Finished Garment: I Made My Wedding Dress (NBD)

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography

This is a long overdue post – heck, I’ve been married for exactly two months!  I made my wedding dress from scratch and lived to tell the tale.  Get ready, this is a long post of everything I went through in the last year of making my dress with a lot of photos.

First, I’ll get this right out of the way: making my wedding dress was 100% the right decision for me.  I never was one of those little girls that “dreamed” about what kind of wedding I’d have one day, I honestly wanted to get married at City Hall and save the cash for a house.  However, I always knew that I’d make my wedding dress – sure, the thought was daunting at first, especially with everything that comes with planning a wedding, but I felt that to not make my wedding dress would be to ignore who I am as a person – I’m a creator.

My Parent's Wedding
 

On top of that, I also liked the idea of starting a tradition out of making my wedding dress; my mom made hers when she married my dad in Tucson, AZ in 1972.  I’d like to think that if I have a daughter, she’d make her wedding dress as well.

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography
THE DETAILS

Fabric (all bought in The Garment District in NYC):
Monique Lhuillier French Alencon Lace – Sposabella Lace
Reem Acra Silk – Mood Fabrics
Silk Georgette – Metro Textiles (thank you, Kashi!)
Rayon Lining – Metro Textiles

Belt
Silk Ribbon – M&J Trimming
Silk Flower – M&S Schmalberg, made from my leftover Reem Acra silk fabric

Other Odds and Ends
Faux Bridal Buttons – Joyce Trimming
Zipper – Pacific Trimming
English Netting (for veil) – Vogue Fabrics
Silk thread used for all handwork, cotton/poly thread use for construction

Dress Pattern
Marfy S568

 

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography

BLOG POSTS

In the past year, I posted several updates on my progress as I went through trial and error figuring out how exactly I was going to make a wedding dress from a pattern that was one size only, had no instructions except for some vague and roughly translated notes here and there on the pattern pieces, and working with fabric I never used before (all of the above I don’t recommend for the faint of heart thinking about making their wedding dress!).  I also made some YouTube videos to show the dress in more detail and talk through my thought-process.

Are Wedding Dress Patterns Turning Off Brides?
Starting My Dress
Fitting the Bodice
Getting the Fit Right (Video Post)
Cutting Out My Dress Fabric (Video Post)
Attaching the Skirts (Video Post)

THE DRESS

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography
 

The dress is a flowy dress with a flared skirt that sits at the waist with a sweetheart neckline and kimono capped sleeves.  The lace bodice is underlined with silk – I opted to underline each piece individually and then construct the bodice instead of sewing the lace together with appliqué seams for a seamless look, sew the underlining pieces together, and then joining the two layers to make the bodice.  There are three layers for the skirt – the silk underskirt, and then two rounded overskirts of silk georgette that open at the side and are gathered with small pleats.  The entire dress is lined in a coordinating rayon lining.

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography
 

I wanted to add some kind of visual interest to the back of my dress, so I sewed tiny faux bridal buttons down one side of the zipper seam (they have a fabric shank, not a real shank, which allows the button to be sewn closer to the garment).

You can also see a bit of an opening in my overskirts in the above photo.  Because of the flowy nature of the shape of the skirts and the fabric, I didn’t want the overskirts to be anchored down as part of the zippered center back seam so they could move freely and naturally.  I used a tutorial at Grainline Studio to make the layers free hanging; they didn’t turn out as well as I hoped since you can see the openings in the back, but I think it resulted in a better look than having a zipper go through my silk georgette.  I also used a small clear snap to close up the opening a little more between the two sides of the skirts.

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography
 

The belt was a tricky element for me to figure out since I wasn’t sure how I wanted to decorate it.  I knew it needed a motif or something at the side where the skirts gather at the side opening, but I couldn’t find anything that I liked or would compliment the design of the lace.  After stumbling upon this belt at BHLDN, I knew it was the look I wanted to have for my dress…but when I saw the price at $500, I burst out laughing.  No way!!

M&S Schmalberg (also known as Custom Fabric Flowers) came to the rescue.  I called them up to find out how to place a custom order, sent over the photo of the belt I was trying to recreate at a smaller scale, and they said they were very familiar with the original belt – hello, awesome!  I had just enough leftover silk from my dress (about a yard) to send to their facility in NYC, and within a week they sent back the finished floral arrangement.  I secured the blooms and leaves to the silk ribbon with a few small stitches and presto – a custom, coordinating bridal belt at a fraction of the cost of the inspiration belt.

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography
 

The belt secures in the back with two ivory hooks and eyes instead of tying in a bow like some bridal belts.  The hooks got stuck on the lace throughout the evening, which was a little annoying at times.

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography
 

Oh, the hems!  How I agonized over the best way to sew the hems so the dress wouldn’t look “homemade.”

First, I had to figure out the correct amount to turn the hem up on the silk layer.  I jacked up my dress form to the height I would be wearing my heels (originally I was going to wear flats but they looked plain awful with my dress!) and turned up the hem slightly at the center front and tapered the hem as I got to the sides of the skirt.  I actually goofed this up the first time I turned up the hem and had a nasty crease in the front from pressing the hem in place; I spent a lot of time steaming out that crease with a hand steamer.

The first attempt at hand sewing the silk hem also failed – for one, I used regular poly thread to sew the hem, which made the tiny hem stitches in the fabric very visible since the weight of the thread was heavier than the weight of the fabric. So, I ripped it all out and used silk thread instead, as I should have from the beginning.  The hem was also pretty flimsy and needed a little extra “oomph” so the skirt would hold its shape and flow nicely.  The solution to that was to cut long 1/2″ strips of lightweight sew-in interfacing, stitch together the strips into a loop the same measurement as the circumference of the silk skinny layer, and encase the interfacing loop in the fabric of the hem as I hand-stitched the hem in place.  Problem solved!

For the silk georgette layers, I originally thought I was going to sew the hems by hand.  Hah!  Those skirts were a mile long and I would have pulled my hair out stitching all of those tiny stitches and the time it would take to do so.  Plus, when I tried a test swatch of sewing a hem by hand, it looked wonky and not as crisp as I wanted since the fabric isn’t very stable.  After lots of research online, watching Youtube videos, and asking Jen at Grainline Studio for some advice (thank you so much, Jen!), I figured out a way to hem my dress on my machine using my regular ol’ presser foot, no fancy rolled hem foot or spray stabilizer required.  You can see in the above photo that the hems turned out nicely!  There was a wavy effect of the rounded edge after I sewed the hems due to the bias nature of those parts of the skirts, but I kind of liked how it turned out.

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography
It’s pretty easy to see here how the skirts flowed open as I walked, which I absolutely loved.

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography
To bustle the skirts, I treated each layer separately instead of bustling them all together.  Because the fabric of this dress didn’t have the body of a heavy silk and the shape of the skirt was very fluid instead of full, the best type of bustle to use was a single-point bustle (believe me, I played around with all sorts of different types and numbers of points and they just didn’t work).  For the silk underskirt, the heaviest of the layers (by comparison), I used a thread chain loop and a leftover faux button for my bustle point, and for the silk georgette layers I used a white hook and eye on each layer.  I initially was concerned that the hook and eye would be visible to everyone when my dress wasn’t bustled since there was no way to hide it in a pattern on my skirt, but it’s really true what you read in all of those wedding dress articles – no one will notice!  Even when I stood back and looked at my dress on my dress form at home, I didn’t see the hook and eye unless I was really searching for it.

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography
 

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography
Dancing in this dress, especially doing a conga line, was a little tricky!  I ended up hiking up my skirts as necessary and boogied on down all night for every.  Single.  Song.  No joke.

And yes, as soon as dinner was over I kicked off my heels and donned a pair of flip flops.  Comfort over fashion, my friends.

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography
Not wedding dress related, but I made matching clutches for my bridesmaids so they could carry their essentials with them, and I even had enough lace leftover to make a clutch for myself.

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography
I also mentioned earlier in this post that I made my veil.  If making your own wedding dress is too daunting of a task, I recommend all brides try to make their veils, even if you don’t feel comfortable with your own level of sewing.  It’s stupid easy!  I used English netting for a more fluid-looking veil a la Catherine Middleton, since the one I made out of bridal illusion felt too goofy to me, and attached it to a plastic comb that stayed in my hair the entire time.  Make sure to check out the Modern-Inspired Veils class on Craftsy if you’re thinking about making your own, it was really helpful.

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography
It’s so weird to be finished with something that’s consumed our lives over the last 16 months.  We have our free time back to ease into our hobbies again, cook dinners together on a regular basis, and just enjoy spending time with each other without discussing wedding decorations and and every bit of minutia that comes with planning a wedding.  I’m even starting business school this fall to work towards getting my MBA.

Well, that was a pretty exhaustive post!  Like I mentioned at the beginning of this post, making my wedding dress was the absolute right decision for me on my wedding day, and there’s not a single thing I would have done differently.  It definitely was a journey that challenged me mentally at times, as well as my technical skills, but after making my own freaking wedding dress, I feel like I can tackle any sewing project that comes my way now.

 

 

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Photo Credit: Maria Burton Photography

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A Simple Sewing Project

New sewing machine cover
 

Today is my last day of a week-long vacation, the majority of which I was in PA staying with my parents, and I decided to make a quicky sewing project that was long overdue: a cover for my Bernina 550.  Considering that I just got it cleaned and serviced last week, I want to keep my little beauty as lint-free as possible.  And what fabric could be more perfect for a sewing machine cover than Alexander Henry’s “Home Sewing is Easy!”

There’s something to be said about simple sewing projects – it’s not that they’re mindless, but there isn’t as much thinking involved can be a kind of mediative way to pass a few hours.  Other than taking the measurements of the dimension of my machine, I cut out the pieces fairly quickly with my rotary cutter, did some simple quilting following the lines of the print, and assembled my cover with lining in an afternoon.

Maybe it’s because I’m still recovering from sewing my wedding dress this year (final dress post to come soon, we just got the photos back!), but I’ve been in a bit of a sewing + blogging rut lately.  There’s three projects I made since the wedding in June that I have yet to blog, but shared some project detail images on Instagram.  I dunno…I just don’t feel the motivation to get all dressed and dolled up, find a place to take photos, set up my tripod etc.  Plus, it’s been so awful hot here…I’m sure this sentiment will pass, I’m just being whiny.  But rest assured, there’s some garment sewing going on over here.  Just not at a fast and furious rate, I’ll probably switch over to early-fall sewing in August once I make a swimsuit and/or coverup for our Ogunquit beach vacation coming up.

 

Thread card
Something that’s sparking my creativity right now is quilting.  After going to some fabric stores, the Hershey Quilt Show, and a quilt exhibit last week in PA, I think I’m at the point now that I really want to sit down and give it a try.  The last time I was interested in quilting was back in 2009 (here’s a really old blog post with no images!) and I remember how fun it was to turn cotton prints into geometric shapes.  Oh yeah, I also attempted to make a quilt two years ago but got discouraged when my blocks were all wonky and my pieces weren’t as accurately cut as they needed to be.  I started a Pinterest board this week to gather ideas on the type of quilt I want to make, something small and simple that can be used on the couch as a throw blanket.  I’m also planning on making some placemats this week out of a charm pack I found at a quilt shop last week – that will be some good practice before I try to start a real quilt.

How’s your summer sewing going?

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Fabric Heaven: Britex Fabrics in San Francisco

Britex
 

I rarely have the opportunity, when I travel for work, to do anything “fun” in the city that I’m visiting.  I fly in, have my meetings, and then I turn around and fly right back out.  This week was a different story – I flew to San Francisco on Monday for a Tuesday meeting, and then had the afternoon and evening free before my flight back to Boston early Wednesday morning (thank goodness I didn’t need to take a red-eye, those are the worst).  It was great to see the city, do some competitive market shopping for work, and of course, go to Britex Fabrics!!

Britex street sign
 

When my mom lived in San Francisco for a summer during the 60’s, she used to shop and buy her fabric at  Britex.  It was neat to be shopping at a fabric store that’s been around for so long, and I’m glad I convinced my co-worker to add it into one of our stops on the way back to our hotel in Fisherman’s Wharf.  I always look at the pretty fabrics on Britex’s website but can never pull the trigger to buy since their prices are way above what I typically spend on fabric at places like Mood.  However, since I didn’t know when I’d ever be back in San Francisco (the last time I was there was over 20 years ago as a little kid!), I kept an open mind and hunted for a “souvenir” for my trip.

Britex Fabric Wall
 

Holy cow – at first, it was overwhelming to take everything in since Britex is completely unlike any fabric store I ever shopped in.  It’s a veritable fabric boutique of everything arranged by color, with bolts neatly stacked on shelves – it almost felt like a fabric museum with how everything was so carefully and thoughtfully displayed, and I was worried about messing things up!  There are four floors total: the first floor has woolens, the second floor (where I spent most of my time) has all of their knits, cottons, linens, and home dec fabric, the third floor is their notions and trimmings floor, and all sorts of good deals on remnants can be found on the fourth floor.

Aesthetically, I loved how the fabric rolls were neatly lined up on tables and shelves, with the cheery technicolor fabric bolts lighting up the store.  However, it was a little challenging to really find what I was looking for – since all of the solids were arranged by color, linens were mixed with cotton jerseys and polyesters etc.  The rolls of printed silks, chiffons, and rayons were mixed together on stacked shelves, and I struggled to find a crepe-like polyester print that wasn’t so transparent.  I eventually gave up after going through the shelves and pulling out several rolls that didn’t meet what I was looking for.  Finally, I asked for help to understand the layout better and have some help locating the type of fabric I was looking for, which made a big difference in my shopping experience afterwards – should have done that in the first place.

Britex buttons and notions floor
 

It was fun poking around the third floor to see all of the buttons and trimmings – I could have spent so much longer up there looking at everything if I came to the store by myself.

Britex Fabric Haul
 

There were so many absolutely gorgeous pieces of fabric, many by high-end fashion designers, that it was hard to decide what I wanted to take home (and wouldn’t break the bank).  I landed on two pieces of fabric – a sweet rayon jersey with birds and butterflies for a Penny Raglan tee (just made my first one and I love it), and a floral pink and black rayon jersey for some kind of dress, maybe a wrap dress.  They had a few cute tote bags to choose from, but I liked this one the best – the opposite side has The Golden Gate Bridge, a perfect souvenir.

Sundae at Ghirardelli
And of course, the only proper way to end a trip in San Francisco – sundaes at Ghirardelli!

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From Miss to Mrs

Photo Booth
 

Oh, hey there – it’s been awhile!

The last two and a half months were a whirlwind of wedding preparation and festivities, hence the radio-like silence since my last dress post in March. But not to fear – yes, I finished my wedding dress with time to spare, and it was probably the hardest sewn project to date that I made.  Yet, it was so rewarding to walk down the aisle wearing a dress that was special and meaningful.  All of the planning, time, sourcing fabric and materials, sore back from cutting out every single layer of fabric over three days, pricked fingers from tiny little sewing needles, figuring out how to make the dress with absolutely no instructions (it’s a Marfy pattern), trial and error of finding the right construction techniques, even the absolute *frustration* and tears at times while making my wedding dress was completely worth it. I wouldn’t have done anything differently over the past 10 months.

clutch
 

Everything we DIY’d for the wedding came together pretty easily, much to my surprise.  A few nights before, as we were assembling all of the decorations we needed to take to the venue, I got to thinking about how much stuff we made and what all of our friends helped us with for the wedding.  It takes a village to pull off a wedding, especially one on a budget:

1. My wedding dress
2. Belt to go with my dress
3. My veil – two different ones made out of different material because I couldn’t decide on which one to wear, but I ended up going with the English netting version.  The bridal illusion was too poofy.
4. Coordinating clutch from leftover lace and silk
5. Matching clutches for my bridesmaids
6. Photo backdrop for a “Photo Booth” during the reception
7. Signs for all of the tables, designed in Photoshop – cake table, guest book sign, gift table
8. Labels for our favors, designed in Photoshop
9. “Reserved” seating tags for the ceremony
10. 40 crepe paper flowers for the centerpieces
11. Tissue poofs – assembled from a Martha Stewart kit
12. Hand-written place cards

sisters
 

Fortunately, we had really great weather for the big day – it was a nail-biter since it looked like we were going to get rain Friday and Sunday, and our wedding day was smack-dab in the middle on Saturday.  It ended up being super sunny and hottttt – by the time the ceremony took place in the evening, it cooled down to around 80 but there was no shade and our guests were roasting.  At least our ceremony was super fast!

 

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Photo credit – Maria Burton Photography

I don’t have a lot of photos yet that really show my wedding dress, so I’ll have to wait to share more on here until the end of the month when we’ll receive all of our photos back from our photographer.  I’ll leave you with the above, one of my favorites so far!

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A Complete Wedding Dress Tour

Want to see my entire wedding dress, head-to-toe so far? I finally put together the complete video I made a few weeks ago with some commentary on the construction process, some obstacles I ran into, and what the next steps will be in completing my dress.  This is a bit of a longer video but I think it illustrates better what I’m trying to do versus writing a long post with a lot of photos.

Let me tell you – choosing a pattern (Marfy) with no instructions has been quite the challenge, but I’m honestly enjoying it.  Using such a pattern for a garment like a wedding dress is not for the faint of heart!

 

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