Another Wedding Dress

I'm back again with another wedding dress.  Late in 2009 I was asked to re-make and re-design a wedding dress for a nice young lass.  It had been her mother's of course, but the fabric was in good condition.  She didn't want anything over the top, and that is understandable given that we didn't really want to buy too much more for the making of the frock.  Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a photograph of the original frock.  It was typical of the seventies, ie empire line, slightly A-line skirt with seaming, train coming from back panels, some lace on the bodice, quite large sleeves, and little guipure daisies as edge trim.  Oh, and the fabric was a lovely white crepe [and still nice and white]. 

Having such a volume of fabric in the sleeves was a great help, as I was able to cut a bustier from them.  The skirt part was simply sewn in at the top area, enough to fit her waist, and that gave me enough to cut off the bottom, and discard some of the marked areas.  The little daisies came in handy for a simple asymetrical bodice trim, and a tiny bit of left over became a flower.  The only new things were the hot fix crystals [3 mm] in the daisy centres, and the continuous rhinestone beading attached to the top.

I am pleased to say she was really thrilled with the finished result, as was her mother.  This was a challenge, but one I enjoyed because of the sentiment involved.  The lass looked just stunning on her big day.  Again, simplicity seems to work in most cases.

Thank you all again for your enthusiasm regarding my hardanger.  I am so enjoying making something to fit a piece of fabric I have, rather than buying fabric to fit a design I have!!  Hope that makes sense.  

I have returned to the 'normal' font.  For some reason my monitor is displaying fonts much larger than before, and I thought that might be showing up in the big world of blogging.  I didn't want to appear to be talking at the top of my voice to attract attention.  Obviously, what I see, others don't.  Thanks for telling me. 

Dressmaking Days

I'm quite sure most of you know that in the past I did a little dressmaking for people.  It was something I could do from home, as I was often needed to help with odd jobs around the properties, ie shifting machinery, feeding poddy calves, and also doing the bus run with the children.  The photograph above shows the very first wedding dress I made.  I am sorry about the quality of the image, but it's been scanned from an older photograph, and a tad on the grainy side.  The bottom band was all cut on the bias [doubled], and pearl piping was inserted where it joined the skirt.  The three ruffles had to have stiff net inside them so they would stay up, and the trim on the centre front was simply organza motifs beaded and hand stitched after the bodice was fitted.  

Another frock/outfit that I deem rather special is this one.  Although it looks a very simple style, I have to say it was stunning on the young lady, fitting her lovely slim body beautifully.  It was made for her school graduation ceremony.  The fabric was mauve shot with aqua.   I always loved making outfits that were simply styled, using gorgeous fabric.  I have totally lost count of the number of wedding and formal outfits I've made, and sadly don't have photographs of all of them.

A few years ago I made the wedding frock for my DIL.  It was hand embroidered with silver metallic thread and beaded in great detail.  I also made her veil, a simple square of tulle, beaded all around the perimeter, and then folded on the diagonal.  The store-bought version was in excess of $200 at the time.  I made it for less than $20.  I shall also include a close up shot of some of the beading that was done.   Much of the beaded design was just made up as I went along, adding another scroll here or there.  

Thank you everyone for such lovely comments on my smocking.  I do appreciate the enthusiasm and support I receive from each and every person who cares to comment.