Dreaming big....

A few years ago I made a wedding dress for myself because my husband said he wanted have new wedding pictures taken. He was going through a healthy regiment and lost a lot of weight - enough to fit into his wedding suit. So I went through a fun but frenzied period of choosing gowns from my pattern stash, narrowing them down to 3 and made bedsheet muslin versions of them to see which one looked good on me:

Vogue 8285

Simplicity 2639

Eventually I settled on Vogue 2237, which was strange as I was never really big on strapless dresses. I have fairly broad shoulders and back and I thought the straplessness would enhance the broad shoulders. However, the final product was not bad at all:

I used a plain white heavy matte satin for the dress and a 100% cotton broadcloth as the lining and foundation. I wore the cathedral length veil I made when I got married the first time (years ago!) and carried the same bouquet my mother-in-law made years ago (fake flowers are good that way!). I did my own hair and make up. A good friend of ours took pictures of us. It was such a fun and exciting day!

Now I'm dreaming about to do something like that again when I have finally recovered from cancer. It's so fun just doing the planning. I don't think I'll do strapless again. I think I should try another style to learn something new. Off to Pinterest for ideas!!!

Accidental CopyCat - Sex And The City Carrie Dress?

I'm still nowhere near figuring out what to make for my July MAGAM project. However, something funny happened yesterday. Apparently I did an Accidental CopyCat fashion of a Sex And the City dress!

I don't watch TV much. I'm not really familiar with the popular TV shows. And even when I watch TV, I mostly watch odd ball stuff on PBS, CBC and TVO. I was showing a friend my DIY wedding dress photos and she said, 'Oh you made the Carrie Dress!' I said, 'Sorry?' She said, 'Yeah you made that dress Carrie wore with Aidan in front of the water fountain!' I said, 'huh?' She said, 'Carrie from Sex And The City!'

I guess I still looked puzzled so she pulled out her phone and searched for the pictures on the web. And here they are:

(Source)

(Source)

I guess I did a Copycat Wedding Dress without knowing it! Apparently I made the exact same Badgley Mischka wedding dress that Carrie was wearing in the show. Although because of her figure, I think the dress looked a bit different on her. The front swoop on her is lower than on mine (probably because I'm more full busted and barrel chested). But it just shows how good the pattern Vogue 2237 is - because it suits a short and wide torso like mine, and as well as a very trim figure like Sarah Jessica Parker!

Disclaimer: I'm not getting any commission from Vogue Patterns. But if you are looking for a wedding dress  sewing pattern, have a look at Vogue 2237! I just check the Vogue pattern web site and they are still selling it in their current collection.

Okay! Back to searching for inspiration for my July MAGAM project......

Finally, the DIY Wedding Dress photoshoot....

I got the photos for the DIY Wedding Dress photoshoot! It was a very sunny day and the entire shoot took about 30 minutes. The bottom of dress and train got really dirty because I was dragging it in the parking lot, on the sidewalk, on the road, on the grass, up the stairs, etc. Good thing it didn't wrinkle much because of my fashion fabric and lining choices. At the end of the shoot, I ended up tearing a big hole in my DIY veil with my newly thrifted heels!  :-(

Ultimately it was a fun experience. It was just so satisfying to be able to wear all my DIY stuff for the photoshoot: the veil, the jewelry, the dress. My friends did a great job with the photos. I think we have to 'create' some celebrations for ourselves from time to time for fun, right? So here is one of my favourite photo:

Now that I have 'checked off' another sewing milestone (i.e. making a wedding dress), what other sewing projects should I  I strive for? I have already made shirts/blouses, pants, shorts, jeans, underpants, dresses, jackets, cardigans, skirts, swimwear, coats, maternity wear, pyjamas, baby/kids clothes, menswear (coats, shorts, pants, pyjamas), bags/purses, hair accessories, jewelry, curtains, cushions, table covers, headboards, soft toys. Any suggestions on what I should try next?

June MAGAM project Done - My DIY Wedding Dress is Done!

I finally finished my DIY wedding dress! Yoohoo! Good thing I chose a sewing pattern (Vogue 2237) that was rated as 'Average'. If I had tried to make anything that says 'Advanced', I would still be tearing out my hair! LOL! Here are the pics of the final product:

It's not the most elaborate wedding dress but I like simple styles. The fit at the back is a bit tight but the front looked okay. If I was actually using this dress for my wedding (as opposed to just a photo shoot), I would definitely add straps as this dress tends to slide down a little bit, revealing the top of my strapless bra. Perhaps I'll just use a safety pin and pin the dress to the bra! Also, the length is a wee bit short in the front. It's great for walking but for a photo shoot, an inch longer would have been nicer.  I guess I can always wear a lower heel too.

Vogue 2237 is a great pattern. It's not difficult to sew but has a nice style. It's a Badgley Mischka pattern that was published in 2001. For some reason, I haven't seen many stylish and simple evening wear sewing patterns like this recently.

The pattern calls for 'Crepe and Faille' fabrics which would make the dress more drapey (you can see the drape of the dress on the pattern envelope). I chose a heavy dull satin which doesn't drape as well but gives me a nice slight A-line shape below the hips, which I think balances out my broad upper body. I used a 100% cotton broadcloth for the lining which made cutting and sewing much easier than the 'China Silk' that the pattern calls for.


 I was worried about the fit in case I lose or gain weight between now and the photo shoot. So I decided to use a trick I employed when I was designing costumes for a local theatre group. I sewed the lining as an underlining for the front, serged the edges and then sewed the back the same way. The last seams I joined were the side seams. This gave me the flexibility to increase/decrease the side seam allowance to fit my body. I tacked the dress hem to the lining hem by hand.

For the foundation I used the same 'heavy dull satin' and lined it with the same cotton broadcloth. I boned the dress in the foundation as per the sewing instructions. The dress is quite heavy because of the heavy fabrics I used - no wonder it's sliding down!

All in all, I'm satisfied with this dress and this pattern. I would highly recommend it if you already have this in your stash. This dress has a stylish shape and I think one doesn't need to have fancy lace or beading to make this 'regal' looking.

Here are some more photos with the veil, bouquet and some jewelry. It was the same veil from years ago - I made that veil then too! And the same bouquet I used then which my mother-in-law made for me (fake flowers are awesome that way). I also made the jewelry. I think with all the accessories, the dress
looks more 'bridal' now, don't you think? Can't wait for the photo shoot!

You can see my review of this pattern on PatternReview.com.

June MAGAM Plan - The Wedding Dress!

Okay! I finally found some reasonable bridal fabrics! I drove about 30 km to the next town and found lots more choices for bridal fabrics. The chain fabric store there is a lot bigger and has 10 times the selection of any apparel fabrics than my local store. The prices were better too! And there were lots of older ladies shopping there. The salesperson told me that the store was always busy with lots of shoppers at all hours, and even the local schools have reintroduced sewing in their basic curriculum. Well, I guess I'll have to find time to drive to that store more often from now on (if I can only find a couple of hours of free time for myself.....).

So what did I buy? A heavy polyester white dull satin (it actually says 'Heavy Dull Satin' on the tag). I think foroutdoor photography this might be better than a shiny satin. Also I'm hoping that this will be easier to sew than a very slippery satin. For the lining, the pattern calls for a China Silk. But since I'm using a much heavy fabric as the fashion fabric, I thought I should use something with more body for the lining to match the dull satin. The salesperson recommended this 100% cotton fine broadcloth. I thought it would be easier to sew and cut the broadcloth too.

So this is my June entry for the Make A Garment A Month post - my DIY wedding dress using the Vogue 2237 pattern and this 'Heavy Dull Polyester Satin'. Wish me luck!

Bridal fabric shopping - a rant

So I went to a couple of local fabric stores to see what kind of bridal fabrics they have. Well, not much! I'm indeed surprised. I thought that they would have lots of those. However, all I found was some itchy polyester lace, heavy crepe back satin and some cheapy polyester satin. They don't even have something simple like white dupioni silk! Does it mean I have to travel an hour to the city centre just to get some bridal fabric? What's going on with the fabric stores in my area? To be honest I have met less than 5 people in my area who sew, and most of them were quilters. Where are all the garment sewists? I guess I should not be surprised at the lack of selection for apparel fabrics in my neighbourhood.

My dear friend (around my age) who lives in a suburb of Montreal has 2 fabulous fabric warehouses in her neighbourhood. When I visit her, we always go to the fabric store because I just can't believe the selection, the quality and the prices of apparel fabrics they offer there. Does it mean there are more home sewists who sew garments in her city than mine?

Anyways, I am not going to visit my friend soon and I really need to finish this wedding dress for the photo shoot. I guess I'll just base my fabric choice on how photogenic it is than my personal comfort. Sigh.....

Wedding Dress Muslin 3 - Vogue 8285

Okay this is the last of the wedding dress muslins. This one is Vogue 8285 size 14 View A.

It's a little loose so I used a wider seam allowance. I did my usual short waist adjustment also. Here are the pictures:

It looks okay to me. Not as 'regal' as Vogue 2237 but the most comfortable and the most practical for walking around. I'm really not sure which one I should use for the final dress. Right now it's really between this dress and Vogue 2237. If you have forgotten what the other dress looked like, here are the pictures again:

Any suggestions on which one I should make as my final dress?

Wedding Dress Muslin 2 - Simplicity 2639

I chose Simplicity 2639 for my 2nd muslin because View B is exactly the shape of my original wedding dress (my original wedding dress has all over lace, beading and spaghetti straps).

Since I was going to have straps, I didn't do a foundation nor a lining. I just made the dress part to tweak the fit. And this is how it turned out:

The chest is too tight and the back needs narrowing. I think a proper FBA is in order for this pattern which I didn't do. It's okay, I'm not in love with it. It certainly has more coverage; I can walk easily in this without tripping too. But something seems to be missing. Perhaps with all over lace and beading plus a longer length this will look better? Somehow it doesn't seem to have the impact of the 1st muslin I did with Vogue 2237, even though the Vogue 2237 muslin was only done with a bed sheet. What do you think?

Wedding Dress Muslin 1 - Vogue 2237

With only 1.5 month to pick and choose wedding dress patterns to make muslins, to muslin-ing (new verb!), to finalizing the final dress pattern, to shopping for the actual wedding dress material to the final wedding dress - it's a mad dash for sure! So the first thing I did was to go to the local Thrift store and bought 3 light coloured queen/double bed sheets for the muslins. I would have liked to buy more sheets but they only have 3 light coloured ones in queen/double size. So I guess I can make maximum 3 muslins only!

I have just finished the first very roughly done muslin for Vogue 2237. It's a Badgley Mischka Vogue American Designer evening pattern from 2001. It's rated Average so I thought I could tackle it.

I only made the dress and foundation (not the lining for the dress nor the lining for the foundation) because I just wanted to tweak the fit.  Since it's supposed to be very close fitting at the bust, I cut a size 16 for the bust and size 14 for the rest of the body. It turned out that size 14 would have been fine for my bust as well. I also did my usual short waist adjustment. The boning was quickly done and the zipper (it red because that's all I have in my stash right now) was crudely installed. Here is how it looked on me:

(A side note: The sheet is a 100% cotton white sheet with pale blue polka dots on it - I thought it would have made a lovely non-lace, non-satin type wedding dress material too!)

I think it's okay in terms of the fit. I'm not sure about that fish tail train that's dragging on the floor. I almost tripped and fell many times while taking these pictures because I stepped back onto the train. Yes I'm a hazard to myself! And too much of my already broad back was showing to make it more broad and meaty. Perhaps some straps would be good? Otherwise, I think the shape from the bust to the bottom looked fine. What do you think?

Alright, I'm going to have to choose the next sewing pattern for muslin-ing! I only have 2 more sheets left so I have to be choosy. Which one do you think I should do next?

I have to Make a Wedding Dress! Help please?

No I'm not actually getting married again. Last week, hubby just casually mentioned that since he had lost a lot of weight, we should get dressed in our wedding clothes again and get some pictures taken in a historical part of town. I thought he was joking but then he reiterated it this week. It's good that he can now fit into his wedding suit again but after 2 kids I just can't fit into my old wedding dress anymore! I was able to get my body in except for the bust area. I didn't think I gained that much on top but apparently I did. Oh well! Too bad! I guess I'll have to make another one - YES! What an opportunity to make a wedding dress for myself!

I've been looking through my stash of sewing patterns and looking online for pictures of wedding dresses that appealed to me. Since I'm top heavy with a thick and undefined waist, many classic styles do not work for me. Anything that is a bit fitted on top down to the hip and then flares out  below the thighs are more suitable for me. I am narrowing the general styles down to the following:

Vogue 2237

 Vogue 8115 

Vogue 8285

 

Simplicity 2639

These are just the general styles I'm thinking of. If I actually make one of them I'll be adding my own design elements to them somehow. I have about 1.5 months to get in shape, make the muslin(s) to tweak the fit and to make the actual dress (shopping for trims/lace included). So I need to decided which pattern(s) to do the muslin(s). What do you think? Any ideas or suggestions?

Little White Dress - Finally finished!

After 3 failed attempts for the Little White Dress contest, I finally made one that I considered good enough for the contest. Here it is:

It's based on Butterick 6076 from 1999. I had made 2 dresses out of this pattern before (see this post).

I had put additional restrictions on my entry to this contest: only use stash pattern and stash fabrics. I barely had enough of this almost white linen mix fabric for this little dress. Since white linen is quite translucent, I used some remnant white broadcloth for the lining and the foundation (I barely had enough of these as well). I did my usual short waist adjustment and shortened the hem. I lost a little weight so my chest area is not squished anymore.

Here is how I imagine the dress going from the office to a dinner date:

At the Office, I would wear a belt with professional looking shoes and a navy blazer:

For the dinner date, I would take off the blazer, add some jet black self-made necklace and ring and a little black purse:

The versatility of this dress doesn't stop here! With a bouquet, self-made pearl necklace and bracelet and some bling bling shoes, this simple dress can become a simple wedding dress:

I'm pretty happy with this Little White Dress after all the fails and tears. I can finally breathe a sigh of relief! Now I need to go and tackle that pile of mending/repairs that has been growing.....

Refashion: Slip dress to DIY Wedding Dress

It seems that my current obsession with making wedding dresses is not going away any time soon. I think it's one of these milestones that we sewists have - jackets, fitted shirts, pants, jeans, swimwear, panties, bras, special occasion dress and then there is the Wedding Dress! What a wonderful opportunity it is for a bride to be able to make their own wedding dresses for their big day?

To fulfill my obsession, I decided to make a simple wedding dress first. A refashion would be quicker I thought.  I looked through my wardrobe and found these two cute white bias slip dresses from more than 10 years ago. I bought it in a rush for a friend's wedding. I had just come back from Europe and didn't have all my sewing stuff with me to make a dress. I just went to a nice boutique close to my office and bought these 2 slips dresses. They were on the clearance rack and fit me fine so I bought them. I think I got both of them for $30. I wore them to a couple of weddings and a formal bridal shower with different colour cardigans. Then I didn't look at them again for 10 years.

The top dress is made with a nice translucent tonal floral polyester material. The under dress is a just a white crinkle polyester satin. Slip dresses were all the rage in the late 1990s and early 2000s. They are not so popular now but I still like them. I personally like simple wedding dresses and I thought I could dress them up a bit to make them more wedding appropriate.

I dug through my fabric and notions stash and found this lovely lace trim. I actually forgot that I had them. I bought a lot of trims/ribbons when a local fabric store closed down a few years back. I had just enough of this trim to embellish my slip dress.

I basically just sewed the trim straight onto the neck edge with a straight stitch on my sewing machine. The whole Refashioning process took 30 min. With the right accessories, shoes, and hair, I think this would make a lovely dress for a bride who loves simple, romantic dresses. If I were to get married now, I would love to wear something like this for a romantic summer wedding.

I can also wear it off the shoulders like this:

This little project has really whet my appetite. It was so much fun! I think I'll make more Wedding Dresses later this year. Stay tuned!