169 Days To Go - Wedding Dress Hemming & Beading

Wedding Dress Hemming & Beading

I never posted an update about hemming my wedding dress, a most uninteresting process, except getting to work with horsebraid. 

Because my dress is made out of cotton, and the crushed tulle is even lighter than the cotton, my train was not falling correctly to the floor. I did some research and decided to buy some horsebraid to add to the bottom. 

Hemming was a process I was putting off for a few reasons:

1. It is almost impossible to hem your dress by yourself. 
2. It is so monotonous and sometimes can become frustrating. 
3. I needed to add the horsebraid, but I wanted to wait until I knew how much to buy, which meant waiting until it was hemmed to measure.

Thank goodness for mothers! My mom came over to help me hem my dress. She pinned everything straight and up for me so that all I had to do was add a few more pins to straighten out the material. 

I did two straight stitches: the first is 1/2 of an inch, and the second is 1/4 of an inch from the edge.

After sewing the 1/2 of an inch hem, I decided to put the horsebraid into the gap, and then sew the 1/4 inch to sew it together. This may not be the ideal way to add horsebraid to a train, but it was a one step fix for the problem I was having. 

Notice how flat it is lying now. 

LACE DETAIL: 

Because I haven't updated on the train since my last post about it, here is what is going on:

I decided not to use lace for the train because it was falling differently than the crushed tulle because of the weight. Instead, I decided to take it off, and use the lace somewhere else. 

Because I really liked the scalloped edges, I decided to use them for the back detail. 

I lined them up on my cutting board, and used my rotary cutter to seperate the lace from the edges. 

 I measured how much I would need, and pinned it to the zipper. 

I then used two straight stitches to easily add them to the back. 

I love how simple it was to add this detail, and how it turned out. 

It adds an elegant simplicity to the dress. 

THE BUSTLE:

I forgot to take pictures of this process, but I decided to use an Austrian bustle for the back. 

Though my version still needs some 'cleaning up', below is the finished product. 

I basically used the leftover edges to sew a casing (I never cut off the extra until I'm almost done).  

I had some grosgrain ribbon that I put on a safety pin, and ran it through the casing. 

This made it to where when I pull one side and slide it up, it gathers into a pretty little lift. 

As you can see from below, the train is no longer touching the floor, but now I have to figure out what to do with the crushed tulle. I've been thinking about a button that will lift the extra material. Possibly hiding it behind an applique. Not sure yet, stay tuned. 

The Beading

This has probably been the most beautiful part of this project. Something about a bunch of tiny delicate, beautiful pastel colored beads that makes everything perfect.

Besides the four colors shown below, I also had a tub of multicolored beads separated into little canisters.

I used the lid to bring a bunch of the colors I chose together. This made the selection a little bit more random, and I think made the beading more exciting. 

The colors I chose were: 

pearl, sea green, light blue, light pink, silver, and white

Looking at the array of colors below, they bring out all of the colors I want for the wedding. 

I had to use a thinner needle than normal in order for all of the beads to fit through. I started with the top row not including any color except silver, white, and pearl, then the second two rows having blues, greens, and pinks. 

As I did the beading, I experimented a little with designs before deciding on straight rows. I like things to look uniform, and I think it brings everything together. 

Below is the front finished. It is simple, but makes the top look so delicate. I'm in love. 

For the back, I wanted to cover up the lace edges, and so I added three more tiny rows of beads to even it out. I like how it has it's own shape that falls into line with the scallops. 

I have to admit, it was almost sad to finish this step.

It was such a simple task of sewing in and out, while adding beads, but at the same time, it was satisfying to see the beads being put in place, and coming together with the other colors. 

My next step is adding the appliques to the train. Hopefully, it will prove just as satisfying. 

170 Days To Go - Bridesmaid Dress #2

Bridesmaid Dress #2

This past Sunday, I sat down to finish the second bridesmaid dress. This pattern was a little different, and because my sister has to try it on so I can fit it to her, it looks kind of like a paper bag dress...

I used the Willow Tunic by sewserendipity.com as my pattern of choice.

I chose this pattern as one of the bridesmaid options because it has a semi-princess seam, and it can be shaped to different body types rather than the body types having to fit to the dress.  

Below is the process! 

First, I had to do the monotonous process of cutting out the pattern, all while making sure I was cutting everything right side up. 

I forgot to take pictures of the whole process, but I did remember to do a zig zag stitch after each straight stitch to prevent fraying. This helps when you don't have a serger ;-)

I bought four zippers at once instead of buying each one separately to ensure I would have the right color... the two dress patterns have two different zipper lengths, something I failed to notice upon buying the zippers. 

About this time I realized that the zipper was a tad bit long for this dress, but it still worked, just ended up with an unnecessarily long zipper...no big deal.

Below is the finished dress for now. As you can see, there are no sleeves yet, and it falls like a paper bag. It does have a little bit of shape, but that will change when my sister tries it on. I will pin it inside out, and sew it to fit her. 

Upon writing this post, I just realized that all of the pieces ended up lining up to where they are in the same areas on the dress...