle. I used a chalk hem marker to mark the hem while it is on a dress form. If you want to make money doing prom alterations for others consider investing in a chalk marker and dress form.

for prom alterations use a chalk hem marker

purchase a dress form for prom alterations

The dress form helps give shape to the dress while you work on the alterations. A word of caution: if the dress is above size 16 a medium dress form will not give you an accurate measurement around the because the dress will be much larger than the dress form.

Tip #3 If the layers are sewn together these have to be separated up to the point where the dress is going to be shortened.

Usually when the dress has a slit all the layers are sewn together on both sides of the slit. Most of the time dresses without a slit do not have layers sewn together.