Making my wedding dress

Jobo88

Right!! I'm back again!

I spent pretty much the whole bank holiday weekend working on my dress. I was awfully ill last weekend so didn't do anything, but this weekend just gone I managed to do a bit more and got my friend to help me with the fit of the dress across the shoulders, which I struggled to do myself.

so here it is!



and from behind.....



the second pic is at my friends house when she was helping me to fit it!

I still need to add the sleeves, and I've ordered some stretchy mesh to make them out of so that I'll be able to move my arms freely!

I've also ordered some beads, and once I've got the sleeves on and the shoulders properly sewn together, I'll be starting to stitch those on by hand!! :eek:

so far I'm really pleased with how it's turning out! I had a minor wobble the other night with it, because it isn't as perfectly made as the ones in the shops, but I think it'll do the job just fine in the end. it's exactly what I want, and it's saved so much money, so it's worth the trouble!:j

I've also decided (in a fit of madness:eek:) to make my own bridesmaids dresses, after finding the ones I wanted to get had been discontinued. thankfully I've only got two bridesmaids, and I've chosen a stretchy fabric to make the dresses, so it shouldn't be anywhere near as taxing as my dress has been so far! once I've made a start on those I'll update and show you what they'll be like! OH has joked that I'll be making him a Tux for the wedding as well! :rotfl:

wish me luck!

Jobo xx

sillyvixen

you are so clever, you dress looks lovely - even without the beading and the sleeves. a cushion cover would have defeated me!! luckily i had a talented friend of the family to make mine!

tootallulah

Hi it is looking really good. My tip is to get your own dress exactly how you want it and finished before you move onto the bridesmaids. Otherwise it will be so stressful. Don't panic no-one will know you made it yourself you are doing a great job.

tootallulah

And my other tip is presing, do it properly with the tools and the press cloths etc that will give you the professional finish.

sunshineandlollipops

Wow, it looks great! I found fitting the shoulders awkward too.

I've just finished blind-hem stitching (by hand) the very big circle skirt hem this evening! I don't have too much more to do - rouleau loops and buttons down the back, and a sash/belt to finish it off. Then I just need to work out how to clean/press satin silk. I'm a bit worried about that bit as unfortunately there are some marks on the fabric from before I bought it.

It's exciting now though! 8 weeks today for me!!

southoftheriver

This is amazing. I love dressmaking but my skills are very amateur. I'm getting married in September and have done something slightly similar in that I bought a dress from a charity shop and it has been completely restructured by a seamstress. Would have loved to have done it myself but I know my limits!

What machine did you use and how long have you been sewing out of interest?

Jobo88

sunshineandlollipops - that's so exciting! I bet it looks great. for silk-satin I think maybe steaming it with a hand held steamer might be a good idea? that's what I'll need to do with mine once it's all beaded.

southoftheriver - I use a Brother XL-2620. I used to just borrow my mums machine, but then a relative very kindly gave me this one. I've been sewing on and off for years, I can't remember if I've mentioned before, but my mum and I made my prom dress for when I was leaving school a few years ago. I've always dabbled in making cushion covers, curtains and other easy stuff like that, but it was only earlier this year that I've decided to make more of my own stuff. I've had a few little things going on while I've been making my dress, just to give myself a break now and then. for example this weekend, I've made myself two skirts from a nice stretchy material that I found on ebay, and I've made a couple of nice skirts to wear for work with a few different remnants that I've managed to pick up.

Anyway, most of my beads arrived on Friday and Saturday, so I've got them all ready to go! I don't think I'm going to do any more on the wedding dress this weekend, as I've got to do some stuff for work this afternoon, and then am wanting to chill out this evening!

Here are my beads. . .



I don't think those are all that I'll need, but they'll do for now and I can get more as I go along. I'm hoping to start the beading next weekend, after I've put the sleeves on!

Jobo xx

sunshineandlollipops

I made my prom dress (with plenty of help from my mum) too, how strange!

sunshineandlollipops

Well, I am now a Mrs. Sunshineandlollipops! The dress was finished in time (despite a last-week decision to thread chain through the hand-stitched blind hem to weight it!) and I am so happy I made my own, I absolutely loved every minute of wearing it and did not want to take it off.

I've been trying to figure out how to attach a photo but I don't have a URL for any of the images. Does anyone know how to?

I hope your dress is still going well. Have you started the beading yet?

xx

Jobo88

Hi all, sorry for not updating in so long, I was made redundant, and have had a hectic few months. I did get some of the beading on the dress done eventually, but I kinda lost my mojo a bit when I was made redundant, so it got neglected for a while unfortunately.

On another unfortunate note, my fiance and I split up a month or so ago, and I have cancelled my wedding. Luckily we hadn't yet paid for anything other than the venue deposit, and the materials for the dress, so not too much of a loss made there.

If anyone would like to see them, I'll post some pics if the dress in its final (yet unfinished) state.

Jobo xx