240 Days To Go - The 1st Ceremony Skirt Attempt

The Ceremony Skirt Construction

After finishing my bodice, I started the task of working on my ceremony skirt. 

Because I want to have a train for my ceremony, I had to measure out how long it would be, and draft the skirt. 

I measured my waist, hips, and the length from my waist to the floor. 

The front has three panels, and the back has two panels, which I ended up combining into one.

 After drafting, I cut two patterns: one for the lining, and one for the main material. I sewed the panels together for each.

Below is the skirt lining over the petticoat. I added a mock sash to see how it would come together. 

As you can see, I just tied the sash on. Though I like how it looks with the low, narrow back.

After sewing the lining skirt, and the overlay skirt, I attached them at the top, and sides, and sewed everything together. 

Below is the ceremony skirt with the bodice. I still have a ways to go, but I love how quickly everything is coming together!!!

241 Days To Go - The 1st Bodice Attempt

The Construction of the Bodice

Out of sheer coincidence and fate, the trip I planned on taking this summer got cancelled, and then the rescheduled trip got cancelled. So after requesting vacation days twice, then cancelling once, I decided to go ahead and use a few days to work on my dress. 

I ended up getting so much done in two and a half days, and I'm so excited to share the process: 

First I drafted the bodice pattern based on another pattern I already had. 

The Monique Dress Pattern is one that I have used over and over, because the bodice is able to conform to my  overly proportioned body measurements...

Because I want princess seams, I altered the pattern with muslin and changed it until it fit my top perfectly!

After a ridiculous amount of pinning, sewing, fitting, undoing, and resewing, I started to see the shape I wanted. Ended up not using the boning, because it will have sleeves, and the boning wasn't necessary.

 I added a seam to the back in order to be able to take out and let in material where needed. It turns out this is much easier than altering the princess seams. 

 Below is the muslin version of the dress, pre-ironed.  

 After adding the Eggshell material to the top, I can see my bodice being formed!

 I sewed the lining in, and doubled up the sides so that it would look more professional, and keep the lining close to the bodice. 

I drafted a cap sleeve pattern based on research and what I was looking for. 

I cut out two for each sleeve then sewed on the curve, folded over, and ironed, then pinned to the bodice!

Here they are pinned to the bodice. 

 As of right now, the back is only pinned, and there is no closure yet. I am going to wait until I do my final fitting, because I don't want to sew and undo anything until I know how it will fit to the skirt...

I'm thinking about using little bustle ties for the back, and maybe a few blue buttons instead of a zipper...

Still debating this.

Here is the bodice front with the sleeves attached! 

 Here is the back, all but sewn together. 

I'm so excited. I actually like how it bunches near the back. It gives it a nice texture. 

249 Days To Go - Petticoats, Petticoats

Petticoats, Petticoats, Petticoats!

This weekend was long and productive!
I spent the majority of Saturday working on my reception dress petticoat.... again and again...

After starting over twice, and getting frustrated with the tulle, length, pattern, and pieces, I decided to go ahead and order the petticoat, and I am so excited about it!

Considering the petticoat is such a small part of this major project, it wasn't worth it to waste time worrying or working on it when I can spend more time focusing on the details of the wedding dress!

Sunday afternoon, I went grocery shopping, and after putting pot roast on in the kitchen, settled down to tackle the task of altering the ceremony petticoat.

My mom gave me an old and very large petticoat.

Below is the said petticoat. If you can't see, the waist of the dressform is right above where the picture ends. The petticoat was pinned down on the side in order to stay up. It was extremely large, so I had to take a lot off in order for it to fit. 

 Because it was also shorter than I needed (when it was sitting on my waist), I decided to add a few inches of lining above it instead. 

I took about 9-10 inches off at an angle. 

Before cutting, I measured my waist, hips (where the petticoat would sit), and the length between the two. 

I added 2" seam allowances, and divided each by 6 for the panels.

I added 2" to the length between the two for seam allowances as well. 

Below is the lining doubled and marked for the length. I measured 3 trapezoids on each side. 

 After sewing each of the panels to one another, I added an elastic band to the top. It was a tad bit smaller than my waist so that it would stretch. 

 The last thing I did was add it to the actual petticoat. I had to cut off the ripped seams in order to have an even canvas, but it was pretty simple in the end. 

 Here it is! The finished petticoat for my ceremony dress. 

I'm taking a few days of vacation next week to work on the dress. It's about to get really exciting!!!

252 Days To Go - The Inspiration Post

And So the Process Begins.....

The Inspiration post!

Over the last few days, I have been doing some serious brainstorming about what I want to do as far as sewing my own wedding dress. A few of the major things I have had to consider are:

1. Time (How much time it will take me to create this, and how much stress I am willing to put in).
2. Design (The design I am looking for in a dress, and how I can begin creating it).
3. Detail (The types of details I want to add to the dress, and how I will go about adding them).
4. Steps (The steps I will take to proceed).
5. Fabric (Probably the hardest part so far because I want it to be elegant, light, and easy to work with). 

A few things that inspire me, and I know I want to incorporate are listed below: 

The Bodice:

I want the top to have sleeves. I want the sleeves to be capped or quarter length through lace (haven't decided yet). 

I want a distinct sash that accentuates my small waist, but doesn't take away from the top.

I also want princess seams to curve around my bust, and give the bodice shape.

I want a scoop neck like below, as opposed to a higher neckline as shown above. 

The Skirts:

Here is where it gets tricky --- I want a 2 in 1 wedding dress!

Yes, IT IS POSSIBLE,

See:

I had always envisioned myself getting married in a short dress (knee length). 

That is until I tried on a wedding dress my mom happened to have, and it fit me like a glove. 

Now, I have this "ceremony dress" that is long, with a beautiful train that has beaded embroidery.... 

BUT I want to make my own. I have always wanted to create the special dress unlike any other that will be passed down, and the dress I have is very popular and seemingly everywhere.

So what I have decided is this: 

Ceremony Skirt:

An A-line skirt that has a rounded train. 

I would wear a long, soft petticoat to give the skirt shape. 

Reception Skirt: 

I want a knee length, gathered skirt that flares out in 1950s style (almost a circle skirt, but with more gather).

Just like this:

I also want a colorful petticoat sticking out the bottom!

Like this: 

Or this:

Or this: 

The Detail:

Another thing that is very important to me is the detail. The color. The parts of the dress that will bring everything together....

Something I should explain before going into this part: I plan to make my bridesmaid dresses with this fabric: 

Michael Miller Spring Fling at the Conservatory Aqua

Not only is it absolutely adorable, light, and full of spring, but it also has over 8 colors in it!

 blue, green, pink, purple, yellow, orange, red and aqua.

I want to incorporate this fabric into a few different things:

• The invitations
• The bridesmaid dresses
• the wedding cake

And last but not least ---  my wedding dress!

I want to create a bodice that will have embroidery/ fabric around the collar like these: 

and this: 

and this (except with less 3D effect...):

Something all of those have in common: There is no sash....

That is where I want to change it up. 

I want to add a sash that will stop the embroidery at the bodice for the ceremony. 

The ceremony skirt will have embroidery on the train like this: 

For the reception dress, I want the reception skirt to complete the detailed color of the bodice. 

In other words, I want it hidden for the ceremony, and shown at the reception, like this:

The details of the dress will bring everything together like this: 

With the fabric of the bridesmaid dresses bringing out the details of the wedding dress!

I am SO excited about this project! It is going to take a lot of time, and patience, but it will be the most meaningful project I have ever worked on!

More to come soon, so stay tuned :o)