This hem is tricky because the lace at the bottom is very wide and was cut out underneath in such a way that raising it would move the lace pattern off the cut outs. The resulting effect would be to have several places where the dress was cut and the lace did not cover. The gown does not have a waistline seam so it could not be easily hemmed at the waist.

The bride and I came up with the beautiful effect you see in the second picture. Gathered stitching lines were added to bring up the hem to the desired length then more lace was purchased and placed at the top of the gathering lines to make it look like the design was meant to be there.