Pattern Info
Instructions
I made a number of alterations to this pattern in order to make my dress.- The lace coat was not lined. Instead I used Simplicity 5006 to make a corset. This corset formed the main structure of the dress. The lace coat & skirt were attached to the corset, so the corset was holding the whole dress up. This was to prevent the weight of the skirt placing strain on the lace jacket.
- I ...
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Difficulty:
Category: Sewing
Type of item: Clothing
For: Women
Style: Classic, Formal / Bridal, Traditional
Materials
This was the dress I made for my wedding in March 2010. The dress is mostly silk duponi. The lace is an embroidered tulle
What was your inspiration?
My inspiration (like so many brides) was Grace Kelly's wedding dress. I didn't want an exact copy of her dress, instead drawing on the basic fundamentals - a big skirt, waistband & lace coat & making it a little simpler & slightly more modern to fit the wedding that my husband & I had planned.
Also because I got married at the end of summer/beginning of autumn, I wanted something that would be a little cooler than the heavy Chantilly lace. So I went with a softer embroidered tulle & shorter sleeves.
What are you most proud of?
I made my own wedding dress, but more importantly - it didn't look like I'd made it myself!
I can't even begin to describe how happy I was with how this dress turned out. If I was to make it again (with all I've learned in the last two years since) I'd probably use some more refined construction techniques in certain areas. I probably would have made the corset a size smaller too, (I tried the dress on the week before the wedding & it was too big so I spent the week leading up to the wedding on a crash diet of hot chips & Mars Bars so that I wouldn't have to try & take it in). But all of that aside, I love my dress!
What advice would you give someone starting this project?
1. Planning is everything!
I had a full timing plan for the construction of this dress with drop dead dates for purchasing the fabric, finishing fitting etc. Where there was a new technique I hadn't used before or had failed at dismally before I made sure I included experimentation & technique refinement time in my plan. I also added heaps of time to complete everything. I didn't want to have to turn down party invitations or miss out on other aspects of my life just because I hadn't finished my dress. I should also add at this point that I'm an engineer in my normal day job & this kind of project planning is what I do everyday. I pretty much treated the dress like any major engineering project :S
2. Relax & don't put yourself under ludicrous amounts of pressure.
I went into this project with the mindset, that as long as my husband-to-be showed up to the ceremony & I got married it didn't really matter what I was wearing. If the dress I was wearing looked half decent then that was just the icing on the cake. This really helped keeping my stress levels low & my mind clear when problems did crop up - it probably had the opposite effect on my mother's nerves though! I think the important thing to recognise is that things will go wrong & you'll just have to find a way to work through it. In a single day, my sewing machine broke, I pricked my finger with a pin & bled on the skirt & I had problems with the lace coat. When things go wrong - just go with the flow, at the end of the day there aren't too many problems that can't be fixed (some problems just cost more than others to fix :P)
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