Dress Update.
So you'll recall that way back in May, I made a muslin for my wedding dress, the giraffe dress. Stuff has been happening since then, but it hasn't been visible, exciting progress. Until now.
Starting at the very beginning:
Making the giraffe dress produced the basic pattern for the bodice. Note that I was so excited about that giraffe fabric that the wedding dress got second billing on the pattern envelope.
Then came finding the perfect fabric. I really wanted a cream silk/linen blend, but the lovely pale blue stuff I got for the bridesmaids' dresses didn't come in white or cream. I had seen a really beautiful undyed silk tussah in Mulberry, which became my second choice.
A picture really can't do it justice, but you can at least see the texture, if not the actual color or lustre. I was in awe when I watched them pulling it off the bolt to cut.
The dress will also be lined (with Bemberg rayon, left) and underlined (with cotton batiste, middle). Spears Maison de Couture, right here. Whether I will actually handsew my lining in, which is what you do in real couture, apparently, remains to be seen.
Obviously, there's a little more to the wedding dress than there was to the giraffe dress. These are my notes working out the skirt, which is A-line with a circular ruffle--two whole circles, one for the front, one for the back. The rectangle in the lower right is the OMG, do I have enough fabric for this!? (A: Yes, just.) You can see here that I am the poster child for math teachers that tell you to draw a picture to solve a problem. I have no internal visualization skills.
This is a muslin version of how the skirt will be.
I think I'm going to make that skirt/ruffle seam a little slantier: higher in front and lower in back. Not much higher in front, though, lest it make the skirt part look blocky.
I've now cut out and put together the lining. I'm planning to sew in the bra/support/whatever, so all I have to do is pull this dress over my head. This is proving quite a challenge. Even with the help of a Threads article, I'm struggling to get a bustline that is neither remarkably floppy nor remarkably enhanced.
I think I have a solution: cups with gel pads inside a one-piece sew-in bra that I cut apart. I am now thoroughly acquainted with all the boobie products that JoAnn's carries. If anybody needs a pair of rock-hard plastic Madonna cups (size C), I have an unused pair that I hope is unreturnable.
So that's where I am. Pictures to follow as progress continues.
Starting at the very beginning:
Making the giraffe dress produced the basic pattern for the bodice. Note that I was so excited about that giraffe fabric that the wedding dress got second billing on the pattern envelope.
Then came finding the perfect fabric. I really wanted a cream silk/linen blend, but the lovely pale blue stuff I got for the bridesmaids' dresses didn't come in white or cream. I had seen a really beautiful undyed silk tussah in Mulberry, which became my second choice.
A picture really can't do it justice, but you can at least see the texture, if not the actual color or lustre. I was in awe when I watched them pulling it off the bolt to cut.
The dress will also be lined (with Bemberg rayon, left) and underlined (with cotton batiste, middle). Spears Maison de Couture, right here. Whether I will actually handsew my lining in, which is what you do in real couture, apparently, remains to be seen.
Obviously, there's a little more to the wedding dress than there was to the giraffe dress. These are my notes working out the skirt, which is A-line with a circular ruffle--two whole circles, one for the front, one for the back. The rectangle in the lower right is the OMG, do I have enough fabric for this!? (A: Yes, just.) You can see here that I am the poster child for math teachers that tell you to draw a picture to solve a problem. I have no internal visualization skills.
This is a muslin version of how the skirt will be.
I think I'm going to make that skirt/ruffle seam a little slantier: higher in front and lower in back. Not much higher in front, though, lest it make the skirt part look blocky.
I've now cut out and put together the lining. I'm planning to sew in the bra/support/whatever, so all I have to do is pull this dress over my head. This is proving quite a challenge. Even with the help of a Threads article, I'm struggling to get a bustline that is neither remarkably floppy nor remarkably enhanced.
I think I have a solution: cups with gel pads inside a one-piece sew-in bra that I cut apart. I am now thoroughly acquainted with all the boobie products that JoAnn's carries. If anybody needs a pair of rock-hard plastic Madonna cups (size C), I have an unused pair that I hope is unreturnable.
So that's where I am. Pictures to follow as progress continues.